ROGUES GALLERY?

Which of these famous faces will hoodwink them all? Presenter Claudia Winkleman and three of the 19 contestants discuss trust and deception as The Celebrity Traitors hits our screens. By LYNN RUSK

- LYNN RUSK

Each one of them is tremendous.”

IN a world dominated by Netflix, TikTok, and doom scrolling, event TV has become a rare phenomenon, but a few shows still manage to capture audiences.

When The Traitors premiered in November 2022, the reality competition series drew an average of 5.4 million viewers each week, eager to watch the latest twists of deception and betrayal.

Since then, the murder-mystery-style psychology game, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, has aired three series and is now gearing up for a celebrity edition.

The show, adapted from the Dutch series De Verraders, pits a group of secretly appointed “traitors” against a majority of “faithfuls.” It’s up to the faithfuls to identify the traitors and banish them from the game before they become the next victims.

Players who survive to the end have the chance to win the prize money but if a traitor goes undetected, they'll take it all.

The Celebrity Traitors will see 19 famous faces, including broadcaster Clare Balding and singer Paloma Faith, gather in the Scottish Highlands for the chance to win up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.

Retired Olympic diver Tom Daley, actor Sir Stephen Fry and Thursday Murder Club star Celia Imrie are also among the competitors.

Joining them are former England rugby player and podcaster Joe Marler, actresses Tameka Empson and Ruth Codd, Welsh singer Charlotte Church, singer Cat Burns, and comedians Alan Carr and Nick Mohammed.

Rounding out the cast are comedians Lucy Beaumont and Joe Wilkinson, historian David Olusoga, Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, YouTube star Niko Omilana, Scottish actor Mark Bonnar and presenter Jonathan Ross.