Claudia Winkleman’s mystery series, The Traitors UK, has been a sensation since it first aired in 2022 – but there’s a lot we don’t see.
Fans are eagerly awaiting the launch of series 2 on Wednesday, January 3 at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with 22 hopeful contestants vying for the prize money of up to £120,000. After the last series, viewers were curious about the behind-the-scenes secrets from the show.
Viewers will be able to watch newbies take on the challenge, but it’s not all as smoothly run as we see on our TV screens.
READ MORE: Claudia Winkleman fears Traitors axe as she prepares for ‘biggest’ series yet
READ MORE: Claudia Winkleman admits she asked BBC bosses to axe The Traitors and wanted to quit
From the intense scenes to the complete ban on phones, the ex cast mates have shared it all. As we prepare to sit down and watch a brand new series, we’ve pieced together some of the secrets from the show.
‘Intense’ roundtable
(Image: BBC)
One of the key features of the show is the iconic roundtables, where remaining contestants decide who to banish in an attempt to eliminate the Traitors. These sessions are always dramatic and crucial, with contestants either defending themselves or pointing fingers at others.
Last season’s stars Aaron, Meryl and Hannah spilled the beans on their time at the roundtables on This Morning. Meryl shared: “Our hands were sweating, we didn’t know what to do. I was like, if I drink the water are people going to think I’m a Traitor, if I don’t drink the water, are they going to think I’m a Traitor? It was so intense.”
Hannah said: “I think it was more intense than it was on TV,” while Aaron revealed: “Even as Faithfuls, we all knew we were Faithfuls, but you start questioning what a Faithful should do. It’s so nerve-wracking all the time.”
Aaron also let slip that the roundtables took “25 to 30 minutes of people going on at each other and giving opinions,” and Meryl confirmed there were no breaks, with things getting super intense at times.
Filming schedule
(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert/LLARA PLAZA)
The Traitors star Maddy Smedley opened up in a Q&A on social media about the filming schedule. She used all her annual leave for the show, saying: “So, I was there for three weeks before I was [gesturing to say she had the chop] not murdered but banished. But yeah, three weeks, and I think they went another three or four days or something. But you get there two days before you start the game, and you are in isolation.”
Another fan asked how far the castle was from where the celebs sleep, and she said it’s a “20 to 30-minute drive” with a new driver each night.
Ex-contestant Rayan Rachedi chatted about how long they film for. He mentioned that there aren’t really any breaks and sometimes they film or don’t, depending on what’s needed.
Security and Phones
(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza)
In the same Q&A, Maddy told fans they can’t have their phones. “Nope, no phones, nothing,” she said. She shared that security checks their bags before the show starts.
Maddy had a funny story about security when she brought a balaclava by mistake. Her boyfriend Tom ordered a bobble hat but got a balaclava instead. She took it as a joke for the mystery-themed show.
“I had that in my bag as a joke,” she explained. “And I was going to be like ‘Oh look, tell that to the police [while in the show]’, but they checked your suitcase. So I had to explain to the security guard that it was just a joke.”
‘Scripted’
Last summer, contestant Rayan Rachedi spilled the beans on whether the show was scripted or not. He revealed that each morning, the stars would find out who was ‘murdered’ the night before by seeing who didn’t turn up for breakfast.
“It’s not scripted,” Rayan confessed to Metro.co.uk. “You genuinely do not know. You have no clue who’s going to join you for breakfast.”
He added: “That’s why you see people genuinely surprised when they knock on the door. They’re truly happy because they’ve survived another night.”
Maddy also confirmed it wasn’t scripted during her Q&A session. She explained: “I know Tom [Elderfield], the magician said it was scripted, but he was just joking. Nothing was scripted, only the bit where they [BBC] said, ‘Madd, you have got to repeat that again of you surviving breakfast’ [so I re-said] ‘and I survived breakfast.'”
“So, I had to repeat the acting thing as I had said it off the cuff when we were taking our microphones off because I wanted to leave, and I was being dramatic. These things happen, but nothing is scripted, it’s not like Made in Chelsea, where they give you a topic. It is literally just the whole day and whatever they film. There are even cameras in the corner, so even when you think there is no one holding a camera at you, there are cameras.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
