Claudia Winkleman has opened up about the selection process on The Traitors.
Each series of the Bafta-winning reality show begins with Claudia grilling every contestant about how they’d fare as traitors – and whether it’s a job they’d actually want.
The group then heads to the round table for the first time, where the Strictly Come Dancing host will tap the chosen few on the shoulder, at which point the games really begin.
But while viewers are led to believe that it’s Claudia herself who’s responsible for the picking, you’d be forgiven for wondering whether that’s all TV trickery.
So, does Claudia actually pick the traitors herself? It turns out… sort of.
“It’s not down to me,” Claudia recently told Radio Times, revealing the process is not unlike something out of Conclave.
“There’s a group of us, including the brilliant producers and casting team. We go into a room and don’t leave until they’re chosen.”
She also added that if anyone requests not to be a traitor, they’re automatically ruled out of the process, and become part of the sleuthing team of faithfuls instead.
Elsewhere in her interview with Radio Times, Claudia was asked which team she’d want to be a part of.
“I think I’d prefer to be a Faithful, but I genuinely have no idea if someone is lying to me,” she revealed.
“My 18-year-old told me she’d done all her homework for years,” she then quipped.
We’re now past the midway point of the series of The Traitors, with Claudia set to host the inaugural celebrity edition of the UK show later this year.
Before that, though, she’s set to guest host a very special episode of The Graham Norton Show when the Irish presenter takes a week off next month.
Read Claudia Winkelman’s full interview with Radio Times here.
