Secrets of The Traitors
Q Is there just one confessional room?
It seems like contestants always use the same room but this would slow down filming too much. There are actually four or five rooms, all absolutely identical.
Q
Are the contestants allowed to smoke and drink?
Players are allowed smoking or vaping breaks but under no circumstances are they left alone.
They’re allowed alcohol – you’ve probably seen them having a drink after banishments.
There’s a two-drink limit but Wilfred, a traitor from the first series, revealed: “They said two but they [staff] always disappeared after one.
“They don’t want us to mess up and get drunk and accidentally do something.” Q What’s the round table banishment room like?
Freezing. One of the production’s secrets is to keep the air conditioning on full blast, which makes everyone feel even more panicky.
The players are also made to listen to a song before they start the banishment – The Hanging Tree from The Hunger Games soundtrack.
Q Are the contestants ever left alone?
Only once they are in their hotel rooms. Otherwise, players are constantly supervised to make sure no conversations take place about the game while the cameras are not rolling.
Security personnel guard them the whole time so that no one can play dirty and find out who is a traitor in private chats.
According to Claire from series one, the cast are even blindfolded and taken back to the hotel individually to prevent any guessing games about who the traitors are.
Q
Do all the cast apply for the show?
While anyone is able to apply for The Traitors through an online process, the producers also scout some of the cast members.
Producers have said they don’t want fameseekers as it kills the show’s authenticity.
They sometimes scout people from poker and chess clubs, or strategy game fans.
Q
Are the Traitors really chosen by Claudia herself?
Of course we all know that Claudia, in her fingerless gloves and Fair Isle jumpers, is the queen of everything and she is seen anointing traitors on screen. While she may also consult producers about who would be best, she certainly plays a part in the decision.
Q What’s the filming schedule like?
Filming days can go on for hours. It’s an intense schedule, with reports that some days contestants film until the wee hours.
But season one player Meryl Williams revealed that while Monday to Saturday was jam-packed, they at least had Sundays off.
Q How scripted is the show?
While we know much of reality television can be heavily scripted, The Traitors is not.
Wilf, star of series one, revealed that they were given no direction at all so that everything just played out naturally.
He said: “We forgot about the cameras.” Although they didn’t have any direct involvement with the contestants, the producers did pull strings behind the scenes, he said, going to extreme lengths to keep the players in the dark about who was a traitor and how the game would proceed each day.
Q
Do the contestants get to keep any memorabilia?
It’s probably not possible to make off with any of the BBC’s props but Wilf revealed producers did send them each their photos, the ones that we see framed on the wall.
They did also get sent The Traitors board game… though they have probably had enough trauma by that stage.
Are the breakfasts as delicious as they look?
Are they allowed to roam freely about the castle?