THE BBC has finally confirmed the celebrity version of The Traitors is happening and filming will start next year.
The Sun revealed in January that the spin-off of the hit guessing game, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, was in the works.
Big names including Courtney Cox and Jonathan Ross are already said to be considering joining the BBC One show which is expected to be star-studded given the huge popularity of the show.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Beeb boss of unscripted Kate Phillips said: “The team have done an amazing job up there and I can announce here that we are going to do Celebrity Traitors which I think will be brilliant.
“The people that we have spoken to are presenters, actors, experts -they all think they can play the game and they know what to do.
“But of course that’s the joy of the format – you come in thinking you can nail it.
“So I’m really looking forward to celebrities making huge mistakes and falling on their swords. But I think it’ll be great fun.”
After just two series – the first in 2022 the second earlier this year – The Traitors has become one of Britain’s most-watched and most talked about TV shows.
Rumours of a potential celebrity version have been rife from the moment it first aired, particularly as a long line of famous faces said they were huge fans of the gripping format.
Producers at Studio Lambert Scotland, who make the show for the Beeb, are counting on this high-profile fanbase to ensure they get a stellar line-up for the celebrity spin off, which is expected to be made next spring, shortly after the third “civilian” series airs.
BBC bosses hope Traitors host Claudia’s friendship with Courteney Cox will convince the star to sign up to the show.
A TV insider said: “Getting Courteney on board would be a real coup.”
Telly chiefs are also hoping more of Claudia’s A-list contacts can be signed up to join the Traitor and Faithful teams to ensure the line-up is one of the best seen on a celebrity spin-off.
“After the show was announced, producers were swamped with calls from big names and their agents wanting to throw their hat in the ring — many of them a big surprise.
“Courteney has always been a fan of the show, particularly as the British version has her mate Claudia fronting it.”
Meawhile chat show host Jonathan Ross is in talks to join the show too.
It would be his first major Beeb show since he quit 14 years ago following the Andrew Sachs scandal on his Radio 2 show.
Ross, 63, was one of the corporation’s biggest stars thanks to his BBC1 talk show, which ran from 2001 to 2010, before moving to ITV.
A TV insider said: “Jonathan is the ideal target for The Traitors producers because he’s a high-profile celebrity who doesn’t regularly appear on the reality TV circuit.
“He’s also one of a small army of stars who are self-confessed fans of the show.”
