The Traitors: Celebrity version of hit show announced at Edinburgh TV Festival - plus season four and Uncloaked

Claudia Winkleman will be back for season four of The Traitors - as well as a celebrity version. | BBC

Season two of The Traitors was another massive hit for the BBC back in January - with millions of viewers enjoying watching 22 strangers be locked in a spooky castle, split into Traitors and Faithfuls, then encouraged to lie their way to a £120,000 top prize.

Filming for the third series of the show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, has been taking place over the summer, with no broadcast date yet confirmed.

But at the Edinburgh TV Festival this week it was announced that there will be more Traitors to come - with season four already commissioned, along with a celebrity version and a podcast.

It follows the news that the American version, for which Scottish host Alan Cumming has been nominated for an Emmy, has been green lit for a third season.

Here’s what we know about the latest Traitors UK news.

What do we know about the celebrity version of The Traitors?

Other than a working title of Celebrity Traitors, and the fact that it has been comissioned, we known little about the new show. It has been confirmed that casting for celebrity players to take seats at the round table is also underway. Filming will take place in 2025. No broadcast date has been announced but it would make sense to release it in the middle of the period between series of the original - so summer 2025 would be a fair guess.

What do we know about season four of The Traitors?

Applications are now open to appear in season four of The Traitors, which will be filmed in 2025. Season three is expected to be broadcast in late 2024/early 2025, so expect season five in late 2025/early 2026.

What has been said about the new seasons of The Traitors?

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level. It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!"

Mike Cotton, Creative Director Unscripted at Studio Lambert and Executive Producer for The Traitors says: “We are thrilled to be inviting some celebrities into our castle to come and play the game. Seeing famous faces navigate the round table or don the infamous green cloaks will be unmissable TV, and what a double treat for the fans with Series 4 also confirmed too. There's a whole lot of exciting treachery and deception yet to come from the Highlands… Claudia’s going to have to pack some extra knitwear.”

Will The Traitors: Uncloaked be returning?

In addition to news of a fourth series and celebrity version, leading podcast agency Listen will be producing 12 brand new episodes of companion show The Traitors: Uncloaked which will return alongside the third series of The Traitors. Once hosted again by comedian Ed Gamble, The Traitors: Uncloaked will be available via BBC Sounds and on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

How can I apply to be in The Traitors?

Applications are now open for those who wish to take part in the ultimate game of strategy, suspicion and trust here.

Where will the new series of The Traitors be filmed?

The Traitors will be returning to Ardross Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, for the celebrity version and season four.

The Ardross Estate was bought by the 1st Duke of Sutherland in the late 1700s. He built a hunting lodge on the land, before his son, the 2nd Duke of Sutherland, sold the estate to Alexander Matheson in 1845. Matheson was a merchant banker who made his fortune trading tea and opium and paid around £90,000 for the estate, which he extensively developed, including commissioning architect Alexander Ross to re-design the hunting lodge as a castle in the Scots Baronial style, adding around 30 extra rooms and 700 acres ‘of pleasure grounds’.

Matheson’s son, Sir Kenneth Matheson, sold the estate following his father's death in 1898 to C. W. Dyson Perrins, a captain in the army and businessman who was half of Lea & Perrins of Worcester sauce fame. He modernised the castle, including adding electricity, and spent several months there with his family each year enjoying parties, hunting and fishing.

The estate was broken up and sold in 1937, with a Mr & Mrs Austin Mardon buying Ardross Castle, Lealty Farm and over 80 acres of land, living there until 1983 when the estate was sold to current owners the McTaggart family, who are working to restore the former the gardens and renovate the castle and estate properties.