How we made The Traitors: ‘Our main thing was not to have a typical reality TV show cast – and it worked’-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro

Claudia Winkleman’s murder mystery game had us hooked from the very beginning (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Mark Mainz)

The Traitors has quickly become the number one reality show of the year, having viewers hooked from the moment it began.

After tears, murders, and banishings, the drama finally came to an end with the ultimate Traitor Wilfred Webster eliminated as Faithfuls Meryl Williams, Aaron Evans and Hannah Byczkowski took home the £101,050 prize.

Claudia Winkleman’s murder mystery game, which has since been confirmed for a US series while fans are begging for a season two in the UK, was originally inspired by a Dutch version, but when producers brought it over here, they created a huge twist with the casting. Unlike De Verraders, The Traitors UK had no celebrities involved, and was full of ‘relatable’ people who audiences quickly grew attached to.

And now, after roaring success, executive producers Sarah Fay and Toni Ireland have revealed how it all began and hit our screens.

The Traitors was inspired by the Dutch version De Verraders

In an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk, Sarah began: ‘So the Dutch version was excellent, and we [production team Studio Lambert] got wind of it and managed to secure the rights to this version.’

Aaron, Meryl, and Hannah were crowned winners (Picture: PA)

The team travelled over to the Netherlands to see the filming of De Verraders, with Sarah saying they were ‘blown away’.

‘It was so incredible, the setup, and as soon as we got the links to the first series we binged it ourselves, we were mega fans right from the off and we knew that there was something really special here that we could make for a UK audience.

‘It’s not often a programme comes along where as producers ourselves we are genuinely fangirling about the show ourselves and so excited to make it.’

Unlike other versions, The Traitors is the first to have ‘a civilian cast’

Sarah continued: ‘One of the things we wanted to do right from the offset was the Dutch version has celebrities and that’s what they’ve done all along. We are the first territory, and obviously it’s gone around the world now and other people are making it, to make it with a civilian cast, and it’s really important that we wanted to do that for the BBC.

‘And we found great success in it – just the emotions and how much it means to them and that amount of money just elevated the game play.’

She added: ‘We wanted to just supersize it and make it feel like a drama, not like your usual reality. We wanted to make it feel like that edge of your seat cinematic drama, with you know, elements of Succession and we wanted it to feel like Knives Out when you get into the castle!’

‘We wanted to make it feel like a drama, not like your usual reality’ (Picture: PA)

Producer Toni added: ‘We wanted to build a world that they would then come to this place and play this game, and that was what was really important, especially with the casting and how we picked the cast, everyone came to play a game, and we wanted to create this immersive world that when they arrived at the castle, everything from the way the castle looked to how Claudia spoke to them, and dressed so brilliantly like the Lady of the manor but also the puppet master of the game.

‘The cast gave everything to the show and that was all part of its success I think really, that everyone was there for the same thing, to play and to see how you do within the game.’

Speaking about the casting, Sarah said: ‘Our main thing is that we didn’t want a typical reality show cast these days. You know, we didn’t want a dating influencer type cast we wanted just a brilliantly diverse, eclectic group of players from all walks of life. All ages, all races, all sexualities, disabilities, nothing was a barrier to being on the show. We were very blessed to have people from 21 years old to 72.

Amongst the 22 contestants were three Traitors (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Ma)

‘With 22 players coming in right at the beginning we wanted a cast that didn’t all feel the same. We wanted an audience to be able to get to know our cast really quickly. So them having something different about every single one of them was so brilliant and amazing in their own right and had reasons why they were there and I think that really helped for an audience to get into our cast really quickly as well.’

Toni added: ‘They had to be warm and relatable for us as well. Like it was really important for us that when you watch the show you wanted to spend an hour with them three times a week, that was so important for us.’

‘We didn’t interfere which allowed their paranoia to grow’

The production crew took a ‘hands off’ approach towards the cast during filming, which, according to Sarah, sparked more paranoia between the contestants. Recalling the explosive breakfast in which Tom Elderfield dramatically revealed Alex Gray was his girlfriend, she told us: ‘We were very hands off in terms of the show and that’s I think what’s been so brilliant about it. Everyone was going in with their own strategies they had to live or die by, we were very hands off in that in that so that day we had absolutely no idea ourselves that Tom was going to reveal that Alex was his girlfriend.

The dramatic roundtables sparked a lot of tears and arguments (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza)

‘We had set things they could know, like they knew there was a roundtable, they knew there was a mission each day, we had the bongs of the grandfather clock, they knew they had to leave at that point. But apart from that they were just allowed to go and roam into whatever conversations they wanted to go into and I think that’s what made it so authentic because we were hands off with it and that allowed the paranoia and because no one from crew was talking to them and wouldn’t interrupt them in between.’

‘Trust is such a fundamental thing, isn’t it and by us not interfering it allowed them to kind of their paranoia to grow,’ she added.

Sarah added that the crew and producers had ‘no idea’ what would happen each day, saying: ‘They could start the morning suspecting one person and by the end of the day, it completely changed. You know, it was just the power of those people.’

‘Initially, Claudia Winkleman said no to signing up as host’

‘She was like the Lady of the manor but also the puppet master’ (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza)

Elsewhere, Sarah told us that while she may have turned into the Lady of the manor, getting Claudia involved in the first place wasn’t that easy.

‘Initially, she was like, “no I couldn’t possibly,” and we sent her the Dutch version, and within two days she’d binged the whole thing and was like, “Get me on a train to Scotland”,’ she said.

Sarah continued: ‘We wanted somebody as our host who didn’t just feel like a normal host, who didn’t just feel like they’d turned up with the autocue, we wanted somebody who genuinely would immerse themselves in it as well and would feel intrinsically part of the cast.’

Claudia became just as involved in the game as the contestants (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza)

Tori added: ‘She tread a really careful line, of being really warm with the cast and encouraging. My favourite bit is the first ever mission where she’s screaming, “Come on, move it” and you’re seeing this other side to Claudia that we’ve not seen before.

‘It was out of presenter mode, she was supporting that cast, but equally she knew when to, you know, “no hugs, that’s a different show.” She knew that line and she tread so perfectly. We were very lucky.’

‘Keeping the Traitors hidden became our biggest obstacle on set’

The Traitors Wilfred, Amanda and Alyssa were picked by Claudia on day one (Picture: BBC)

While viewers knew exactly who the Traitors were from the first episode, keeping Wilfred, Amanda Lovett and Alyssa Chan’s identities a secret from the other contestants proved pretty difficult.

‘Keeping those traitors hidden, and making sure no cast or crew or anyone ever slipped up was the hardest thing to do,’ Toni said. ‘One slip up and the whole game is over.’

‘So everyone was on their best behaviour and the crew were all nervous all the time. I remember a camera person coming to me and saying, “I think I’ve given it away because I turned my camera towards one of the Traitors at this point”. And I’m like, “Don’t worry, no one knows what we know, it’s okay.”‘

‘We’d love a reunion episode or spin-off show for the next season’

While season two hasn’t yet been confirmed, the producers admitted they would love to have a spin-off chat show or a reunion stemming from the programme, which fans have been desperate for.

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‘We’d love one!’ they both echoed, with Sarah continuing: ‘For a first series, we were always incredibly hopeful it will do well but you just never know.

‘So in our wildest dreams, we’d never imagined it would be this big.’

The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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