Claudia Winkleman‘s iconic outfits and trademark fringe seen on the BBC‘s version of The Traitors may never have happened.
BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips has admitted that the broadcaster and producer Stephen Lambert had originally asked The Traitors‘ U.S. host Alan Cumming to present the British show.
“Alan Cumming had been signed to do the American one, so I thought that Alan was known here as a popular Scottish actor,” she told the Rest is Entertainment podcast. “Full disclosure, we did ask Alan if he would do it, but he couldn’t do our dates.”
Both the BBC series and Peacock’s program in the States are produced by Studio Lambert.
Phillips also revealed the production’s initial plan had been to shoot the UK and U.S. versions in Costa Rica, but the BBC’s focus on producing within the UK meant Scotland’s now-iconic Ardross Castle was selected.
“They were looking at filming it in Costa Rica as a location – that is true,” she told The Rest is Entertainment hosts Richard Osman and Marina Hyde. “At the BBC, we like to spend money across the UK and do portrayal across the UK. I had to ring NBC and Studio Lambert and say, ‘How do you fancy a Scottish castle?’,”
The show, a parlor game of deceit in which ‘Traitors’ secretly kill off ‘Faithful’ contestants who try to correctly identify them, has been a ratings mega-hit in the UK and won Emmys in the U.S. The recent BBC edition, The Celebrity Traitors, drew a huge 11 million for its finale.
The series is based on Der Verrades, a Dutch format that IDTV and Posvideo developed alongside the RTL Creative Unit.
Winkleman is about to exit another entertainment juggernaut, the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, but Phillips said the public might have to wait a little longer to find out replacements for her and co-host Tess Daly.
Phillips said the BBC Studios production team on Strictly was instead “concentrating on getting two shows out a week,” so “haven’t got time at the moment to do any screen tests or chemistry testing.”
She added: “We’ve got time [after the season finishes], so I don’t think we will be looking at it until the New Year, as we want to deliver a great Strictly series. Having said that, my inbox has been inundated. It is two of the best gigs in television.”
Tim Davie tribute
Phillips was asked about the recent resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness over a misleading edit in a Panorama current affairs program that changed a Donald Trump speech. She responded that the news had been “a bolt from the blue” and paid tribute to departing execs.
“We were all very shocked when Tim and Deborah Turness resigned,” said Phillips. “For me personally, I am huge admirers of them. They have been incredible colleagues and great friends, and I know no-one has worked harder or cared more about the BBC, making sure it’s a value to everyone in the UK. That is at their core.
“Everyone at the BBC is feeling great sadness that they’ve gone. We’re very proud of everything we do, and two of our most talented and brilliant leaders are stepping down.”
She added that Davie was “an amazing leader and will be very hard to replace.”
Phillips warned against constant criticism of the BBC, which is funded through license fee payers, pointing to a recent speech in which Culture Minister Lisa Nandy provided similar sentiments. Though she said the BBC was “rightly” scrutinized more than “any other broadcaster,” she added: “We should be scrutinized, and we’re accountable and we should be upheld when we don’t get it right, but all in the spirit of making the best broadcaster in the world even better.”
You can watch the episode here.
