“The Traitors” has returned to television screens with a significant new twist: a secret fourth traitor whose identity remains concealed from viewers.
This clandestine traitor, distinguished by a red cloak rather than the customary green, wields unique powers, including the authority to determine which players the other traitors can eliminate.
The innovative twist introduces a new dynamic to the civilian series, marking the most substantial format alteration since the show’s debut in 2022.
The revelation coincided with the premiere of the BBC show’s fourth regular series on Thursday, following the triumph of the celebrity edition, which garnered over 15 million viewers.
The new cast of 22 participants features a former police detective, a crime novelist, and a mother-daughter duo concealing their familial connection.
Additionally, two contestants recognized each other upon arrival at the castle due to a shared acquaintance, a connection previously unknown to the production team.
This marks the first instance of a fourth traitor being designated in the inaugural episode, a development met with discontent by the existing traitors due to the dilution of their power.
“I do not require middle management,” declared traitor Hugo, encapsulating the sentiment of many viewers with the episode’s standout line.
“The whole point of being a traitor is having perfect information.”
For audience members who have often criticized the faithful for their inability to identify traitors, this twist provides an opportunity to engage with the show on a deeper level and test their own deductive skills.
“I’m so glad they’ve done this, because it was so infuriating when people were like ‘how did you not know?’,” remarked former “Celebrity Traitors” contestant Lucy Beaumont on “Uncloaked.”
At the series launch last month, Winkleman revealed to journalists that the other traitors were “livid” upon learning of their anonymous counterpart.
“But it’s really fantastic for the secret traitor,” she added, “having the time of their lives.”
The presenter mused: “People who watch ‘The Traitors’ endlessly go, ‘How do they [the faithful] not know?’ So I like the idea of, ‘OK, have a go’.”
However, some viewers may question whether the secret traitor’s experience might be isolating, lacking the camaraderie shared by the other three. “Oh don’t worry,” Winkleman assured, “they have some fun.”
The format change was partially inspired by suggestions from viewers on social media during previous seasons.
“In series one, people said, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if the viewers didn’t know who the traitors are?'” recalled Mike Cotton, creative director of production company Studio Lambert.
“And we don’t agree with that, actually. I think we think that knowing who the traitors are, knowing their duplicity, is what makes it feel great.
“But we thought it would be interesting if you didn’t know who one of them was. I think it could change the conversation slightly for this season.”
Cotton added: “What’s really interesting is the traitors are used to having all of the power, and for once they don’t.
“There’s a shortlist they can murder from, but they don’t have free rein over who to kill, so what’s going to be really interesting to see is how they navigate that.”
After three seasons, producers clearly felt it was time to experiment with tweaks to the format – something networks often do to keep an established hit feeling fresh.
While the idea is intriguing, viewers must await the unfolding of the series to fully assess the impact of the secret traitor.
Previous format alterations have not always been successful, such as the unpopular “Seer” twist from the previous year, which effectively eliminated one player’s chances of winning and diminished the finale’s suspense.
However, this twist offers a promising start to the series and is likely to spark lively debates among viewers.
Here are five other observations from the premiere:
Perhaps inevitably, two players in this season already knew each other through a mutual friend.
While previous series have intentionally cast couples or family members, Cotton stated that in this instance, it “was not intentional at all, we cast them as individuals.”
“We do really lengthy background checks on who takes part, and as part of that we discovered that they [Netty and Ross] follow each other on social media,” he recalled.
“So we knew there was a tenuous link, but we didn’t know whether they would recognise each other, or how they would react.”
Anecdotally, it appears that more players than ever expressed a desire to be traitors during their initial conversations with Winkleman.
“A lot of them just say, ‘I think it would be more fun’,” Winkleman explained.
“And at some point, I’d really like to lean forward and say, ‘That’s actually not how you win, statistically’.”
She added: “You had to pick someone who wanted it. In the celebrity version, lots of them asked to be faithful. In this cast I think it was one.”
Ultimately, Winkleman selected Rachel, Hugo, and Stephen, in addition to the anonymous fourth traitor.
“You never know whether you’ve picked right,” Winkleman concluded, “but I’d like to think there isn’t a wrong.”
The first mission involved the contestants retrieving floating coffins from a loch.
The coffins, each worth £1,000 for the prize fund, were collected by the three teams in canoes and towed ashore.
However, to complete the task, the contestants had to place the coffins in graves bearing the names of players, automatically shortlisting them for murder.
In a display of British politeness, all three teams opted to nominate players from other teams to avoid any awkwardness, resulting in a shortlist of ten players.
Two of this year’s contestants, Roxy and Judy, are a mother-daughter duo, with Judy having adopted Roxy at the age of four.
While this connection was intentionally incorporated into the casting, the other players remain unaware of their relationship.
“One of the great things about the regular series is the contestants can come in with secrets, whether that’s about their lives or secret relationships,” Cotton noted.
When asked about the producers’ approach to revealing such relationships to the other players and viewers, he explained: “We never know when we’re going to deploy it. When we’re going into filming, we go in, and wait to see how it plays out.”
The episode commenced with the presenter singing along to Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies” before transitioning to The Fugees’ rendition of “Killing Me Softly.”
Both selections, undeniably excellent, were also deliberately chosen to align with the show’s central themes.
For the fifth season, we remain hopeful for the inclusion of Kelis’s “Trick Me,” Madeleine Peyroux’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Taylor Swift’s “No Body, No Crime,” and SZA’s “Kill Bill” (conditional upon the presence of a contestant named Bill).
Furthermore, if any musicians are reading, the creation of a song incorporating the word “roundtable” in its title before 2027 would be greatly appreciated.
“The Traitors” continues on Friday, January 2nd, at 20:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.
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