EXCLUSIVE: Star traitors and faithfuls are set to face off on in the UK in a celebrity version of smash hit format The Traitors, which Deadline understands is set to launch on the BBC next year.
Several sources have told us that an agreement between Studio Lambert, which makes the UK and U.S. versions of The Traitors, and the BBC, which broadcasts it, is close. The hope is that the first celeb version will film next year and go out later in 2025, by which time three seasons of the “civilian” version will have aired. Host Claudia Winkleman is expected to present the celeb version.
The U.S. and UK versions of The Traitors — in which contestants live together and take part in challenges while seeking to uncloak the traitors among their number — are filmed back to back in a castle in Scotland. The producers could capitalize upon that model and record the celebrity version before or after these editions. Speaking to The News Agents podcast earlier this year, Studio Lambert boss Stephen Lambert had said a celeb version was “obviously a possibility.”
Given the roster of big-name Traitors fans, Deadline is told the BBC has big ambitions for the caliber of guest it could attract, and will be aiming high. A recent promo casting call video featuring Courteney Cox had fans wildly speculating that the U.S. star would appear in a celebrity version. Elsewhere, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Mary Berry all featured in a Celebrity Traitors sketch last year for Comic Relief.
The BBC and Studio Lambert have cast the UK version differently to the U.S. by going 100% non-celebrity for the former and hybrid celebrity-civilian for the latter. The latest U.S. season featured British celebrities including Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and ex-politician John Bercow.
In the UK, The Traitors has been a ratings juggernaut for the BBC. The season two finale was the most-watched show on UK television in the week in which it was broadcast. Applications to be on the “civilian” version of the show have skyrocketed, from a couple of thousand for the first season to 40,000 for Season 2, and a reported near-300,000 for Season 3, which will start shooting shortly.
Deadline recently revealed that The Traitors, which was created by Dutch prodco IDTV and is distributed internationally by All3Media International, was the format with the most new global sales last year, usurping The Masked Singer. A spate of new versions are set for 2024 and creator Marc Pos revealed a Banijay development deal earlier today.
Elsewhere, the BBC and NBCUniversal have turned their attention to Destination X, the latest series from the landmark partnership that birthed The Traitors in which contestants have to figure out mystery locations while on the road trip of a lifetime. Reluctant Traveller maker Twofour is producing the British and American versions and will begin shooting later this year.
So with plenty guessing games incoming, the game of identifying The Traitors UK celebrities can soon commence.
The BBC and Studio Lambert declined comment.
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