‘Around 300,000 hopefuls set to apply’ for only 22 spots on next series of ‘The Traitors’

After the first two series became ratings smashes for BBC One, around 300,000 hopefuls are reportedly set to apply for the next series of ‘The Traitors’ – for only 22 places on the whodunnit show.

Claudia Winkleman

Around 300,000 hopefuls are reportedly set to apply for the next series of ‘The Traitors’ – for only 22 places.

Insiders have claimed about 250,000 entries have already been received for the upcoming third season of the BBC One whodunnit series hosted by Claudia Winkleman, 52, which has become a ratings hit since it launched in November 2022, with tens of thousands more expected.

A source told The Sun about the flood of entries for limited spots: “They knew a lot of people would throw their hats into the ring after the first two series’ success but didn’t anticipate this.

“They’re facing a race against time to pick the final contestants because filming has to start in the spring.

“A lot of the show takes place at night and the daylight goes on too long for that in summer in the far north of Scotland.

“If they miss their window of opportunity to film, it causes problems.”

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Hopefuls have been inspired to throw their hats in the ring after seeing the fame ‘Traitors’ brought its latest winner Harry Clark, 23, who has since been deluged with TV offers.

But The Sun added the wave of entries is a “headache” the ‘Traitors’ bosses as they are having to spend huge amounts of time trying to whittle down the numbers before filming can begin on the next series at Ardross Castle near Inverness, Scotland.

The first UK series of ‘Traitors’ is thought to have had around 5,000 entrants, with tens of thousands them said to have applied for the follow-up series.

Based on the Dutch series ‘De Verraders’, ‘Traitors’ features a group of contestants participating in a game similar to the party game ‘Mafia’, in which a small group of contestants become the titular traitors and must work together to eliminate the other contestants in order to win a prize, while the remaining contestants become “faithfuls” and are tasked to discover and banish the traitors by voting them out so they can claim victory.