Ardross Castle is sticking around (Picture: Shutterstock / Minukhin)
The Traitors fans have two reasons to celebrate – the third series begins tonight and also, BBC have reportedly made a bold choice that indicates the longevity of the series.
Ardross Castle in Alness, north of Inverness in the Scottish Highland, is a location that viewers have got used to seeing on their screens and may continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The soaring popularity of the gameshow hosted by Claudia Winkleman has been enough to urge the team behind the show to book the picturesque building and its surrounding land to ensure it remains part of the programme. The producers are said to have booked the Scottish castle, where the prior episodes have been filmed for the next six years.
‘The ultimate nightmare would be if the producers tried to return to Ardross Castle after the Beeb commissioned more series only to find it was unavailable,’ a TV insider told The Sun.
They added that the castle is in ‘huge demand’ for weddings, with the amount of bookings increasing following the show’s success.
‘Without taking this bold measure, it was at risk of becoming a victim of its own success,’ they continued.
Ardross Castle has become synonymous with the UK show (Picture: Peter Jolly/REX/Shutterstock)
The regal decor fits in with the vibe of the series (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells)
The production team are limited on when they can film the show too due to their desire to provide a moody and dark aesthetic. Long summer days are avoided, and instead late spring and early autumn are desirable.
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While the location may stay the same, fans will be getting something new this year – a celebrity version! The first of its kind will reportedly feature actor Stephen Fry, soap legend Danny Dyer and Friends star Courteney Cox.
The third outing of the civilian series will be back on screens tonight with fans already declaring they’ve found ‘the next Dianne’.
The new series begins tonight (Picture: Cody Burridge/BBC/PA Wire)
The Traitors could get a celebrity version (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells)
The location is also used for the record-breaking USA version, presented by Scottish actor Alan Cumming. The host previously removed some of the mystique around the show’s filming by revealing where the contestants really sleep at night.
‘Spoiler alert: None of us stayed in the castle. None of us,’ he told Daily Beast.
‘They [the contestants] all stayed in the airport hotel in the Inverness airport. How glamorous—you come to Scotland and you stay in the Inverness airport hotel.’
Claudia is the perfect host (Picture: Cody Burridge/BBC/PA Wire)
The Traitors has become hugely popular (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells)
The BBC’s investment makes sense as it’s quickly become one of their staple shows.
6.9 million people watched the last finale where the Traitor Harry Clark was victorious after tricking Faithful Mollie Pierce, and 300,000 people applied to battle it out for a share of £120,000 in the upcoming series.
The castle is beautiful (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/LLARA PLAZA)
The breakfast room is a recognised staple of the show (Picture: BBC)
The show’s rules are relatively simple but lead to a game of complicated deceit.
There are two teams – Traitors and Faithfuls. The Traitors must not be discovered to win, and the Faithfuls must try to figure out who they are to win.
Each day every remaining person votes for who should be banished in a round table, and the surviving Traitors get to then secretly murder players too.
Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC for comment.
The Traitors begins tonight on BBC One at 8pm.
This article was originally published on March 27, 2024.
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