Everything We Know About The Traitors Series 4

Last Easter, news emerged that the BBC had booked up Ardross Castle, filming location for The Traitors, for a whopping six years – that’s all the way up to 2030. This beloved murder mystery series is going nowhere soon. And with the inaugural The Celebrity Traitors attracting record audiences (and already renewed for series 2), it’s time to be united with a fresh batch of ordinary Brits for the first year running.

Here’s everything we know so far about ordinary The Traitors series 4, landing on New Year’s Day.

The Traitors Series 4: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

The Traitors series 3 contestants. (BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

The Traitors series 4 was confirmed way back in August 2024 at the Edinburgh TV Festival, along with a nine-part celebrity version. Both were filmed at Scotland’s home of The Traitors Ardross Castle in summer 2025.

‘The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level,’ the BBC’s head of entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight said at the time. ‘It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!’

‘We are thrilled to be inviting some celebrities into our castle to come and play the game,’ added Mike Cotton, executive producer of the series. ‘Seeing famous faces navigate the round table or don the infamous green cloaks will be unmissable TV, and what a double treat for the fans with Series 4 also confirmed too. There’s a whole lot of exciting treachery and deception yet to come from the Highlands… Claudia’s going to have to pack some extra knitwear.’

(c) BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry

How Does It Work?

The premise of The Traitors can sound confusing to newcomers, but it’s actually pretty simple once you get into it. The gist is thus: 22 players arrive at a remote Scottish castle, and Claudia Winkleman selects three of them to be Traitors. Everyone else is a Faithful, and is tasked with finding out who the Traitors are. Every night the Traitors meet in the castle’s turret to murder a Faithful, and this contestant is eliminated from the series.

In a bid to catch out these murderous Traitors, the whole group comes together each evening to banish whoever they think is a Traitor; the contestant with the most votes is eliminated from the competition, when they reveal if they are a Faithful or in fact a Traitor.

Extra spanners are thrown in the works as the series progresses, but the general rule of thumb is that the number of contestants is whittled down everyday until only two or three players remain.

If all final players are Faithful, they split the prize money between them. But if any of the remaining players are a Traitor, they steal the whole cash prize (usually around £100,000) for themselves.

In the midst of this, all players must complete challenges in exchange for money in the prize pot. Challenges also present the opportunity to win a Shield, which prevents players from being murdered (though they can still be banished). In recent series, challenges have also posed an opportunity for treacherous Traitors to do some meddling – and they’re usually pretty hilarious, too.

(BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

Who Will Star?

The Traitors series 4 cast has not yet been revealed, but we know the contestants – ordinary people from across the UK – were selected in the first half of 2025 before descending on Ardross Castle in the summer. There will be 22 players playing for a grand prize of up to £120,000.

If you’re dreaming of starring in the UK’s favourite live action murder mystery game, casting is already open for series 5 (which would likely air at the very start of 2027). You’ve got until 31 May 2026 to send your application. Find all the details at bbc.co.uk

Ardross Castle, where The Traitors is filmed. (BBC/Studio Lambert)

When Will The Traitors Series 4 Air?

Grab your cloak: The Traitors will return for series 4 on New Year’s Day – that’s 8pm on Thursday 1 January 2026.

The second episode will air on Friday 2 January at 8pm, followed by episode 3 at 7.45pm on Saturday 3 January. Episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer after they have aired.

We expect three episodes to air weekly for four weeks, tallying up 12 episodes. The BBC is yet to confirm whether these episodes will air on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays or on different days of the week. Stay tuned.

(© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

Will There Be Another Series Of The Celebrity Traitors?

If you were a Celebrity Traitors convert, good news: the BBC is also working hard to bring a second series of its celebrity edition to the small screen. Filming is set to get underway next spring ahead of a debut in autumn 2026. Click here for everything we know so far.

(BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

WATCH

The first three series of The Traitors and the first series of The Celebrity Traitors are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Also on BBC iPlayer, you can find The Celebrity Traitors, two series of The Traitors Australia, two series of The Traitors NZ, and three series of The Traitors US.