Celebrity Traitors: Claudia Winkleman recruits three traitors in first episode

Claudia Winkleman has recruited three celebrities to be the traitors in the first episode of the BBC’s celebrity spin-off of hit reality series The Traitors.

The first episode of The Celebrity Traitors kicked off on Wednesday night with the host welcoming 19 stars to the Scottish Highlands.

After Winkleman interviewed each of the contestants, she selected broadcaster Jonathan Ross, comedian Alan Carr and singer Cat Burns as the traitors.

The episode began with the celebrities escorted to the castle before their cars made a U-turn to a cemetery which had each of the stars’ names on a tombstone.

The first challenge saw them dig through their grave in the hopes of finding a shield, protecting them from the first murder.

Of the contestants, six found a shield in their grave, including Ross, former England rugby player and podcaster Joe Marler, comedian Joe Wilkinson, broadcaster Kate Garraway, Welsh singer Charlotte Church and actress Celia Imrie.

The celebrities were later gathered at the round table where Winkleman selected her three traitors.

As night fell, the trio met for the first time in the tower before it was revealed that they would have to commit their first murder in plain sight the following day.

The episode saw the celebrities complete their first challenge, which involved working as a team to pull a wooden trojan horse through a number of gates after answering a series of questions and adding £15,000 to the prize pot.

As the contestants celebrated back at the castle, the three traitors were instructed that they must kill in plain sight before the end of the night by finding a “poison black lily” in the castle, rubbing their hands on its pollen and touching the face of the person they want to murder.

The episode ended with Carr rubbing his hands on the poison lily, as the anticipation of whether or not he would successfully complete the task at hand and kill the first faithful built up.

The spin-off series will see the celebrities compete for the chance to win a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.

Other stars in the line-up include comedians Nick Mohammed and Lucy Beaumont, broadcaster Clare Balding, singer Paloma Faith, historian David Olusoga, YouTube star Niko Omilana and actresses Tameka Empson and Ruth Codd.

The series will air two nights a week, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 9pm.