Inside Claudia Winkleman's Traitors' wardrobe - TV star's stylist reveals where to buy her jumpers and outfits

The Traitors is back on BBC1 and fans of the show are hooked to the drama, with many coveting host Claudia Winkleman’s outfits. The presenter has become known for her ‘country gothic’ style, and it’s all down to her stylist Sinead McKeefry, who has shared some tips on how to get Ms Winkleman’s look.

Having done her formal training at Central Saint Martins, McKeefry achieved an MA in Knitwear. “I had a part-time job working in JD Sports on Oxford Street while I was at college, and it was there that I met a stylist who had come in to borrow some trainers for the band All Saints. I said, if you ever have anything going, I’d love to get some experience.”

The stylist took McKeefry up on the offer, and she soon began working with the likes of Billie Piper, Emma Bunton and Mel B, before moving into TV styling for Fearne Cotton.

“Her and Claudia were doing a job together and they just had one stylist for the shoot, which was me. I’d already been working with Fearne for a while, but Fearne said to Claudia, ‘I think you’ll really like Sinead.’ And that was about 20 years ago.”

From then on, Ms McKeefry became Claudia’s stylist for Strictly: It Takes Two and later on, the main show itself. From shimmer and sparkles to moody countrycore, McKeefry found adapting Claudia’s style for the highlands surprisingly easy - she took inspiration from her own style. She said: “I love tweed and knitwear, and having trained in knitwear it’s very easy for me to cast my net far and look at what’s out there [for Claudia’s looks] and really appreciate it.”

The nation is gripped by The Traitors | BBC

There’s no denying the impact that the Highlands have on Claudia’s looks, as Ms McKeefry draws most of her inspiration from the classic British backdrop. Claudia’s Traitors look has been described as gothic, Scandi-noir aesthetic and includes a lot of chunky knits, tweed and fingerless gloves. Ms McKeefry has described the look for last series as “Ronnie Corbett meets Princess Anne meets Madonna (in the Guy Ritchie days!)”

Of the setting influencing the outfits, she said: “I think where the missions are sometimes set – like the woodlands – can almost make it feel like a beautiful photo shoot, where you’d see those lovely Gothic looks put together in a woodland atmosphere so naturally.”

While McKeefry’s 24 looks are meticulously planned down to precise Polaroids, sometimes perfect pieces are thrown in, “The first series we did, I think Claudia wore my old Barbour for every mission. I was like, she needs a coat as well, so I thought I’ll go to my house, get my Barbour and just throw that in there as well.”

Vastly different to her Strictly style, Claudia’s Traitors wardrobe is far more pared-back and relaxed. “I think people like to see those looks – like the Holland Cooper jeans with the Dr Martin boots in this series, it’s got that heritage feel but also an edge, which makes it look so cool.”

“What I like about some of the looks is that they’re so transferable. You could wear them out to Sunday lunch, but then we can be quite playful and a bit more dramatic.”

There’s certainly no shortage of drama when it comes to her looks – just take Claudia’s heavy fringed coat from season two.

“I don’t ever want anything to feel fancy dress – ever. But I do get that Claudia can really get into character as well. [This season] there’s definitely more of a Gothic take. Some of the looks are much more dramatic than what we’ve seen already.”

It’s not all of McKeefry’s keen eye however, giving credit where credit’s due, she said “[Claudia’s] got a really good, natural style. She is very into fashion. She’ll constantly be sending me things on Instagram – she actually did an internship at Vogue – she’ll bring me things where I’m like wow, OK…”

If you’re tempted to recreate Claudia’s looks to a T, then you’re in luck as some pieces from the show have been auctioned off for charity such as a statement woollen overcoat.

When asked which look of season three would be most iconic, Ms McKeefry said it’s impossible to predict, “The smiley face jumper from last season was actually the first look I put together for that series.

“I was just putting pieces together from the clothes rail and [with that one] I thought that’s definite and took a Polaroid of it. Claudia loved it from the moment she put it on.”

But nailing an iconic look is hard to predict. “You almost don’t want to do the same thing twice, but so far, people seem to have really loved the Kaptial jumper – with the herringbone and skeleton on it, but I don’t think that’s our standout moment. I think the standout moment is still to come.”

Claudia Winkleman's outfits on The Traitors are as iconic as the show itself | BBC

Where to buy Claudia’s Traitors outfits

So far we’ve seen Claudia in cape style coats - including one with mission emblazoned on the back - classic tweed, tartan trousers and a stand-out fair isle knit. The chunky knits, tweed coats and accessories such as chunky scarves are from a mix of high end high street and designer labels. As with last season, a lot of the cashmere is from Brora in Scotland as well as Johnstons of Elgin. From episode one, Claudia’s Cotswold boiled black wool poncho is by Luxury Family Affair, £732 while her tweed blazer is from Bella Freud and is about £600. The latest ‘it’ jumper from the show comes from Kapital, a menswear brand that also made the green cable knit from last year. This Fair Isle jumper is £535 from Mr Porter or Liberty. To complete this look were hunter green biker jeans from Holland Cooper at £145 and Audrick tall Chelsea Boots from Dr Martens at £160. During the first mission, Claudia’s Mission cape was custom made by Luxury Family Affair and her grey gloves are from Brora.

In episode three, Claudia has a laid-back, very Scottish look, of a grey jumper and tartan trousers. The jumper is from Connolly, £580; the trousers are Black Watch Tartan Trews by Connolly, £650 and her shoes were Church's X Miu Miu Shanghai leather and linen shoes, £1,150.

Find out more about Claudia’s outfits via Sinead McKeefry’s Instagram account.

The Traitors is shown on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One at 9pm, with catch up available on BBC iPlayer.

Additional reporting from PA.