Claudia Winkleman confirms huge new twist for The Traitors season two

Claudia Winkleman has confirmed a huge new twist for The Traitors season two, as excitement mounts for the show’s return at the beginning of next year.

The first instalment had us all hooked when it hit screens at the end of last year, with many of us going on to binge the USA and Australian versions - all based on the original Dutch TV show De Verraders (Dutch for 'The Traitors'), which premiered back in 2021 – to get a further fix.

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman and filmed in the gorgeous Scottish Highlands, the UK’s 'nail-biting psychological reality competition' sees 22 strangers play the 'ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust', in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

The programme is filled with drama as 'Faithful' contestants try to weed out the 'Traitors' hiding in plain sight among them, which inevitably proves much harder than it sounds.

BBC

The premise became an instant hit with viewers, who watched on with glee as everyone bickered their way into banishing Faithfuls they were convinced were lying, while the Traitors sat back and let the world burn.

Well, the good news is it’s returning soon, with season two launching on the BBC on 3 January, and the even better news is that things are looking even bigger and better.

Speaking to the BBC about the forthcoming series, host Claudia Winkleman 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.”

When asked if she could give viewers any hints of ‘anything new to come’ in the new series, Winkleman remained fairly tight-lipped – but did reveal one major shake-up to the format.

“I wish I could,” she replied.

“I think I’m allowed to say the armoury has gone and now there’s a kitchen. That’s it!”

BBC

Yep, this time round there’s no armoury – the place where contestants on the winning team were given a chance to secure a shield, which would give them immunity from being murdered.

This could have quite a big impact on the game, leaving questions of whether players will have another way of getting immunity, or if it'll just be every man for himself.

Oddly, the Aussie version didn’t have an armoury for its first season, but introduced one for the second instalment, which dropped in the summer.

Watch the new series of The Traitors UK from 3 January on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.