The upcoming BBC series, Celebrity Traitors, is set to explore the "established relationships" among its famous cast, with producers indicating that tension will be amplified by leveraging these pre-existing friendships. Hosted by Strictly Come Dancing co-presenter Claudia Winkleman, the nine-part series, filmed in the Scottish Highlands, will offer celebrity contestants the chance to win a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice. The core challenge remains for participants to identify the "traitors" among them or successfully deceive their fellow stars.

The star-studded lineup heading to Ardross Castle includes actor and broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry, Olympian Tom Daley, singer Charlotte Church, and TV presenter Kate Garraway. They will be joined by comedian Alan Carr, EastEnders star Tameka Empson, Scottish actor Mark Bonnar, broadcaster Clare Balding, singer Cat Burns, comedian Joe Wilkinson, singer Paloma Faith, Irish actress Ruth Codd, comedian Nick Mohammed, former England rugby player Joe Marler, writer and actress Lucy Beaumont, historian David Olusoga, acclaimed actress Celia Imrie, broadcaster Jonathan Ross, and influencer Niko Omilana.

Mike Cotton, creative director of unscripted shows at Studio Lambert and executive producer for The Traitors, explained that the celebrity edition will differ from the US celebrity version and significantly from the standard British version where contestants are strangers. Cotton stated, "I think one of the really interesting things...is the established relationships that cast members have...what we’ve learned to do more in the US version is to embrace… people’s preconceived notions about one another, and embrace the different relationships that they have. And that’s 100% a learning that we are taking through for that." In the regular British show, contestants often conceal personal connections, whereas Celebrity Traitors will lean into these known histories.

Producer Sam Rees Jones elaborated on this approach, saying the team has tried to "dial into previous relationships and dynamics." He referenced how this strategy allowed for deeper storytelling in the US version, hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming, which has featured personalities like Sam Asghari, former House of Commons speaker John Bercow, and Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu. Rees Jones explained, "it helped us deep dive into those dynamics straight away," citing examples of how past histories between contestants could influence strategic decisions.

Several existing connections within the Celebrity Traitors cast are expected to play a role. Sir Stephen Fry will reunite with Celia Imrie, with whom he starred in the legal show Kingdom and the comedy film Thunderpants. Comedian Alan Carr has appeared on Lucy Beaumont’s comedy Meet The Richardsons. Additionally, comedians Nick Mohammed and Joe Wilkinson have previously worked together on comedy shows.

The Traitors format, which first aired its UK version in 2022, has garnered millions of fans and critical acclaim, including a Bafta TV Award for best reality and constructed factual programme and best entertainment performance for Winkleman. The show follows contestants as they complete challenges to build a prize pot while simultaneously trying to identify and banish the traitors in their midst. If any traitors remain among the finalists at the end of the series, they take the entire cash prize, while the faithful contestants lose out. The success of the format was highlighted when the third series saw project manager Jake Brown and former soldier Leanne Quigley share a prize pot of £94,600.

Celebrity Traitors is scheduled to air on the BBC in the autumn.