The Traitors: BBC confirms start date of series 4 as Claudia Winkleman returns with 22 new contestants
It is just around the castle corner!The Traitors will be back on our screens in just a matter of weeks after the BBC confirmed the start date for the new series.
Claudia Winkleman is returning to Ardross Castle for series 4 of the smash hit show with 22 new faces in tow.
Hot on the heels of the hugely successful Celebrity Traitors, the constants all have their eyes on the mega-money prize.
It has been announced today that The Traitors will be returning with a three-night extravaganza. Here’s everything we know, including its very important start date!
The Traitors: BBC confirms its return
The Traitors first hit BBC One in November 2022 with Claudia Winkleman at its helm. Fans were skeptical, as they were already used to seeing Claud in sparkles on a Saturday night in Strictly Come Dancing.
Despite any initial concerns, the show was an instant success. But there was a long wait for more. The second series of The Traitors didn’t kick off until January 2024. This was followed exactly one year later, in January this year, by series 3.
The good news is, the BBC confirmed series 4 of The Traitors long ago. Bosses revealed the fourth instalment during the Edinburgh TV Festival in June 2024. This was six months before series 3 had even gone out. They clearly knew by this stage they were on to a good thing!
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC, said at the time: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level.
“It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!”
The BBC confirmed this year’s The Celebrity Traitors at the same time, which is obviously now over. Comedian Alan Carr was victorious in his reign as a Traitor last month.
The Traitors series 4: How many contestants? What is the prize?
Series 4 of The Traitors is already wrapped and canned. The new series of The Traitors was filmed in its usual home, Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, earlier this summer.
Applications for series 4 contestants opened in August 2024, shortly after the series was confirmed. It was open for a long window, too! The period ran until the end of March this year, when the next Traitors and Faithfuls were selected.
Claudia Winkleman, the cast and crew – plus a brand new batch of contestants – were then scheduled to film across a four-week period in June 2025.
The BBC has now confirmed there are 22 contestants in series 4 of The Traitors – and the potential prize pot is £120,000.
A spokesperson said: “Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, series four of The Traitors will see 22 people from across the UK descend on a Scottish Castle to try and win up to £120k. Expect even more twists, turns, secrets, epic missions, deception, banishments and, of course, murders aplenty.”
Who won the last series of The Traitors?
Series 3 of The Traitors was won by Faithfuls Jake Brown and Leanne Quigley. The pair successfully outwitted the Traitors and walked away with a prize pot of £94,600 out of a possible £120,000.
The first series was won by Aaron Evans, Hannah Byczkowski and Meryl Williams. They were all Faithfuls and received £101,050 in prize money.
But it was a Traitor who struck lucky for the second. Harry Clark walked away with £95,150 after pulling the wool over his fellow Faithfuls’ eyes until the bitter end.
When does series 4 of The Traitors start?
The BBC has confirmed series 4 of The Traitors starts on New Year’s Day. The episode will air at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursday January 1, 2026. What a way to jumpstart the new year!
The great news is, the show kicks off with a three-night extravaganza. Episode 2 will follow at 8pm on Friday January 2, with episode 3 at the slightly earlier time of 7.45pm on Saturday January 3.
The BBC has also announced that spin-off show and podcast Uncloaked is also making a comeback. Host Ed Gamble returns and will be joined by celebrities and previous contestants to dissect all that is going on.
Uncloaked will air straight after The Traitors at 9.05pm on BBC Two on New Year’s Day. But from then on, it will air on BBC One instead, straight after the main show, for the remainder of the series.
Will there be a series 2 of The Celebrity Traitors?
The BBC confirmed there will be a second series of The Celebrity Traitors last month.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC, said the show had “truly captivated the nation, becoming a bona fide highlight of the year”.
She added: “In 2026 the doors of the castle will be opened again to welcome celebrity players to the game to see who can charm, who can scheme and ultimately who can survive in series two which promises to be just as unmissable as the first.”
Exciting or what?!
