Fancy wafting around a Scottish castle in a cloak while stabbing your friends in the back? Or being entirely innocent and trying to root out the untrustworthy? If so, it’s time to apply to join the cast on hit BBC game show The Traitors. Presented by Claudia Winkleman, the reality series based on a popular party game sees thousands tuning in each January – and has even made stars of a couple of its ruthless contestants who’ll do anything to get their hands on the £120,000 prize. What makes the perfect traitor, and how do you get cast on the TV phenomenon? Let’s find out.
The Traitors is a reality TV game in which members of the public compete against each other for a cash prize. At the start of the show, each member of the cast is chosen as either an innocent faithful or murderous traitor. To win the money, faithfuls must banish the traitors. For the traitors to win, they must remain undetected, lying during roundtable meetings and scheming while dressed in a cloak after dark.
First broadcast in 2022 by the BBC, the British version of The Traitors is made by independent producer Studio Lambert. So far there have been three series and one celebrity season. The fourth series is due to air in January 2026, and, as the most-watched British reality game show of all time, it’s likely further seasons will follow.
Keep checking the Studio Lambert website for information on when The Traitors is next casting. Previous callouts have looked for “fun, smart, and strategic” players over 18, with availability for a four-week block in the spring and summer.
Contestants go through a series of interviews, games, and personality tests, as well as psychological testing to show they can hack the stresses of the game.
Talking to The Times, the show’s executive producer Lewis Thurlow explained what the casting team looks for. “Players have to be likeable,” he said. “It’s like putting a jury together.… We have a cross-section of the UK, but above all, their reasons [for applying] have to be that they want to play the game. There’s not really any other reality show that can cast anyone – all ages, all backgrounds – and we celebrate that. You want to feel like you’re watching someone you know, or who’s like yourself.”
In previous seasons, the show has cast a retired opera singer, a reverend, a former diplomat, and an ex-soldier posing as a nail technician among its players – so they cast a wide net.
“[We] wanted people who were a bit nerdy, perhaps had a law degree, people who would be great at playing games, but also could be perceived as being great liars as well,” Olivia Ahmed, one of the show’s casting producers, told the University of Salford website. “We would ask questions like, ‘Tell me the biggest lie you’ve ever told anyone,’ try and find out their deepest, darkest secrets, and ask them for times that they think they’ve been lied to or tried to suss someone out.”
If you think you’ve got what it takes to ace the game, start prepping. According to the Independent, over 40,000 people applied to be part of the last series. For more tips and advice, check out the below guides:
- 11 Tips for Acing Your Next Audition
- A 7-Step Guide to Auditioning for the BBC
- An Actor’s Guide to Mastering Accents
