THE second series of The Celebrity Traitors has just finished filming – and whispers suggest it’s the most treacherous so far.

It’s all down to a huge change between the debut season, which aired last autumn, and what’s coming up later this year.

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The second series of The Celebrity Traitors, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, has just finished filming Credit: PA

A whopping third of the contestants end up as Traitors in the upcoming series Credit: BBC

I’ve been reliably informed that a THIRD of the contestants on the BBC One show, presented by Claudia Winkleman, end up as Traitors in the upcoming series.

A show insider said: “Those working on the programme were quite shocked by the approach adopted by the core Traitors.

“They went on a recruiting spree that has never been seen on either the celebrity or the ‘civilian’ version of the show in the UK.

“Last year, the original three Traitors secretly selected by Claudia remained as a trio throughout the competition — which turned out to be a winning approach.

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“But on the follow-up series, all that changes. There’s a thrilling shift in the balance of power.

“Even though the whole programme is based on skullduggery, nobody thought it would reach these levels.”

In the 2025 series, Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross and Cat Burns didn’t recruit any new Traitors to their back-stabbing cause.

Although Jonathan and Cat were both booted off the show, it was an approach that ultimately worked because Alan ended up leaving Ardross Castle triumphant.

This time around, the all-star contestants — including Maya Jama, Ross Kemp, Michael Sheen and Julie Hesmondhalgh — will have to deal with a totally different bit of gameplay.

Frustratingly, it looks like we’ve got at least another four months to go before we get to see the new format in all its glory.

But at least we know it will be worth the wait.