The Traitors review: A word out of place, a careless gasp and you’re exposed. Yes, The Traitors is back and I love it. I must be a horrible person, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS

The Traitors, BBC1

Judgement:

Sonja loves knitting. She is a cheerful, bubbly lady of 66, a volunteer with frizzy hair, leopard print glasses and, she says, 'no off switch, I'm full all day long'.

She also takes pride in bragging that she is completely unreliable. “My natural inclination is to be cunning, cunning and deceptive,” she declares. In the world of The Traitors, this is a good thing.

When this reality game show broke through in late 2022, it caused a sensation. My own expectations were, to be honest, low: it's true, the Beeb has brought us addictive reality formats like Strictly and The Apprentice, but more recent efforts have been generally terrible (anyone remember Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof?).

The Traitors destroyed all prejudices. It caused shockwaves from the start, with two players banned before even entering the Scottish castle where the game is set. Their crime? Showing a hint of trepidation, while this show demands ruthlessness.

Presenter Claudia Winkleman took great delight in undermining her disheveled, disheveled image by revealing a talent for malicious manipulation. Roundtable discussions, in which participants expressed paranoid suspicions that other players were planning to eliminate them, reached a toxic state of delirium. We had never seen anything like it.

This time we all have a better idea of ​​what to expect. And the players are much better prepared.

Suddenly duplicity is a badge of honor. They all brag about how conniving they are willing to be, how false and disloyal they are.

An icy heart is essential in this game, in which several players – Traitors – have the secret power to put others out of the game one by one.

Viewers know who they are, but the participants do not. It's like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, where all the competitors gossip, investigate and scheme to discover the liars among them. If all the traitors are discovered, the survivors split the prize money. But if a traitor remains undiscovered, he or she wins the jackpot and the others get nothing.

This game does strange things to people. In a fireside interview, Claudia challenged business manager Paul, 36, to describe himself in three words. “Competitive,” he said. “Cruel, a traitor.” There's nothing wrong with a little competition, but how bizarre to hear a grown man proudly describe himself as cruel.

Every night the faceless traitors meet to choose a loyal victim to 'kill' or kick out of the game

Insurance broker Andrew, 45, says: 'I'm good at turning off my emotions. I'm a very good liar.'

Tracey from Inverness, 58, brags: 'I'm actually really good at lying.' She also claims to be clairvoyant and says the spirits will help her. Video director Ross, 28, promises: “I can throw a few people under the bus if I have to.”

Not so long ago, perhaps a generation or so, most people would have gone to their graves before making such confessions. Honesty was the most basic of the decent British virtues. Calling someone a liar out loud, without any evidence, was unthinkable – and even now that word cannot be uttered in the House of Commons.

The Traitors is of course a game and the players have a potential incentive of £120,000 to betray and deceive each other. But the fact that they can enjoy it and even win admiration for their hypocrisy is quite an indictment on the society that Britain has become this century. Of course, it would be too easy if the format were identical to last time. Claudia signaled that changes were coming by lining up all 22 players as if immediate eliminations were looming, as happened last year – and then ushering them into the castle, laughing.

At the first group meeting, all participants were blindfolded. Claudia, in red leather fingerless gloves (part dominatrix, part skinflint), walked behind them and selected 'Traitors' by tapping them on the shoulder. Those who are not chosen are the 'Believers'.

Last year the game started with three traitors. This year there are four, although the identity of the fourth will only be announced tonight.

Every night, the faceless Traitors meet to choose a Loyal victim to 'kill' or kick out of the game.

An out-of-place word, a careless sigh and a pack of lies are exposed. I love it. I must be a terrible person

Every day, all the players gather and try to expose a traitor… knowing one of them could be staring across the table.

There are also physical challenges, group tasks where success adds money to the prize pool.

In the early stages, these mini-games have an added tension as players try to recruit allies (as protection against elimination) and increase rivals.

Early favorites for the final include events manager Ash, 45, whose face didn't flicker when she was picked as a traitor. In contrast, the baby-faced 22-year-old Army Corporal Harry couldn't help grinning when he was selected.

He started breathing so hard that the player next to him – 63-year-old retired teacher Diane – immediately noticed he was agitated and became suspicious.

That's how dangerous this game is. An out-of-place word, a careless sigh and a pack of lies are exposed. I love it. I must be a terrible person.