These huge changes make The Celebrity Traitors absolutely nothing like the original

BBC’s spinoff The Celebrity Traitors has been a roaring success following the already hugely popular series The Traitors. But eagled eyed fans of the show will notice that there’s been some key differences with the celebrity series.

With the final episode airing tonight, lets look back at some of the key differences and changes made from previous series, and how these have affected the gameplay.

The show was… four episodes shorter? 

via BBC

One of the first things viewers noticed and took issue with was the viewing schedule for The Celebrity Traitors. Debuting on October 8th and ending tonight, on November 6th, this season hasn’t lasted a month. While the normal Traitors only usually lasts a month, it consists of 12 episodes compared to the Celebrity version’s eight.

This has most likely been shortened due to the restrictions of celebrity schedules. When you think about it, it’s a miracle that the BBC could get so many iconic British celebrities in the same room for even one episode! 

There are less players than last season 

Regular Traitors viewers may have also noticed that the show has fewer contestants than previous seasons. The show began with 22 players in its first season but amassed to 25 by season three in early 2025. However, the Celebrity Traitors has only 19 contestants, which may be another reason why there are fewer episodes. 

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Some viewers have expressed that they feel less emotionally involved in the show as there are fewer players to connect with and in less time. This hasn’t dissuaded all viewers: The first four episodes averaged out 12.6m viewers, making it the most watched TV show of the year. 

The money they win goes to charity 

via BBC

A crucial difference within the game itself is that this year, the coveted prize pot goes towards the charity of a celebrity’s choice when it is won, not to their bank accounts. This is standard for most gameshows with celebrity features – why would we want to watch millionaires earn even more money? The Celebrity Traitors prize pot has also been diminished: It is £100,000, compared to the normal £120,000. That’s hardly any money at all, right? 

The smaller prize pot might be because a source told The Independent that all 19 celebrities were paid a blanket fee of £40k for their appearance, though this has not been confirmed by the BBC. In contrast, “normal” contestants are paid a daily allowance of £100 to compensate for wages lost – quite a stark difference. 

The lack of financial gain at the end of the show may mean the celebrities are less personally motivated. However, this hasn’t shown itself in the challenges: The celebrities are certainly competitive and give it their all.

Just look at Celia’s screams, for instance, and every second of screen time Joe Marler has. That is a man who can definitely not be called unmotivated!

The only thing we really lose is the sharing of backstories contestants typically do at the feast held in the semi-final (the one where Alan killed Celia). Usually, contestants take this time to relax and share personal stories about where their money will go, which is often to starting charities, affording IVF, paying student loans, or giving back to their parents. This was missing from the Celebrity Traitors, as it is still unconfirmed which charities each celebrity was competing for. 

The Celebrity Traitors didn’t recruit 

via BBC

We’ve all seen the iconic quote from Kate Garroway: “Maybe someone’s been recruited!”

However, Kate’s killer journalistic instincts are off here, as another huge change in the gameplay this year is that there have been no recruitments. Whether this was never offered as an option or simply declined by the bloodthirsty Traitors we don’t know. It’s certainly removed an exciting part of the Traitors gameplay: That you can never trust anyone, as even if they began as a Faithful, they may have later been recruited by the Traitors in the tower at midnight.

This usually only happens once a Traitor has been banished, however, so it may have not happened this year simply because, well… It took the Faithfuls six episodes to find a single Traitor. 

No one was axed out in the first episode…

via BBC

One of the most exciting things about the Traitors that caused the most controversy on the very first episode of season one was its brutal elimination. All 22 contestants were asked outside the castle doors to rank themselves most to least likely to win, and then the two players at the bottom of the line were ruthlessly removed by Claudia.

This was a shocking and unpredicted move that was then repeated in different forms at the start of the following two series. Long-time Traitors viewers held their breath for the whole of the first episode to see which celebrity would be axed off in the first episode by cutthroat Claudia, and then… Nothing happened. No one was removed! (Maybe they didn’t want to pay a celebrity £40k to only be in the show for 20 minutes – or maybe all of the celebrities were too iconic to banish so quickly.) 

… Meaning no one’s been brought back in later!

However, this has also removed another exciting part about the show: The reappearance of the banished contestants. You never know when, and you never know how, but typically Claudia has resurrected the contestants who were the first to go sometime later in the show, in increasingly dramatic ways.

This year, the three contestants who sacrificed themselves on the train were brought back in a challenge near the end of the show. Dangled from cages in the forest, the banished contestants had to persuade their fellow players to put the most money in their slot, lowering only two cages to the floor for them to be brought back into the game. 

The Celebrity Traitors didn’t feature this exciting plot twist, but there is still time… maybe there’ll be a reappearance in the final? My fingers are crossed for Stephen, Celia or Nico! 

The celebrities are… well, celebrities 

via BBC

This is quite an obvious difference, but has caused a lot of changes in the gameplay. Firstly, no one can assume a false identity (no more fake Welsh accents from Charlotte), and can’t go into the game with secret alliances. This has robbed us of another iconic moment from the previous series, of Traitors queen Diane revealing that “Paul just couldn’t be my son… but Ross is.” *Cue viewers everywhere losing their minds in disbelief*. 

While this does mean there won’t be anyone on this series looking for their five seconds of fame (because they’re all already famous), the gameplay of this series is quite different. The celebrities naturally have an image and reputation to protect, so perhaps haven’t truly been able to be themselves and play the game how they might want to. (This obviously hasn’t held back Joe Marler, however). Viewers have commented that everyone is a bit “too polite” to each other: Everyone still wants an invitation to Jonathan Ross’ famous Halloween party, after all. 

There are no alliances and feuds between players

A part of protecting the celebrity image means there can’t be any drama between contestants in this series like there infamously has been in previous years. Kas, a contestant in season three, later commented he felt he was ostracised from the group during his season and subjected to harsh questioning, including one contestant likening him to “Harold Shipman.”

It’s definitely good that this hasn’t happened this year, but this doesn’t mean there haven’t been subtle alliances between contestants, even if they aren’t as overt as usual. Many of the celebrities already know each other and have working relationships, proving it quite difficult for the younger, newer celebrities to go up against established powerhouses such as Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry.

Additionally, some viewers felt it’s been less entertaining this series, with no petty mis-spellings of names when voting on the banishment, or heated arguments and scathing comments at the round table. This has undeniably been part of the appeal of the Traitors, as all bets on the good in human nature are off once alliances form, feuds begin, and there is £120,000 at stake. 

Which edition of The Traitors did you like more: with or without the celebrities? No matter which version you preferred, we know you’ll be tuning in with us to watch the final tonight! What are we going to do with ourselves once it’s over?

Featured image via BBC