Claudia Winkleman will be back in the iconic Scottish castle on Wednesday evening as The Traitors returns, this time with celebrities competing on behalf of either the traitors or the faithful.
Ms Winkleman’s BBC competition show launched in 2022 and has built up a huge fanbase, with the first ever celebrity edition having been confirmed earlier this year.
Fans of the show have expressed excitement over the line-up, but the host herself admitted she “welled up” upon meeting one star.
The 53-year-old presenter revealed she was overcome with emotion when she met actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer Stephen Fry, 68.
BBC's Celebrity Traitors premieres on Wednesday
|BBC
When asked how it felt to have celebrity fans eager to take part in the show, the Strictly Come Dancing host told the BBC: "It's an absolute honour.
"I could barely breathe when I saw them all in the Highlands. I'm such a fan of every single one of them.
"The whole team were just in awe, it was hard not to scream 'you're here!'
"When I talked to Stephen Fry I almost welled up, I told him 'this was my dream.'
The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman became emotional upon meeting Stephen Fry
|BBC
"We're incredibly lucky to have the cast that we have. Each one of them is tremendous."
The award-winning series will this time see a group of famous faces arriving at the Scottish Highlands castle to try their hands at the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust.
The celebrities could win up to £100,000 for their chosen charities.
Ms Winkleman also admitted she’s been "scared" to extend the show to a celebrity edition.
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She reflected: "I was scared. Only because I’m in love with this show and I wanted to keep it small.
"Once a year or maybe once every two years felt like enough. My bosses thank goodness ignored everything I said."
Ms Winkleman summarised the key differences between the upcoming celebrity version of the show and the original series.
“I do think it's going to be interesting. I think it will be almost impossible,” she commented.
Claudia Winkleman was initially 'scared' by the idea of a celebrity edition of The Traitors
|BBC
"The big difference between The Celebrity Traitors and The Traitors is we do have some conception, or preconception of the people in it with us.
"If only because we know that they've achieved quite a lot in their chosen field.
Claudia Winkleman returns to screens for Celebrity Traitors on Wednesday
|BBC
"I think it's going to be very hard for us to not have that impact in some way on our decisions.
"It's going to be fascinating to see whether we can overcome our initial preconceptions of people and just try and evaluate them in the moment."