The first episode of The Celebrity Traitors has fans of the original civilian version on the edge of their seats as they prepare to hunker down and tune in on Wednesday evening. The star-studded line-up features an incredible array of famous faces, including The Thursday Murder Club actress Celia Imrie, broadcaster and writer Stephen Fry, chat show host Jonathan Ross, and comedian Alan Carr. But when it comes to those closest to the host, Claudia Winkleman, one star is earning her extra brownie points.
"My son is such a massive Joe Wilkinson fan," Claudia told HELLO! and other reporters of the comedian at an exclusive screening of the show's first episode. "I wanted to say, 'Hello, and is there any way I could get your autograph?'" The civilian version of the show has earned a legion of loyal fans who have made their excitement about a celebrity edition known. But even Claudia, who has called the show a "precious little egg", was unsure whether this new format would work.
Claudia's doubt
"When they came to me and said we want to do a celebrity version, I said I really don't think we should do that, we should keep doing it non-celeb," she admits, adding that she was subsequently told which celebrities had expressed interest in participating. "I still can't believe they said yes…Jonathan Ross, Celia Imrie, I'm obsessed by Clare Balding, all of them, you can't get over it."
Looking back on the series, which was filmed earlier in the year, Claudia revealed how immersed the celebrities became in the game. "We're in the Scottish highlands, the most beautiful place in the world, nobody's got their phone on. Everybody's immersed, so it really feels like life and death," she said. "They forgot pretty fast that they were on camera, and they were just playing a game of survival and deception."
Claudia's style inspiration
From her fingerless gloves to her chunky boots, tartan skirts, and heavy knit jumpers, Claudia's Traitors wardrobe has earned icon status – but her sources of inspiration are somewhat unexpected. "We went quite Miss Trunchbull and Morticia [Addams], with obviously a nod to Princess Anne, who's our favourite," Claudia said of her sartorial aesthetic curated by stylist Sinead McKeefry. "Sinead just went, 'Are we going for a bit of taffeta?' and I'm going to be honest, I went overboard with that."
But, of course, viewers have never minded Claudia going "overboard" with the drama of her look, or the theatrical aloofness of her presenting style, a combination that won her the BAFTA TV Award for Entertainment Performance when the first UK season launched in 2023
Though the show is set to be a success, when it comes to what the final cut looks like, Claudia will never know. "I can't watch myself because I'm a tool," she confesses. "[When it's on] I will be under a blanket with my dog.