The Traitors returns with new ‘secret traitor’ in major shake-up

• Spoiler warning: This article contains details of the first episode of the new series of The Traitors.

Traitors returned to TV screens with a big innovation, with a secret fourth traitor whose identity was not even revealed to the audience.

The secret traitor, who wears a red cloak instead of the usual green, is given some powers, such as deciding which players other traitors can kill.

The masterful new twist changes the dynamic of the civilian series and marks the most significant format change since the series’ launch in 2022.

It emerged as the fourth regular series of the BBC show, which launched on Thursday, following on the heels of the successful Celebrity version which attracted more than 15 million viewers.

The new group of 22 players includes: a former police detective and crime novelist, as well as a mother and daughter who keep their connection a secret.

The other two players got to know each other in the goal because they had mutual friends. Their connection was not previously known to the producers (but more on that in a moment).

• No one knows the identity of the secret traitor, including the audience, and he even hides it from other traitors.

• Host Claudia Winkleman singled out the secret traitor by tapping him on the shoulder as usual at the round table, but viewers couldn’t see who he was

• The secret traitor has the power to control some aspects of the game, such as drawing up a shortlist of three players that other traitors are allowed to kill.

• The secret traitor is the only contestant this year who knows the true status of the other players.

• Claudia said their identities will remain a secret until the other traitors “regain their power,” but it’s not yet clear how long that will take or how that will happen.

This is the first time a fourth traitor has been appointed in the opening episode, and it’s fair to say that the other traitors are unhappy with someone else holding some of the power.

“I don’t need middle management,” said the traitorous Hugo, speaking for the nation as he delivered the episode’s best line.

“The whole point of being a traitor is to have perfect knowledge.”

For viewers who often complain that the faithful are useless at rooting out traitors, this change will allow fans to play along and see if they can do better.

The former Celebrity Traitors contestant said: “I’m so glad they did it because people were like ‘how did you not know?’ “It was very annoying when he asked,” he said. Lucy Beaumont said in Uncloaked.

At the launch of the series last month, Winkleman told reporters that other traitors were “furious” when they learned of their unnamed comrade.

“But it’s really cool for this secret traitor,” he added, “they’re having the time of their lives.”

The presenter stated: “People watching the traitors kept asking, ‘How are they doing? [the faithful] Don’t you know?’ So I like the idea of ​​’Okay, give it a try’.”

But some viewers may wonder: Without the working camaraderie with the other three, wouldn’t it have been a pretty lonely experience for this secret villain? “Oh don’t worry,” Winkleman replied, “they’re having some fun.”

The format change came in part because of something viewers suggested on social media in previous seasons.

Mike Cotton, creative director at production company Studio Lambert, said: “In series one, people said, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if the audience didn’t know who the traitors were?’ he said.

“And we don’t actually agree with that. I think we think it feels great to know who the traitors are, to know their hypocrisy.

“But we thought it would be interesting if you didn’t know who was who. One was one of them. “I think it can change the conversation a little bit for this season.”

Cotton added: “The really interesting thing is that the traitors are used to having all the power but they never once do.

“There’s a shortlist of people they can murder for, but they don’t have free will on who they kill, so it’ll be really interesting to see how they navigate that.”

After three seasons, the producers clearly felt it was time to tweak the format; This is something networks often do to keep a popular series fresh.

While it’s an intriguing idea, viewers will have to wait and see what impact the secret traitor will have on the rest of the series.

Previous format changes, such as last year’s rather unpopular “Oracle” change, haven’t always worked; this effectively made it impossible for any particular player to win and took away the tension from the final.

But this change means the series is off to a promising start, and people will be sharing their theories over water coolers in offices across the country.

Here are five other things we spotted in the opening episode:

Perhaps the law of averages means this will happen at some point, but this season the two players already knew each other through mutual friends.

While previous series have seen couples or family members deliberately coming together, Cotton said in this case it “wasn’t intentional at all, we chose them as individuals.”

“We do a really long background check on who is going to join and we discovered they were part of it. [Netty and Ross] Follow each other on social media,” he recalled.

“So we knew there was a weak link, but we didn’t know if they would recognize each other or how they would react.”

We’re not keeping count, but we’re pretty sure more players than ever have requested to become traitors in fireside chats with Winkleman this year.

“A lot of them say, ‘I think this would be more fun,'” Winkleman said.

“And at some point I’d really like to lean forward and say, ‘Statistically, you don’t win that way.’

He added: “You had to cast someone who wanted that. In the Celebrity version, a lot of people wanted to be loyal. I think that’s what happened with this cast.”

Eventually Winkleman went after Rachel, Hugo, and Stephen, as well as the fourth traitor, whose identity remained a secret.

Winkleman concluded: “You never know if you chose right, but I’d like to think there’s no mistake.”

In the first mission, players boarded boats to retrieve floating coffins, dozens of which were scattered across a nearby lake.

The coffins were collected in canoes by three teams and hauled to shore; each was worth £1,000 to the prize fund.

But to complete the task, contestants had to place the coffins in the players’ specified graves, automatically putting them on the shortlist for murder.

Being English, all three teams opted to select players from a different team to avoid awkward conversations, and a total of 10 players were eventually selected for the murder shortlist.

Two of this year’s cast members – Roxy and Judy – are also mother and daughter; Judy explains that she adopted Roxy when she was four years old.

Although the connection is a deliberate choice this time, other players do not know about their connection yet.

Unlike the celebrity version, Cotton said: “One of the great things about the regular version is that contestants can come in with secrets, whether it’s about their lives or secret relationships.”

When asked how the producers decide when to reveal the relationship to other cast members and viewers, he said: “We never know when we’re going to air it. Once we start shooting, we just go in and wait to see how it turns out.”

The episode opened with the host singing Fleetwood Mac’s Little Lies and then segueing into a cover of The Fugees’ Killing Me Softly.

Both actors are obviously, but they were also deliberately chosen to fit perfectly with the themes of the show.

For season five, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Kelis’ Trick Me, Madeleine Peyroux’s Walkin’ After Midnight, Taylor Swift’s No Body, No Crime, and SZA’s Kill Bill (note: requires a contestant named Bill).

And if any pop stars are reading, we’d love it if one of you could write a song with the word “roundtable” in the title before 2027.

Traitors continues on Friday, January 2 at 20:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.