The Traitors: First UK celebrity series announced

The BBC has announced that reality TV show The Traitors is returning, with a celebrity series.

The nine-parter was announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival, but it is not known when it will be made or broadcast, or who will be taking part.

There will also be a fourth series featuring members of the public, and a third has already been filmed in the Scottish Highlands.

The murder-mystery gameshow sees several contestants chosen to become traitors capable of killing off rivals in a bid to secure a large cash prize.

This will be the UK’s first celebrity version of the show.

There have been two series of the programme in the US – one featuring both celebrities and members of the public and a second which just had celebrities. That series included the likes of former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow and Love Island star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.

Both the American series were filmed at the same location used for the UK show.

The Traitors in the UK became a hit on its debut in 2022, and the series two finale, which aired in January 2024, was viewed by nearly seven million people.

The series has also won several prizes, including a TV Bafta, a National Television Award and an Royal Television Society award.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s head of entertainment, said: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level.

“It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!”