A star of the upcoming Celebrity Traitors series has said ‘friendships went out the window’ during the intense BBC gameshow.
The hugely popular reality series, which started in 2022, sees two-dozen contestants aiming to be the last one standing in order to win a huge cash prize.
Each of the show’s hopefuls is chosen to be either a Faithful or a Traitor, with the identity of the three Traitors unknown to the Faithfuls at first.
It’s up to the Faithfuls to complete tasks and rat out the Traitors before the Traitors – if they’re still in play – steal the money as a group at the end of the game.
The series, based on Dutch show De Verraders, has proved to be one of the biggest new reality concepts in years and has already spawned a celebrity version.
And the line-up looks absolutely stellar, including dozens of famous faces like Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross, Sir Stephen Fry, Paloma Faith, Tom Daley, Kate Garraway, and so many more.
Among them is sports presenter Clare Balding, who is one of 19 faces that headed to Ardross Castle in northern Scotland to film for the series.
She admitted that lots of old friendships which have withstood years in the TV and entertainment industry didn’t last long once the game was underway.
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Speaking to The Sun, she said: ‘It is so intense, and you get completely obsessed with the game. Obviously, I knew quite a lot of them before I went in, but the friendships you had before go out the window!
‘That, for me, is very challenging because I like to be friends with everyone. It’s brutal, but I think I’m glad I did it. It will make good TV, and there are some really strong moments.’
Who is in the Celebrity Traitors 2025 line-up?
Alan Carr
Cat Burns
Celia Imrie
Charlotte Church
Clare Balding
David Olusoga
Joe Marler
Joe Wilkinson
Jonathan Ross
Kate Garraway
Lucy Beaumont
Mark Bonnar
Nick Mohammed
Niko Omilana
Paloma Faith
Ruth Codd
Sir Stephen Fry
Tameka Empson
Tom Daley
However, while some friendships were cast aside, Clare has excitedly revealed that she made lots of new ones during her time filming in Ross and Cromarty.
‘It was lovely to get more time to hang out with people like Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie, Charlotte Church, who’s an absolute superstar, and a really cool young singer called Cat Burns.’
In the interview, Clare, who has hosted horse racing and Olympics coverage for years, said she has made sure to watch all seasons of the civilian Traitors thus far.
And it seems she’s become a massive fan, jumping at the chance to appear on the Celebrity Traitors when the call came.
‘I wanted to do it because I wanted to experience the show, and I was really lucky they said yes to letting me. I think I was one of the first ones signed up, actually, me and Stephen Fry.’
Celebrity Traitors will start in the autumn of 2025, with no official premiere date released by the BBC yet.
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