Claudia Winkleman originally turned down The Traitors hosting role
The Strictly host is fronting the BBC's brand new reality competition The Traitors.
Claudia Winkleman is fronting the BBC's upcoming reality competition The Traitors, in which a group of contestants try to eliminate one another and discover who the titular traitors are in order to win £120,000 – however, the Strictly host has revealed that she originally turned the job down.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at a screening for The Traitors, Winkleman said that she initially chose not to take the presenting gig as her children had school exams coming up.
"So very sweetly [BBC director of unscripted] Kate [Phillips] asked me to do it. And they said, 'It's three weeks in Scotland.' I've been to the countryside twice, and I just never leave London. And I was like, 'Well, thank you so much, but like, no.'
"I'm going to assume 50 people said no, but I just said, 'No, I can't because my daughter's doing GCSEs and I like to lick the little one and I mean, my big one is older but still, I just like to follow him around.'"
However, she added that after watching the Dutch version of The Traitors, on which the BBC show is based, the broadcaster changed her mind.
"They said, 'Why don't you just watch the Dutch version and then decide?' so I watched the Dutch version and I mean, nobody got fed. I didn't brush my teeth. I was so obsessed that then I had to phone Kate and I said, 'I've booked a train, I'm going to Scotland now.' She was like, 'Filming doesn't start for months.'
"So it's a privilege, I am so lucky. I got so deep like never before. I would phone my husband – I think he was my husband, I didn't even care. He was like, 'I think French went well,' and I was like, 'You're not gonna believe what [contestant] Will has done.'"
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The show begins with a group of contestants living in a Scottish castle, while three of the contestants are chosen to be traitors – those with the power to 'murder' the other contestants. Those left standing at the end will win £120,000.
Speaking about the gameshow, Winkleman said: "I'm dressing like Princess Anne mixed with Ronnie Corbett, but what it is is a game of smarts and it's a game like no other.
"I don't mean smarts as in, 'I've got four degrees.' It is not a game of luck. It is a game of wit. I've never seen anything like it. Anyway, I was in deep."
The Traitors airs on BBC One later this year. In the meantime, check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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