Claudia Winkleman admits she turned down return of The Traitors for second series – before being persuaded by BBC bosses
Claudia Winkleman admitted that she initially turned down a return as hoist for the second series of of The Traitors.
The Strictly Come Dancing presenter won widespread acclaim for her role on the new BBC gameshow.
Claudia, 51, is well known for her encouraging remarks on the long-running celebrity dance show.
But she more than impressed fans of The Traitors with her new 'dark' persona in the first series of the show.
However, it seems the presenter herself might not like the 'villainous' tone the producers tell her to set on the show.
The beloved broadcaster admitted that she felt "nervous" about the second series of the show and was hesitant about signing up for a return.
READ MORE ON THE TRAITORS
She told Heat: "We're going again but I'm feeling nervous and weird about it. I originally said 'lets just leave it as this magical thing that happened'.
"Then the head of BBC took my temperature. I just don't want people's expectations to be so high."
"The game is compelling and it taps into something I've been told all my life 'Trust your gut'. But it turns out you can't. You know absolutely nothing.
Claudia seems to prefer herself on other shows like Strictly, because she relishes the attitude of being the encouraging 'cheerleader'.
"On Strictly Come Dancing I'm like a cheerleader," she admitted.
"When they sat me down and said I had to kick two people out, I was like 'Don't be ridiculous I can't do that'.
"I do have to be quite cold. Sometimes I'm on the side of the Traitors and sometimes I really want the Faithful to get one of them."
She added: "They work in equal measure because I respect game play above everything."
The fan-favourite presenter also admitted that she even initially turned down hosting the first series because of the 'savage' format twists.
Claudia also admitted she wasn't keen on being away from her husband Kris Thykier and three kids for filming.
She told the Radio Times: "I wasn’t keen on leaving home for three weeks, so initially I said, 'I don’t think so, but thank you.'
"They then sent me the original Dutch version. I watched the first four episodes in one sitting, told the kids to make their own tea and then begged the BBC to let me be part of it.
“I’m used to being a cheerleader and a helper, so it felt very odd being so cold.
"By the end I couldn’t help but show how much I cared about them, but at the beginning, yes, it was deeply weird.
"The producers had to really persuade me to send two people home as soon as they arrived.
"I couldn’t really cope with it, but they said, 'This sets the tone, don’t be wet.' So off they went…"
Back in February, the corporation confirmed that The Traitors would be returning for a second series, much to fans delight.
The Traitors became must-watch TV in 2023 as players were split into two groups over 12 episodes.
The 'faithful' attempted to work out who were the deceitful 'traitors' among them who were out to sabotage efforts and win the prize money for themselves.
Read more on The Sun
It was an instant hit, with over 17million streams on iPlayer and A peak of 3.7million viewers who watched the final as it was aired on BBC One.
Fans cannot wait as the reality show format will make it's highly-anticipated return on Wednesday 3rd January.
