Claudia Winkleman has shared insights from filming the ‘epic’ second season of The Traitors.
The Strictly presenter, 51, played host to the first season of the psychological reality competition last year, which saw chosen ‘Traitors’ compete against the ‘Faithfuls’.
The new show caught the attention of the nation, attracting an average audience of 5.4 million and was so popular that a second series was commissioned in February.
Claudia will greet 22 strangers as they arrive at a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands to play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.
The new series is now just weeks away and will launch on January 3 at 9pm on BBC One.
Claudia Winkleman has shared insights from filming the ‘epic’ second season of The Traitors
The Strictly presenter, 51, played host to the first season of the psychological reality competition last year
Shedding some light on what fans can expect from the new season, Claudia said: ‘The missions this year are epic.
‘The producers are so clever as the missions are incredibly important as it is a chance for the contestants to switch off from strategising and plotting.
‘They get fresh air, they run around, they work as a team. The scale this year is beyond.’
She added that people came in with new strategies this year – as they have now had the advantage of watching a whole series to see how it works.
She continued: ‘They are all excellent. They come having seen the first series so are more quick to suspect but they all play a brilliant game. I wish I could say more but I’ll be fired…
‘It definitely gave them some tips and you can see some arrive and play the game immediately. But the game itself is so strong that however prepared you think you are, you’re not.’
Tight-lipped Claudia added that there are several ‘stand-out’ moments from the new series – but that she couldn’t shed any light on what they could be.
She said: ‘It definitely gets extremely tense, it did in the first series too but there’s one round table in this episode when I came out shaking.’
In this nail-biting psychological reality competition, Claudia Winkleman greets 22 strangers as they arrive at a beautiful castle in the Scottish But hidden amongst them are The Traitors whose job is to secretly murder a player every night, without getting caught.
It’s up to the others, the Faithfuls, to try to detect who the traitors are, and banish them from the game, before they become their next victim.
For the lucky ones who survive to the end, they have the chance of winning that life-changing cash. But if a Traitor remains undetected, they’ll steal all the money.
However, Claudia said that she never expected the show to reach the success it did.
She said: ‘We really had no idea and when it did well we just couldn’t believe it. It floored all of us and made us extremely happy.
She added that she is ‘so excited’ for the upcoming season – but at the same time she is ‘terrified’ it won’t be as popular as the first.
And in terms of her outfits, she said people can expect an ‘awful lot of tweed’.
Along with announcing the launch date, BBC bosses have released a brand new image from the second series, showing Claudia standing in front of two cloaked figures.
The Traitors, a a nail-biting psychological reality competition hosted by Claudia Winkleman, has renewed for a third season before series two even airs
Their identity remains hidden suggesting they are Traitors on the show but interestingly there are only two figures, given there were three Traitors on last year’s show.
The contestants for season two have yet to be announced.
It has been claimed that as a result of The Traitors’ new slot, season 18 of The Apprentice has been pushed back until February.
The first season of The Traitors, which was set in a Scottish castle, launched at the end of November 2022 and concluded December 22.
Earlier this month it was revealed season two of The Traitors will have a new spin-off, but Claudia won’t be at the helm.
While she will remain the host of the main show, a special spin-off podcast will be presented by comedian Ed Gamble.
The Traitors: Uncloaked is a brand new visualised podcast, that will take fans of the smash-hit entertainment show deeper into the castle.
It will feature a string of cast members as well as celebrity guests, who will be on hand to discuss all the betrayals, mind games and manipulations.
Ed said of his new role: ‘The first series of The Traitors was my absolute obsession, and I cannot wait to delve deep into series two and dissect all the twists and turns it has to offer. It goes without saying that I am 100 percent faithful.’
The episodes will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, and an extended version with additional guests, further theories and essential analysis available on BBC Sounds.
The Traitors will launch on January 3 at 9pm on BBC One, and episodes 2 and 3 will be available on iPlayer immediately after. Going forward the show will air Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.
Claudia will greet 22 strangers as they arrive at a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands
