‘We don’t need middle management,’ yell the new batch of traitors. With just one audacious tweak, the hit show promises to become even more satisfying – and full of bombshells
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ew year, new killing spree. This is the third time the BBC has dropped a new season of The Traitors on or close to 1 January, enshrining a great new British tradition of easing into the new year with a month-long “psychological game of deception” – and, after a slow-burn start to the first season back in 2022, audiences have now learned to bay for fresh blood at Claudia Winkleman’s bell.
This fourth “civilian” season comes just a month after The Celebrity Traitors finale, which drew a record 15m viewers, sent some of its contestants’ profiles skyrocketing (and called others into question – Nick, what happened?) and is still generating headlines from the retrospective play-by-play.
By this point, The Traitors is about as close as we come to appointment viewing in the streaming age, singlehandedly convincing audiences to stump up for TV licences. Yet, after the barnstorming success of The Celebrity Traitors – and that jaw-dropping finale, which saw Alan Carr, the best-worst Traitor ever, somehow seize victory from his loyal faithfuls – even diehards fans might well be asking themselves: how can this new season top that?
