Series 4 of The Traitors is right around the corner, and, as promised, they’re already dishing out twists and turns.
Claudia Winkleman’s BBC game show returns on New Year’s Day following Alan Carr’s unlikely £87,500 victory in The Celebrity Traitors’ first series this autumn.
The reigning champion has already promised ‘big’ things to come – and we’ve now got our first look at one of them… in the form of a new cloak.
In the ultimate Christmas Day treat, the programme shared a glimpse of a red cloak, which is set to play a key part in the upcoming series.
But what does it mean?
Taking to social media this evening, the Traitors team posted a clip of the trailer for the new series.
Writing on TikTok, @fliccross said: ‘What the hell????’, while Ellie Henmann said: ‘Screaming!’
What does the Red Cloak mean?
Our Deputy TV Editor, Tom Percival, shares his thoughts on this sinister scarlet shawl…
Such is the power of The Traitors that I’ve taken a break from eating my weight in cheese, turkey, and chocolate to let you know what I think of this new red cloak.
It seems pretty obvious that the show is teasing a new role for season 4, which seems like a smart move to me.
The Traitors has enjoyed unparalleled popularity across its first three seasons (and Celeb special), but the format is starting to show a bit of wear and tear.
Contestants know the rules backwards and forwards now; they have strategies in place, and the game is at risk of getting a bit meta (despite producers’ attempts to stop that type of gameplay).
The addition of a new role will add a bit of spice to this fourth season and remind those playing that you have to expect the unexpected when you enter Claudia’s castle.
But what role does the red cloak have? Well, the boring answer would be a ‘detective-type character’.
In the game Mafia, there’s a player who takes on this role, and they have special powers that allow them to identify the guilty outside of normal gameplay.
People predicted that Celia Imrie might secretly be the detective when Celebrity Traitors was on, but that turned out to be a load of old rubbish.
Honestly, though, I don’t think the detective role will add much to the game. Even if the Faithful finger a Traitor early on, they’ll just be replaced by another, rendering the whole thing a bit pointless.
What would be more fun is a new ‘Super Traitor’ role — a Traitor operating within the Traitors who can target his fellow murderers!
It’d be a dangerous position for sure, but it would help with one of the format’s biggest problems, which is the power the Traitors have when they’re united.
We saw during Celeb Traitors how far a group can get when they form a voting block, and I like to think my imagined ‘Super Traitor’ role would throw a spanner in the works of anyone hoping to manipulate the vote in the future.
@jonwatt876 also theorised: ‘Hear me out…. A red cloak… what if a traitor is selected unknown to the viewers and in the turret the red cloak player always wears the cloak and has their back to the viewer, is never on screen saying anything, and we all have to guess who it is???!!!’
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At the start of December, it was confirmed that The Traitors would return for its fourth civilian instalment on January 1, allowing the nation to kick off 2026 in wicked style.
A fresh group of 22 contestants will head to the Scottish Highlands and enter the now-iconic castle to compete for a potential £120,000 prize.
Together, they must work to build up the prize pot in a string of physically demanding missions
But at the roundtable, it’ll be every player for themselves, as they must oust the chosen Traitors while avoiding banishment themselves.
Then, in the dead of night, the Traitors will meet in their turret and commit a murder, ridding the game of one Faithful entirely.
With three hugely successful seasons already under their belt, it’s likely the BBC will want to freshen things up to keep viewers on their toes next time.
In their official announcement, the broadcaster said: ‘Expect even more twists, turns, secrets, epic missions, deception, banishments and, of course, murders aplenty.’
The first season of The Traitors was won by Faithfuls Hannah Byczkowski, Aaron Evans, and Meryl Williams, while ‘Ultimate Traitor’ Harry Clark stormed to sweet victory in series 2 to steal the jackpot.
But the Faithfuls snatched back the crown in series 3, with Leanne Quigley and Jake Brown splitting £94,600 in the final, having banished Francesca Rowan-Plowden Brown and Alexander Dragonetti out of suspicion and unmasked the lone Traitor left standing, Charlotte Berman.
But will the Faithfuls manage to maintain their winning streak? We can’t wait to find out.
The Traitors returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm on New Year’s Day.
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