BBC delights Traitors fans with future reveal but divides viewers over controversial format change

Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s head of entertainment commissioning, praised the programme’s continued success and the production team behind it.

She said: “We are proud to remain faithful to The Traitors and The Celebrity Traitors until 2030 and wanted to say a big thank you to the outstanding team at Studio Lambert Scotland for bringing it to screen.”

Stephen Lambert, chief executive of Studio Lambert, has meanwhile confirmed that the Secret Traitor twist introduced in series four will not return for the next civilian series.

Speaking at the University of East Anglia, Mr Lambert acknowledged the idea ultimately did not work as intended.

“After the huge success of the Celebrity Traitors, we introduced the idea of a Secret Traitor as a way of doing something that was different, but it wasn't something we wanted to keep going with,” he explained.

“The trouble is you're completely a victim of the edit - and that doesn't feel very satisfying.”

The twist saw Fiona Hughes secretly positioned as a traitor but concealed from both contestants and viewers for three episodes before her identity was revealed.

Mr Lambert said the format works best when viewers are able to follow the deception unfolding in real time.

Speaking to the university audience, he explained that the show’s success lies in balancing familiarity with fresh elements each series.

“What I like about The Traitors is there's so many ways that story can go [...] once you add a different cast and once you think of some additional tweaks here and there,” he said.

Mr Lambert added that other programmes have experimented with hiding key information from viewers, but said it can make outcomes feel unsatisfying because the result depends too heavily on the edit rather than genuine deduction.

The central appeal of The Traitors, he argued, is the tension created when audiences know some contestants are deceiving the rest of the group.

Production on the fifth civilian series is expected to begin this summer alongside filming for the second Celebrity Traitors.

Both editions are currently scheduled to air in 2027.

While the celebrity line-up has not yet been confirmed, several names have been rumoured as possible participants.

Ruth Jones, Danny Dyer and Alison Hammond have all been linked to the upcoming series.

The most recent civilian run drew a peak audience of 9.6 million viewers.

The inaugural Celebrity Traitors proved even more popular, averaging 14.9 million viewers and peaking at 15.4 million for its finale, making it the biggest television audience of 2025.