Claudia Winkleman 'extra reluctant' to host new series of The Traitors and says 'leave it'

Claudia Winkleman has admitted she is 'extra reluctant' to film a new series of the hit show The Traitors. The hugely popular BBC series first came to our screens in 2022 and quickly solidified itself as one of the best new arrivals on TV.

When it returned earlier this year, viewers were just as gripped as they watched traitor Harry Clark walk away with all of the £95,150 prize after tricking his best mate in the competition Mollie Pearce. But despite the show's success, host Claudia - who has been praised for her fashion sense - is uncertain about the show's future.

Claudia, who also hosts Strictly Come Dancing, appeared on Good Morning Britain and said: "I was reluctant to do the second, and now I'm extra reluctant to do the third. Like guys, just leave it! It did okay, just leave it."

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She amusingly added: "They just say no, the head of the BBC just leant forward and took my temperature."

Claudia previously spoke out after the success of the first series and said she had begged bosses to let it be a one-off. At the time, she said: "I said that's more than enough. I said let's stop, because the first series was so overwhelming for us, the fact people liked it and wanted to talk about it.

"And I thought it was just so perfect, let's just leave it. Isn't that rather lovely? The BBC were like, 'No, what's the matter with you?!"

The third series has already been confirmed and applications are now closed. It is expected to air early next year.

The final of the second season was watched by an impressive 6.9 million viewers, with an average audience of 5.5 million throughout the series.