The Traitors is a welcome break from airbrushed reality TV – no wonder we’re all obsessed

A brand-new reality TV concept, BBC’s The Traitors has quickly become a pop culture talking point. Combining an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery with a competition pinned in mind games and psychological manipulation, Claudia Winkleman welcomes 22 ordinary British contestants to an eerie Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. 

The premise? A handful of these seemingly innocent bunch are selected as “traitors”, the sly individuals responsible for strategically killing off – metaphorically – an unfortunate member of the group each night. Competing in challenges akin to an adult version of CBBC’s Raven, the contestants need to build the pot of money – the maximum final amount resting at £120,000 – for the winner to take home. 

But that’s not all. Each night, the group come together at the “round table” to discuss who they think should be banished as a “traitor,” and as expected, these nightly sessions have made for intense drama. Immensely captivating, this unique set-up has been a hit amongst TV audiences. Though the first episode welcomed an initial 2.9 million views, subsequent instalments have gathered a cult following: the first episode now boasts an immense 5 million streams on iPlayer.

Psychologically, it makes for exciting viewing. There’s an odd joy in watching those who we know to be “faithfuls” accused of being a “traitor.” All it takes is one slightly off comment for suspicions to be roused: just one person voicing these concerns can be enough to trigger a bandwagon-type chain reaction, as we saw in the first ousting of 45-year-old accounts supervisor Nicky. If we didn’t know who the traitors were, perhaps we as an audience would fall for this, too. This alone goes some way towards explaining the show’s success.

Importantly, The Traitors feels fresh. These days, reality TV concepts are overdone, rehashed and reformatted for us to consume vapidly. But in this, we’ve got an exciting premise based on the Dutch series De Verraders. As a host, Claudia Winkleman seems genuinely excited, performing her role with the essence of campery we’ve come to expect. 

As anticipated, audiences have taken to social media to profess their love for this beguiling cast. 54-year-old estate agent Amanda has borne the forefront of this adoration. Despite her soothing Welsh accent and seemingly innocent manner, she was destined to be one of Winkleman’s traitors. Speaking candidly to the camera in her confessionals, she’s managed to curate a totally split personality: unsuspecting for the best part of three weeks, her peers lapped up her morally virtuous image as she schemed each demise by night. Dressed in long, black cloaks – akin to the wraiths in What We Do In The Shadows or the death eaters in the Harry Potter franchise – this amusing embellishment only adds to the drama.