The Traitors is expected to return to BBC One on New Year’s Day 2027, with the next series set to follow the huge success of the latest civilian series.
Fans of The Traitors do not have long to wait for another trip to the Scottish castle, with the BBC expected to bring Claudia Winkleman back for another series of deception, banishments, secret murders and increasingly suspicious breakfast tables.
The next civilian series is expected to launch at 8pm on Friday, January 1, 2027, giving viewers a familiar New Year’s Day appointment with one of Britain’s biggest television shows. This is not confirmed.
wheretowatch.tv understands that the third and final series of Doctor Foster is also expected to launch straight afterwards at 9.30pm, although this remains unconfirmed.
So, when exactly will The Traitors be back, which nights will it air, and what can fans expect from the new series?
When is The Traitors Series 5 on TV?
The next series of The Traitors is expected to begin at 8pm on New Year’s Day, Friday January 1, 2027.
The BBC has yet to formally confirm the exact launch date and time, so viewers should treat the January 1 slot as an expected schedule rather than an officially announced one.
If the BBC follows the pattern used for Series 4, however, New Year’s Day will once again be a major night for the show.
Series 4 opened on Thursday January 1, 2026 at 8pm, before continuing on January 2 and January 3. After those opening episodes, the programme settled into a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday pattern.
That means fans could once again be looking at a three-night opening run over the New Year weekend, followed by a three-night-a-week schedule.
What nights will The Traitors be on?
Series 4 provided a clear indication of how the BBC likes to structure the civilian version of The Traitors.
The opening three episodes aired on consecutive nights:
- Episode 1: Thursday, January 1, 2026
- Episode 2: Friday, January 2, 2026
- Episode 3: Saturday, January 3, 2026
The series then moved to a regular Wednesday, Thursday and Friday pattern, with Episodes 4 to 6 airing from January 7 to January 9, Episodes 7 to 9 from January 14 to January 16, and the final three episodes from January 21 to January 23.
It is therefore possible that the 2027 series will follow a similar structure, although the BBC has not yet confirmed the full schedule.
For viewers searching for the answer to “what nights is The Traitors on?”, the safest expectation for now is a New Year’s Day launch followed by a multi-night weekly schedule.
Who won The Traitors Series 4?
Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby won Series 4 of The Traitors.
The result was one of the biggest shocks in the show’s history because both finalists were Traitors.
Rachel and Stephen managed to stay loyal to one another while eliminating the remaining Faithful players, becoming the first pair of Traitors to win the UK version of the programme together. They split the £95,750 prize pot, taking home £47,875 each.
Their victory brought an extraordinary end to a series that had kept viewers guessing over which players could be trusted.
The Traitors Series 4 ratings broke records
The fourth civilian series demonstrated just how firmly The Traitors has established itself as one of the UK’s biggest television events.
The Series 4 finale attracted an average overnight audience of 9.4 million viewers, peaking at 9.6 million, with a 54.9% audience share.
The BBC said it was the most-watched overnight audience for the civilian version of The Traitors ever.
Those figures help explain why the programme once again became appointment television, with viewers following every murder, recruitment, banishment and Round Table before rushing online to debate who could possibly be trusted.
The finale was particularly gripping because viewers were faced with the extraordinary possibility of a Traitor victory — and Rachel and Stephen ultimately delivered exactly that.
The nation was gripped by The Traitors
Part of The Traitors‘ appeal is that it has become more than just a television programme.
Each episode generates theories about the contestants, speculation about who is lying and arguments over whether the Faithful have missed an obvious clue.
Series 4 pushed that obsession even further. The final result meant that viewers who had spent weeks trying to identify the Traitors ultimately watched two of them walk away with the money.
The 9.4 million average overnight audience for the finale, alongside the 9.6 million peak, underlined the scale of that national interest.
With the civilian series now regularly attracting audiences of this size, the pressure will be on the next cast to deliver another collection of memorable characters and genuinely surprising twists.
Will Claudia Winkleman host The Traitors Series 5?
Yes, Claudia Winkleman is expected to return as host.
Winkleman has become inseparable from the BBC version of The Traitors, overseeing the missions, dramatic Round Tables and all-important decisions about who has been murdered or banished.
The BBC has already commissioned further civilian and celebrity editions of the format, with Winkleman continuing to front the show.
The identity of the Series 5 contestants, however, is something viewers will have to wait for.
Will Ed Gamble return for The Traitors: Uncloaked?
It is also expected that Ed Gamble’s video podcast series The Traitors: Uncloaked will return alongside the new series.
The companion programme has become a major part of the Traitors viewing experience, giving fans somewhere to dissect the latest episode immediately afterwards.
Gamble’s show has developed from a podcast companion into a substantial visualised programme, with episodes featuring celebrity guests and former contestants discussing the latest developments.
The format has proved particularly successful, with Uncloaked attracting between one and two million viewers on many nights during its earlier run, while its finale reached 3.7 million.
Gamble is also continuing his association with the format, describing himself as the “Crown Prince of Visualised Companion Podcasts” on his official website.
What can I watch while waiting for The Traitors?
Fortunately, fans do not have to wait until January to get their Traitors fix.
Series 2 of The Celebrity Traitors is currently airing on BBC One, with episodes continuing on Thursday and Friday nights.
The celebrity edition has once again brought the format’s familiar combination of deception, paranoia and spectacular blunders to a new group of famous faces.
It is followed by the companion show The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked, also hosted by Ed Gamble.
That means viewers can spend the remainder of 2026 watching celebrities attempt to work out who is lying before Claudia Winkleman returns to the civilian version in January.
When does The Traitors Series 5 start?
For viewers looking for the short answer, The Traitors Series 5 is expected to start at 8pm on Friday January 1, 2027 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
The BBC has not yet formally confirmed the launch details, but New Year’s Day would follow the hugely successful launch strategy used for Series 4.
Wheretowatch.tv understands that the third and final series of Doctor Foster is expected to follow at 9.30pm, although that scheduling information remains unconfirmed.
The expectation is that The Traitors will once again become one of the first major television events of the new year — and after Series 4’s record-breaking finale, viewers will be asking one question above all others:
Who can possibly be trusted?
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