TWIST AND DOUBT

Another cast of mild eccentrics enter the Traitors castle for a game of deception that's feeling familiar

- Nick Hilton

Few television moments beat last year’s finale of BBC One’s surprise hit, The Traitors. It had everything: a self-destructive mistake, an emotional betrayal, and a final, visceral, release. “I’m the best Traitor in the world!” the winner yelled into the night, champagne in hand. So how do you top that? That’s the task for Claudia Winkleman and co as The Traitors returns with expectations higher than ever.

“New year, whole new game,” announces Winkleman, peering out from beneath her signature fringe. But of course it all feels quietly familiar: the same arrival by steam train, the same castle accommodation, the same twists and turns. Among the contestants this year are a window cleaner with a fear of heights, a former British diplomat, the (now customary) doctor, and a pair of sisters.

Then there are the contestants hiding a secret: the Anglican priest who has stripped off the dog collar, the Londoner who is (for inexplicable reasons) faking a Welsh accent, and the exsoldier who is masquerading as a nail technician, wearing a pink suit and calling herself “assassin Barbie”. All in all, another cast of mild eccentrics.

And The Traitors