The multi-award-winning hit psychological game format "The Traitors", hosted by Claudia Winkleman, has been commissioned for a fourth series as well as a nine-part celebrity version, with the news being announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2024.
The two commissions from Studio Lambert, part of All3Media, are announced ahead of the third series of the hugely popular reality competition which has already been filmed once again against the stunning backdrop of the Scottish Highlands.
"The Traitors" is produced by Studio Lambert Scotland for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The fourth series (12x60) and the celebrity series is (9x60) of The Traitors has been commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC. The executive producers for Studio Lambert Scotland are Mike Cotton, Sarah Fay and Lewis Thurlow with and Production Executives, Lynette Woods-Reynolds and Gemma Scholes. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Neil McCallum and Syeda Irtizaali.
Created in the Netherlands by IDTV, an All3Media company, The Traitors format was further developed with the RTL Creative Unit and originally produced by IDTV for RTL4. All3Media International is global partner for The Traitors and handles format and tape sales worldwide. Studio Lambert is part of All3Media.
Since the series debuted on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2022, the show has established a 100% faithful audience. A breakout hit at series one, series two saw phenomenal growth with 46m views on BBC iPlayer and an average of 8.1m views per episode. "The Traitors" continues to be the biggest new Entertainment brand in the market for 16-34’s.
"The Traitors" has also earned a raft of awards including the BAFTA TV Award for Best Reality & Constructed Factual, the NTA for Reality Competition, the RTS award for Entertainment and the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Entertainment Programme. Whilst Claudia Winkleman won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance, the RTS award for Entertainment Performance and the Edinburgh TV Festival Variety Outstanding Achievement Award.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC expressed his excitement for the production: “'The Traitors' has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level. It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!," commented.
Finally, Mike Cotton, Creative Director Unscripted at Studio Lambert and Executive Producer for "The Traitors" understands that the releases are a treat for the fans: “We are thrilled to be inviting some celebrities into our castle to come and play the game. Seeing famous faces navigate the round table or don the infamous green cloaks will be unmissable TV, and what a double treat for the fans with Series 4 also confirmed too. There's a whole lot of exciting treachery and deception yet to come from the Highlands… Claudia’s going to have to pack some extra knitwear," noted.
In addition to news of a fourth series and celebrity version, leading podcast agency Listen will be producing 12 brand new episodes of companion show "The Traitors: Uncloaked" which will return alongside the third series of "The Traitors". Once hosted again by comedian Ed Gamble, The Traitors: Uncloaked will be available via BBC Sounds and on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.