The Traitors is officially back, with the cult classic reality show returning to our screens in the New Year. And from Claudia Winkleman’s enviable knitwear to a host of eccentric competitors, season three is already off to a bang.
The BBC reality show sees 25 contestants go head to head, secretly divided into ‘Faithfuls’ and ‘Traitors’, with the two teams working against each other to eliminate players, for the £120,000 prize pot.
And with this year’s line-up seeing a soldier posing as a nail technician, a traitor-faithful sister duo and a Londoner using a welsh accent to “appear more trustworthy”, The Traitors season three is already tipped to go down as one of the most talked-about shows of 2025.
It is the competitors’ experience that is getting the nation talking this year, with more people than ever wanting to sign up for the show. And from The Traitors contestants sleeping arrangements, to the song they are played before every round table discussion, the details are going viral.
This week, it was a secret behind the TV show’s casting process that made news, as executive producers revealed the surprising test that potential contestants must pass in order to be selected.
The hurdle in question – ‘The Pub Test’, with creators reportedly looking to choose likeable contestants who viewers would go to the pub with.
“Players have to be likeable,” executive producer Lewis Thurlow explained to The Times. “One thing we always think is: would you like to sit down with them in the pub and have a drink? Because they’re playing a game, and if they’re playing a traitor, it’s a role.”
He continued: “We don’t feel like we have to try to cast a villain, because the game brings that out in people naturally.
“It’s like putting a jury together,” he later continued. “We have a cross-section of the UK, but above all, their reasons [for being on the show] have to be that they want to play the game. There’s not really any other reality show that can cast anyone – all ages, all backgrounds – and we celebrate that. You want to feel like you’re watching someone you know, or who’s like yourself.”
The Traitors is available to watch on BBC, with new episodes released every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.