BBCViewers have been sharing their theories on social media after a teaser released on Christmas Day showed a figure wearing a red cloak, in a departure from the usual green worn by the traitors.
“All I will say is there’s something new, and what happens in this series is truly extraordinary, with moments that made me gasp,” Winkleman said ahead of the series launch.
Details of the new twist will not be revealed until the show’s fourth regular series begins at 20:00 GMT on New Year’s Day.
“I can’t wait for people to see it,” Winkleman added. “The producers possess exceptional intelligence.”
The red cloak has not been seen in past series, and fans have speculated that a new role could be assigned to one of this year’s contestants.
Previous series of The Traitors have seen Winkleman choose three traitors from a group of more than 20 contestants, although more traitors can be recruited later depending on how the game plays out. The other players are known as the faithful.
Although the meaning of the red cloak and details of who might be wearing it are under wraps for now, Winkleman told journalists earlier this month that the next series “gets pretty twisty”.
“The people who create the show, they have to keep on changing it,” she explained, “and they tell me ideas, and I’m like, ‘Are you joking?’
Winkleman also remarked that the confrontations between contestants are “hardcore” in this series. “We get some very juicy roundtables,” she said. “It gets very heated… it gets ugly.
“We’ve never seen it played like this brilliant cast does. They play it in such an extraordinary way.
“You think, ‘I’ve seen this; it’s going to go down this route’—and all I can say is that it absolutely doesn’t.”
The new series comes just two months after the conclusion of the show’s first celebrity spin-off, which was one of the biggest TV hits of 2025.
“We were blown away by how successful The Celebrity Traitors was,” said Mike Cotton, creative director of production company Studio Lambert.
“We had parents approaching us to express their gratitude for reintroducing family TV viewing with their teenagers and children, as the show became a significant family event.” This level of engagement is unexpected for a show that revolves around murder, lies, and betrayal.
With catch-up viewing included, the first series of The Celebrity Traitors was watched by an audience of more than 15 million.
But, Cotton added, the success of the all-star spin-off, which introduced many viewers to The Traitors brand for the first time, puts “lots of pressure” on the fourth civilian series.
“With celebrities, all the viewers knew who those people were,” he noted. “So when you go back to the regular version, these are people you don’t really know; you’ve got to learn to love them.
The celebrity series and the fourth civilian series were shot concurrently earlier this year. Winkleman said she noticed how differently the regular contestants behaved after the celebrities had been so polite.
“In the celebrity one, they were adorable – at the roundtable, they were like, ‘No, no, after you,'” she recalled. “That’s not how this one goes.”
Celebrities and civilians won’t mix
Despite its success, however, Cotton rejected the idea that the show might mix celebrities and civilians in the future, as has happened in some international editions.
“On the American version, series one did mix civilians with reality celebrities, and then from season two on, we just had reality celebrities,” he said.
“But I think in this show, there’s already the traitors vs the faithful, so you would rather not have a celebrity vs non-celebrity divide as well.”
Winkleman joked,
Asked if more celebrities had volunteered to be on the following series after the success of the first, Winkleman joked, “They don’t come up to me personally because I don’t leave my bed. But yes, they’ve asked.”
Along with a new series of The Night Manager, The Traitors is at the centre of BBC One’s primetime schedule on New Year’s Day, and it will continue with further episodes on Friday and Saturday.
Winkleman also joked about the headline-making outfits she often wears on the show, including the boots she uses to do the ominous walk at the roundtable as she’s selecting the traitors.
“The walk around the table is very tense,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many times I walk around it, but I really try and build the tension, which is hideously mean but also quite addictive.
“I try and wear clompy footwear to add to it. I get a bit of flamenco. It needs to be incredibly loud. I’m thinking of going tap next time.”
Unlike previous series, which had seen a surprise twist or mission before the contestants even reached Ardross Castle near Inverness, Winkleman revealed that this year’s crop did all make it through the door.
As usual, the contestants meet before their first mission, which is on a scale rarely seen on the show.
Winkleman expressed that the Scottish Highlands could potentially be the most breathtaking location on the planet. Perhaps her biggest pleasure, however, is filming the traditional opening sequence with the owl who acts as her assistant and delivers the invitations.
“I love that little owl. Isn’t he sweet?” She smiled. “He’s called Sage, although I renamed him Barry after my dad.
“And just he fathered a baby owl and they named him Onion,” she laughed. “So you will see Onion in a future series, I hope.”
The Traitors airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 20:00 GMT on 1 January.
