Traitors fans shocked by clip of original BBC show – 18 years before Claudia took charge – but do you remember it?
FANS of The Traitors have been stunned to realise that the BBC first aired a version of the programme 18 years before the current Claudia Winkleman-fronted show.
Beeb bosses attempted a version of the cunning game show back in 2004 but it looked drastically different to its modern-day counterpart and it’s now back in the spotlight after Greg James featured the show on his BBC Sounds podcast, Rewinder.
The unearthed footage showcased nine participants sat facing one another in chairs with two of the nine of them the “traitor” who is aiming to steal the £5,000 on offer through deception.
The series first aired in February 2004 over five nights on BBC Two was hosted by Tony Livesey but it made little to no impact.
It’s understood that some older pilot episodes fronted by Paul Kaye were created but never aired.
Each episode of the 2004 run contained a brand new set of players.
But now as the current series becomes one of TV’s most watched ever, fans are re-discovering the original programme which failed to impress.
Its premise saw the contestants telling each other about their lives and their backstory with whoever has been chosen to be the Traitor making it all up as they go along.
During the episode, which is essentially one long round table, the Faithfuls, who were actually known as the Citizens, can choose to call a vote if they think they have identified a Traitor.
If voted out, as is with the current run, they must reveal their identity.
If the Citizens managed to successfully vote out the Traitors then they shared the pot of £5,000 but if it became the same amount of Traitors and the same amount of Citizens, as in two out of the final four were Traitors, then the Traitors automatically win the money.
In another difference to the current run, the viewers at home can choose to play along as host Tony told fans to turn away if they did not want to be selected.
It was then never clarified on-screen again who was who until the reveal.
One of the show’s contestants was actress Ruth Wilson before she found success with her acting career.
Ruth was described as a drama student and a teen magazine cover girl during her stint on the programme.
Two years later, she managed to achieve fame thanks to her role in the TV adaptation of Jane Eyre.
Since then, she has held starring roles in Luther, His Dark Materials and Mrs Wilson.
BBC Radio 1 host Greg re-shared the clips of Ruth on the show as part of his podcast in which he re-visits forgotten media in the BBC archives.
In his clip, Greg was quick to pick up on some of the show’s differences as he highlighted the show’s “budget” as being the most obvious one.
There was no dramatic Scottish castle for the first edition with players instead confined to just one simple chair in a dimly-lit TV studio.
How does The Traitors work and who hosts it?
The Traitors first launched in the UK in 2022, after the Dutch format was acquired by the BBC.
Claudia Winkleman is the show’s host, and has now hosted all three series to date.
How does it work?
It is a reality game show that involves 22 contestants, and some of them are chosen to be The Traitors.
The Traitors sees a group of contestants taking part in “the ultimate game of truth and deception”.
The group of contestants are competing for the chance to walk away with a huge cash prize.
While navigating through a series of challenges, the team are also tasked with figuring out who the Traitors are in the group (usually three contestants).
Each night, the Traitors gather to “eliminate” one of the Faithful, removing them from the competition
Meanwhile, the traitors can be “banished” if they’re successfully outed as a traitor by a faithful.
The winners of the show are either the Traitor who remains undetected or the Faithfuls if they successfully eliminate all the Traitors.
The prize sees the winner could get £120K.