The Traitors returns with celebrities in cloaks, plotting for charity. Same twists, same paranoia, a touch more ego, and a lot more self-awareness. Spoilers will inevitably arise.
Preview
Promo’d within an inch of its life, the BBC’s wildly successful constructive reality TV show returns to the BBC this time with a gaggle of celebrities pitted against one another in a dastardly battle for a £100K gift to charity.
The lineup is strong. Who wouldn’t want to see Natural Treasure Stephen Fry and his deputy Celia Imrie subvert our expectations and be a manipulative for charidee? Who’s likely to have a good poker face? Alan Carr, unlikely, though Clare Balding might surprise. Comedian Joe Wilkinson will surely be the master of mis-direction. Ted Lasso regular Nick Mohammed might surprise. And surely, there are those in the lineup who you’d quietly like to see flail around and get murdered early on – say, people like Jonathan Ross, diver and knitter, Tom Daley.
For all involved its a great profile builder. Valuable fodder for the BBC too. Appointment-to-view stuff in a world where people apparently don’t make a point of watching TV at the time of broadcast. In terms of audience reach, Traitors (Series 3) set the bar high. Series 2 secured far outstrips similar celebrity ensemble cast gameshows like Channel 4’s Taskmaster (around 870K viewers for its first episode in 2024 – a good return for C4) or Amazon’s Last One Laughing Series 1 (up to 3m viewers for episode one over 7 days as reported by Barb).
Review – Episode 1
Episode 1 moves at quite a pace. Gone are the long, indulgent montages of the civilian series; here the cast have plenty to say, and the edit moves fast because every moment counts. Depicting them as characters is easier too: we already know who they are. Alan Carr plays the loveable bumbling underdog, Charlotte Church the plucky earth mother. Celia Imrie keeps her cards close to her chest with beguiling whimsy. Joe Wilkinson feels less distant when his comedy persona softens. Clare Balding exudes earnest fangirl energy from the outset. And a well-timed quip from Stephen Fry — Claudia asks “What shall we do with the Traitors?” “Burn them!” he fires back — keeps the whole thing fizzing. The result is taut, confident television: The Traitors was good; Celebrity Traitors is efficient.
Knowing the celebrities accelerates the storytelling. We’re already invested — drawing up lists of who we want to see as traitors, who as faithful, who we want found out. Their asides have a sharper sense of collusion because we recognise the personas behind them. These are people fluent in the grammar of television, and watching them adjust those personas to meet the format’s demands is half the fun. Who can act? Who can’t? The comedians, singers, and trained actors surely have the advantage; the presenters who rely on an autocue may find it harder to improvise. My money’s on Tom Daley being the first to go.
As for the rugby-player-turned-fisherman Joe Marley: his arrival look isn’t quite as sharp as he seems to think, though his self-deprecating chat with Claudia is a charming foil. Alan Carr, meanwhile, looks magnificent in his Scottish Widow get-up — and will no doubt deliver most of the jeopardy.
Episode 2
A graveside challenge saw the first player given the boot in a nicely paced mystery. The ‘choir’ wasn’t terribly convincing. There’s no way all of those people were actually singing.
The cast are settling in nicely, some personalities quickly securing prime irritant status. Jonathan Ross dons a weird and oddly annoying jacket, but is comfortably and convincingly assuming his role in the show. Tom Daley on the otherhand wears the composed, pinched look of someone sucking on a sherbert lemon. The longer he stays, the more we’ll be exposed to his infuriatingly theatrical – and no doubt extensive – wardrobe. How can he not have heard of the word flabbergasted? In comparison Stephen Fry only has to be present in a shot and there’s a reassuring sense of calm.
Kate Garraway’s absence of even plausible acting skills may well foreshadow her downfall. Celia Imrie holds her own with wily composure, while Clare Balding sustains a convincing air of total investment. Joe Wilkinson remains, delightfully, the show’s unassuming heart.
Episode 3
Newsflash. The post-banishment announcement goodbye is as nauseating and overdrawn as it is in the normal series. How on earth can you stand there and say how wonderful an experience it has been to be spending time with a group of other paid-for celebrities and make it sound meaningful when everyone else says the same thing. Performative bollocks.
Strong knitwear from Church, Cat and Fry. It pains me to say it, but I do quite like Ross’ multicoloured Sherlock-Holmesque cloak. The tiresomely gratuitous shot of Olympian and ‘entrepreneur’ Tom Daley in the shower, rinsing himself off, was characteristically self-obsessed. To say any more would be to spoil it for everyone. If you know, you know. If you don’t, then you need to watch it. Either way, Christmas has come early for this avid viewer. Also, a pleasing whiff of Partridge from The Balding.
Episode 4
Jonathan Ross is beginning to get on my wick. His confidence in bluffing and double bluffing is of course central to a player’s success in the game, but there is a hint of smugness about him doing so that bothers me. I can’t shake memories of him in a Radio 2 studio participating in risque ‘banter’ with Russell Brand and the furore that dubious decision resulted in. Unfair, I know. One was real life and the other is an entertainment format.
