ArkaEvren

TV SERIES · 2023– · UK

The Traitors

Episodes
62

10 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

The Traitors is a reality competition series that debuted in 2023.

10 Interesting Facts About The Traitors

Interesting Facts (7)

  1. #001

    Season 3 contestant Bob the Drag Queen, along with contestants from the UK version, which is made by the same production company, confirmed on the "Sibling Rivalry" podcast that at the start of every round table, before anyone may speak, the players are made to sit in silence while "The Hanging Tree", the song made famous by The Hunger Games films, plays in full.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #002

    Alan Cumming may seem to pick the Traitors on a whim during the first, blindfolded roundtable, but the choice is settled long before the cameras roll. Cumming has a say, yet players first sit through an interview with the producers, who ask how they would play as a Faithful or a Traitor, what they made of Traitors in earlier seasons, and simply whether they would rather be a Traitor or a Faithful. That interview is then staged again on camera with Cumming for dramatic effect, just as the blindfolded roundtable exists for dramatic effect.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #003

    Daily life for the contestants is tightly controlled. Bedtime is enforced, with guards posted to keep players from leaving their rooms unexpectedly; collecting the Traitors for their scenes in the castle turret has been called "a military operation" by some of the crew for its precision. Players get only one alcoholic drink a night, so they don't get drunk and give the game away. They are given some "personal time", but told not to discuss the game while the mics and cameras are off.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  4. #004

    The show wants viewers to believe the cast spends the night at the castle, but former contestants have confirmed that they actually stay at a nearby hotel.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  5. #005

    Brandi Glanville and Reza said in a video on Glanville's YouTube channel that the original season 1 lineup had included a contestant named Kevin Greene, who had to exit at the close of day one after contracting covid. Geraldine Moreno took his place, and day one had to be shot again in its entirety.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  6. #006

    Each morning, everyone still in the game after the previous night's round table arrives at the castle in separate jeeps and is placed in a separate holding room. There, just before walking into breakfast, they learn whether the Traitors have murdered them.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  7. #007
    Contains a major spoiler — show

    At the end of episode 5 in season 1, host Alan Cumming said, "Amanda has had to leave the castle for reasons beyond her control". No reason was given at the time, but Amanda later explained on Instagram that she had been forced to leave after testing positive for covid.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Behind the Scenes (3)

  1. #008

    For season 1, the cast's first meeting was originally filmed at the "Boat of Garten" station on the Strathspey Railway, where they boarded a steam train as on The Traitors UK. One of the original contestants, however, had to be removed from the show after catching covid, and time constraints made it impossible to reshoot the scene. The cast was filmed approaching the castle in cars instead, which has since become the standard way each season opens.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #009

    Contestants have confirmed that they eat breakfast at their hotel before the breakfast scene is filmed at the start of the day.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #010

    A fleet of Land Rover 4x4s shuttles the celebrity contestants from one location to another across the series. Footage from the in-car cameras often reveals contestants without seat belts, which would be against the law on public roads in the UK. The vehicles stay on private roads within the castle estate, and those roads are shut to other traffic while filming, so seat-belt legislation does not apply.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work