A guide to get cast on The Traitors, according to the show’s producer – and one thing NOT to do

Ever since The Traitors hit the telly in the tail end of 2022, every single person who watched it wanted to go on it. It’s one of those TV shows that truly unites the nation regardless of age or even much interest in reality TV, with the gameplay being such a draw to people who never fancy it normally. But how do you actually get on the show? It famously has a rigorous casting process, and now one of the producers of The Traitors has explained what you need to do to get on and the major thing the show is not looking for.

“Players have to be likeable,” executive producer Lewis Thurlow explained to The Times. “One thing we always think is: would you like to sit down with them in the pub and have a drink? Because they’re playing a game, and if they’re playing a traitor, it’s a role. We don’t feel like we have to try to cast a villain, because the game brings that out in people naturally.”

“It’s like putting a jury together,” Thurlow explains – and he’s been working on The Traitors since the first series. “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.”

Elite cast (Image via the BBC)

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Obviously, a lot of players come on to The Traitors with plots to deceive and lie even as a faithful – but apparently this is not pushed by casting producers to get on the show.

“How they play the game is up to them — we don’t get involved in that.“We test them through games and interviews and do personality tests — but they don’t all have to be good liars. [As a viewer], you might think, ‘That’s how I would deal with that situation, I would freeze up.’

“So it’s not true that everyone has to be a good liar, although it definitely helps in the game. In a group of friends, you have the gullible one, the street-smart one, the book-smart one, and it’s about getting that mix in the show.”

But the major thing not to do when trying to get on The Traitors is think the casting producers are after replicating the success of big characters from previous years, like Amanda in season one or Diane in season two.