Season three of The Traitors is set to be sneakier than ever with Claudia Winkleman teasing big changes to the BBC competition for the forthcoming series.
The reality show, which is set to return on New Years Day 2025, follows a group of contestants living together in a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Among them are a secret number of “Traitors”, who must conspire to eliminate others in the group without being detected.
Traitors has been a huge success for the BBC. Earlier this year, over seven million people tuned in to watch contestant Harry Clark, 23, win £95,150 after deceiving his best friend Mollie Pearce in the season finale – and much more backstabbing and scheming is scheduled for 2025.
Speaking ahead of the release of the next season of the show, host Winkleman said: “I would love to tell you all about series three, but then I will get fired so I can tell you absolutely nothing.
“What I will tell you is that things are different this year. There are some really exciting things that have changed, which keeps everyone on the toes and feeds into the central premise of trust!
“I can’t wait for everyone to see,” she added.
When asked how she plans to keep the new cohort of contestants on their toes, Winkleman replied: “The new contestants can watch previous series, but that doesn’t mean it will necessarily help them.”
She explained: “Every series has a whole new bunch of players, with different minds, and different interpretations of the game. And like any good murder mystery, the plot is always full of twists and turns.”
Teasing a big change to the competition for 2025 the presenter revealed there’s “one twist” that will “have viewers on the edge of their seat.
For episodes one and two, The Traitors will air at 8pm. From episode 3 onwards it will air at 9pm. The show will air Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, as per last series.
In a teaser for the new series, three hooded figures are seen walking up to an old building holding lanterns, against the backdrop of the show’s recognisable soundtrack.
Fireworks shoot up into the night sky spelling out “New Years Day” along with the Traitors symbol, hanging ominously in the back. Winkleman appears at the end saying, “Start the New Year with a bang”.
The Traitors will return to BBC One on 1 January, 2025 at 9pm.
