US vs UK vs Celebrity Traitors: how the versions really differ

Put a British fan and an American fan in a room and ask them which Traitors is best, and you will get a Round Table without the candles. They are watching the same format, shot at the same Highland castle, and yet the two shows feel completely different. Add The Celebrity Traitors, the BBC spin-off that took over British living rooms in autumn 2025, and you have three distinct games. Here is how they compare.

Same castle, same bones

Start with what they share. Both main versions film at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. Both run the same loop: missions build a prize fund, the Traitors murder overnight, everyone votes at the Round Table, and the end game decides who takes the money. Both descend from the Dutch original, De Verraders, which you can read about in our origin story.

The hosts: knitwear vs kilts

Claudia Winkleman fronts the UK show and The Celebrity Traitors in a uniform of chunky knits, fingerless gloves and a fringe that could survive a gale. She plays it cosy and dry, a friend who happens to be running a murder game.

Alan Cumming fronts the American version as a Scottish laird who has raided a theatre's wardrobe department. The Hollywood Reporter profiled his stylist and costume designer, Sam Spector, who themes each look to that episode's mission. The outfits are now an awards category in their own right: the Television Academy lists a 2026 Emmy for the show's costumes. Cumming has also won the hosting Emmy three years running.

Who gets cast

This is the biggest difference. The UK show casts members of the public. The American version started with a mix in season 1, ten reality TV veterans and ten civilians, then went fully famous from season 2, filling the castle with reality stars and public figures. That changes everything: US players arrive with reputations, alliances from other shows and fan bases watching at home, while UK players arrive as strangers.

The American franchise is now testing the other side of that coin. The Traitors: New Blood, on NBC rather than Peacock, is the first all-civilian US season, with 22 players. NBC Insider reports it was filmed at Ardross in May and June 2026, and Deadline reports the players were picked from more than 60,000 applicants.

The money

The American pot tops out at $250,000. The British cap is £120,000. In practice, neither show usually hits its ceiling. The only US season to bank the full $250,000 was the first; the other three finished between $204,300 and $220,800.

The UK totals so far, according to the per-series records:

• Series 1 (2022): Faithful Aaron Evans, Hannah Byczkowski and Meryl Williams split £101,050.
• Series 2 (2024): Harry Clark won alone as a Traitor, the UK show's first Traitor winner, and took £95,150.
• Series 3 (2025): Faithful Jake Brown and Leanne Quigley split £94,600.
• Series 4 (2026): Traitors Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby split £95,750, the first Traitor pair to win the UK show.

The Celebrity Traitors plays for charity instead. Its first series had a £100,000 ceiling and finished at £87,500, all of which went to the winner's chosen charity.

The results, side by side

Score it up and the two main shows are eerily balanced. The US version has two Traitor wins (Cirie Fields in season 1, Rob Rausch in season 4) and two Faithful wins (season 2 and season 3). The UK version also has two of each: Faithful in series 1 and 3, Traitors in series 2 and 4. Nobody has cracked this game.

The Celebrity Traitors went to the Traitors. Alan Carr, one of three Traitors alongside Jonathan Ross and Cat Burns, outlasted both of them, and won after the two finalists sitting with him voted to end the game. Deadline reports the finale drew about 11 million viewers, the most-watched UK broadcast of 2025, and the BBC has ordered a second series.

Twists travel both ways

The versions borrow from each other constantly. The UK third series opened on a train with 25 players, three of whom had to volunteer to step off, and used a Seer and a death match among murder nominees. The US picked up a Seer in its own third season. Both fourth runs, broadcast in early 2026, featured a Secret Traitor and a Dagger. For the full American list, see every twist the US version has used.

Tone

If you want a single word for each: the UK show is tense, the US show is theatrical, and The Celebrity Traitors is chaotic in the best way. Civilian players tend to play the game as a game, because they have no brand to protect. Famous players are playing for their reputation as much as the pot, which is why American Round Tables can feel like a reunion special with a body count.

The awards reflect both approaches. The US version has won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The UK version won a BAFTA in its first year, and The Celebrity Traitors followed with BAFTAs of its own.

Which one should you watch?

All of them, obviously. But if you are here for fantasy, the American version is the one with points on the line. Catch up on the four completed US seasons in the archive, then meet this season's players before your next draft.