An eventful New Year’s Day on BBC One saw the return of The Traitors. A case of pay attention everybody, for everything has changed. These are perilous times for the show. In 2025, The Celebrity Traitors conquered the nation one cloak at a time, showing what was possible for reality TV. But could the original Traitors become a victim of the celebrity edition’s success? Might the “civilian” version seem a little, well, underwhelming? The Traitors has countered with a twist – hinted at in that Christmas Day trailer, featuring a mysterious red cloak. What could it mean?
First, though, we all know the drill: the Traitors castle, AKA Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, 22 contestants and a £120,000 prize pot. Claudia Winkleman, hair of darkest night, introduces “the ultimate psychological game of deception”. The steam train chugs into view: among its passengers, a retired police detective and a barrister called Hugo (“I see myself as a kind of psychopathic teddy bear”).
May the mind games begin – but only after a task involving coffins and water (however elaborate they get, the tasks remain stubbornly dull). Finally, it’s time for Winkleman to circle the round table, selecting Traitors with a death grip to the shoulder… one… two… three… four?
The Traitors has added a new dimension to the treacherous turrets: that of a classic whodunnit
This, then, is the twist and the meaning of the red cloak. In a global first there’s a Secret Traitor. That person knows who the regular Traitors are but not vice versa. Nor do the viewers know who the Secret Traitor is. Now, the Traitors must choose who to murder from the Secret Traitor’s shortlist.
This mystery figure changes the game – and the Traitors know it. One protests: “Now there’s someone above us in the chain.” As for us, some may dislike the tweak while others may relish not knowing everything. The Traitors has, in effect, added a new dimension to the treacherous turrets: that of a classic whodunnit.
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Has the shake-up warded off the anticlimactic post-Celebrity Traitors comedown? Or has it rashly broken the golden rule of TV formatting (if it ain’t broke…)? Whatever happens, cloak up – it’s Traitors Britain for the foreseeable.
Photograph by BBC