STARSTRUCK Claudia Winkleman could have been seriously dazzled by the famous faces in the Celebrity Traitors line-up.
But the host of the spin-off had her own game plan to help keep her cool for the three weeks of filming in Ardross Castle: becoming “Cruella de Vil with a touch of Miss Trunchbull”.
Claudia said: “It’s an absolute honour.
“I could barely breathe when I saw them all in the Highlands.
“I’m such a fan of every single one of them.
“The whole team were just in awe, it was hard not to scream ‘You’re here!’.
“When I talked to Stephen Fry I almost welled up, I told him: ‘This was my dream.’
“We’re incredibly lucky to have the cast that we have.
“Each one of them is tremendous.
“They’re incredibly smart and kind.
“They play the game beautifully and were fully engulfed in it.
“It was an extraordinary experience and we’re so, so lucky this 19 said yes.
“It’s something we never take for granted and are so grateful for.”
But instead of becoming their friend, Claudia had to keep in character to convey the ambience of the show with a blend of intimidation, danger and a hint of the sinister thrown in for good measure
She is the puppet master, ensuring the normally cosseted celebrities were forced to complete a variety of gruelling tasks before turning on one another, as the Traitors “murder” their celebs pals.
So Claudia had to lose her natural warm inclinations and awe of the celebrities.
She could have looked to her counterpart on the US Traitors, Alan Cumming, who said he went “full Bond villain”, but Claudia said she drew inspiration from 101 Dalmations fur-loving villain Cruella, and Matilda’s terrifying headmistress.
Claudia said: “All I wanted to do was chat to them and make them like me.
“But of course, I have to be extremely unlikable. It was tricky.
“The biggest challenge was being ‘strict’.
“All I wanted to do was chat and be friendly but my role is aloof and grumpy.
“I found it hard not to just sit down with them and have a cup of tea.
“My family and I are obsessed with Joe Wilkinson, I had to stop myself getting his autograph for my son.”
And Claudia admitted she wanted to help the celebrity Faithfuls catch the “murdering” Traitors among them.
She said: “I am DESPERATE to help them all the time.
“Sometimes I try to drop big clues but my producer tells me off.”
As anticipation for the BBC One show grows ahead of its launch next week, we have been given a glimpse of how Claudia did in a recently-released trailer.
Clare Balding: Strategy is ‘be quiet’
“HOW I am in everyday life is not how I am on telly.
“I have to be well researched, know the facts and be seemingly in control the whole time.
“I’m not in control of this so I guess to the outside world, it will be a bit different.
“My strategy would be to try to keep myself under the radar.
“Do not be the loudest person in any situation.
“Be good at the missions because if you’re good at those you have a value.
“If you’ve got a real athlete on the team, I’d want to keep them even if I thought they were a Traitor, because they’ve got value.”
In an uncharacteristic moment, she is seen yelling at the celebrities as they are forced to haul a giant Trojan horse through the hilly Scottish landscape in the grounds of the castle.
‘It’s absolutely nuts – unhinged’
Since the show launched in 2022, becoming an overnight success, Claudia’s clothes have become the stuff of legend.
Over the past three series, her Traitors look has seen her showcase some seriously oversized knitwear and an array of outstanding tweed jackets.
But for The Celebrity Traitors, her wardrobe has evolved again, though she will only tease what we can expect saying: “It’s absolutely nuts.
“Unhinged in taffeta was where we went.”
Although she loved the experience, Claudia admitted having some initial scepticism about doing a celebrity version.
Niko Omilana: I’ll add spice to game
“I HOPE I’m going to bring a different way of thinking.
“I’m experienced in playing games similar to this and this is as big as it gets.
“I’ll try to spice it up a little, bring a little bit of sauce to the game.
“I’ll bring up the vibes, maybe a bit of chaos.
“I want to be a Traitor badly.
“If I was a Traitor, I would just go for chaos.
“I love chaos and that’s why I love the show.
“I want to be planting seeds in people’s heads, stirring the pot.
“I’m very competitive.
“I always want to win so I’ll do what it takes to win, but I just love it regardless.
“If I don’t win, I don’t throw a tantrum!”
After three hugely popular series featuring members of the public, the decision was taken to produce this much-anticipated spin-off, which was filmed earlier this year.
From the moment The Sun exclusively revealed the BBC had given the green light to the project, rumours circulated about which A-listers would sign.
And fans were not disappointed by the 19 big names that eventually threw their hats into the ring.
However, Claudia says she still felt “scared” as the project developed over the course of 2024.
“Only because I’m in love with this show and I wanted to keep it small,” she insisted.
“Once a year or maybe once every two years felt like enough.
“My bosses, thank goodness, ignored everything I said.”
- The Celebrity Traitors kicks off on BBC One next Wednesday at 9pm.
Paloma Faith: ‘Don’t murder me’
“I’M exceptional at reading people and I’m worried that I’ll get voted off or murdered because they’ll see that in me.
“I need to keep it under the radar.
“I might see a different side to myself.
“I think that I’m always very moral and on my high horse so I might be surprised if I do some back-stabbing.
“Sometimes I think my game plan is that I’m just going to be really honest because there’s no way that I can do anything else than genuinely be myself.
“I’m in favour of having a voice of any kind, rather than sitting on the fence.
“I’d get rid of the boring ones.”
Lucy Beaumont: ‘I want to be a Traitor’
“TRAITOR or Faithful?
“I don’t mind which. I think there’ s a bit less pressure with being a Faithful but then it’d be hard if people suspected you were a Traitor.
“All things considered, I’d rather be a Traitor.
“I think it’s more interesting.
“But I’d probably not be a very good one.
“When I was a teenager, I was good at spotting 15-year-old boys that were lying but things have changed since then.
“I hope the skills might return in this game.
“I don’t have a plan for anything, I’m going to go with the flow.”
