If you were one of the 10 million+ who tuned into The Traitors UK earlier this year (or The Celebrity Traitors last year), then congratulations because there is a lot of good news. For starters, you have great taste: The Claudia Winkleman-led game show has gripped the nation since it began and it's wonderful to see so many people responding so positively to it - a trend mirrored around the world as the Traitors franchise grows its reach by the year. But there's a second, bigger reason to be excited.
The BBC has officially renewed The Traitors and The Celebrity Traitors through to 2030! Yes, that means we're getting at least three or four more series / seasons of both programs - both of which already air annually. Yes, yes,: It's Claudia Winkleman's world and we're all just living in it.
As reported by Deadline, the BBC announced the huge renewal during a speech to The Royal Television Society, with Studio Lambert CEO Lambert adding:
“The Traitors has become a genuine television phenomenon across the world, but especially in the UK, and we’re thrilled to continue the journey with the BBC.”
The renewal news shouldn't come as a surprise as the civilian version of the series just enjoyed its most successful season to date, with the season 4 finale achieving an incredible 9.4 million viewers on the night, with an audience peak of 9.6 million and a 54% audience share. To put it frankly: Nobody is doing it like The Traitors. And the same goes for its host!
Claudia Winkleman has been a fixture of the BBC for over two decades, as she co-hosted Strictly Come Dancing with Tess Daly until the pair's departure from the long-running program last year. The Traitors first launched in 2022 on the channel to immense success, with the hype and anticipation building each and every season. The UK iteration of the show doesn't feature celebrities, so when The Celebrity Traitors came along as a completely separate spinoff, it hooked the nation in the second half of the year (while the main series did the same in the first half). Of course, Claudia hosted that, too!
Winkleman is widely regarded as the special ingredient that separates the UK edition from every other iteration of the show. Her quirky mannerisms and hilarious one-liners have been a staple of the BBC for years (on both Strictly and The Traitors) but the global expansion of the franchise has seen her reach global audiences.
Her growth in popularity has seen the BBC invest even more into its partnership with her, as she will now host The Claudia Winkleman Show - which comes from the same production team as the uber-successful Graham Norton Show. The premiere episode will air on BBC One and iPlayer this Friday, March 13.
Although Winkleman's departure from Strictly has left the legendary dance show with a tough task of replacing her and Tess (who made an incredible partnership), we're all thrilled to know that we'll still be seeing plenty of Clauida on our screens through to 2030. To quote Claudia herself: It is brilliant!