As the traitors approach their prey… the faithfuls stand sipping from their glass chalices, none the wiser that their time in this world… could soon be up.
Replace traitors with killer whales and faithfuls with seals (minus the glassware), and you’ve got yourself an intense BBC nature documentary.
Well, what if I told you that these programmes may have served as some of the inspiration behind the much-loved series that has taken the world by storm?
In an interview, the man behind The Traitors revealed that David Attenborough may have had a small part to play in the creation of the concept.
Talking about what helped inspire his idea for the social experiment, Marc Pos told The Times: ‘I wanted to watch people like David Attenborough does with animals.
‘I wanted to watch people who don’t trust each other.’
When you think about it, the nature documentary and reality game show are more similar than you might realise.
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Shows like Planet Earth reveal the brutal environment in which a natural pecking order determines who stays and who doesn’t. And in many ways, The Celebrity Traitors does the same.
On this season of the game show, some hypotheses for murders and banishments have included speculation around an ‘unspoken hierarchy’ that has seen lesser known figures leave the castle first.
Joe Marler’s ‘big dog theory’ supports the idea that bigger characters with more authority and weight behind them, could have more influence and power in the process.
And pack mentality is undeniable, in a game that can see contestants turn on their fellow players quicker than a cackle of hyenas in search of some dinner.
The comparisons with the natural world are endless. Maybe this is what makes it such good watching?
It’s the closest I’ve felt to seeing the unfiltered reactions of celebrities to real (if not slightly constructed) situations.
Clare Balding lambasting herself for messing up the first challenge, Jonathan Ross losing his cool after coming under some heat, and Mark Bonnar furiously lamenting after finding out they accidentally banished a faithful.
Another notable environmental factor, that many argue comes into play each season, is unconscious bias.
Users on X pointed it out this time around after the first two celebrities to be banished, Niko and Tameka, were both Black.
@atasteofcath said: ‘I love the traitors but the unconscious bias every season is quite eye opening, as this is a reflection of society basically.’
Another user, @big_man_joshyy, agreed: ‘Unconscious bias is a powerful thing when you have nothing else to go on.’
And @AlexGarlitos argued: ‘I think it’s well documented that in the early eps the unconscious bias is rife’.
It all comes back to Pos’ idea of who people instinctively trust, and who they don’t.
The show holds a mirror up to society and networks then broadcast it to the nation.
So, despite David Attenborough being likely too old to join the all-star line-up next season (we’re not sure a 99-year-old should be plunging his face into a cold well of water), his influence and involvement in the show shall now forever live on.
The Celebrity Traitors returns tonight at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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