Report: Ricky Gervais Tops BBC Wishlist for Celebrity ‘The Traitors’

Ricky Gervais tops producers’ wishlist to star in the highly anticipated celebrity version of the BBC’s hit show, The Traitors, reports The Sun newspaper.

According to TV insiders, Gervais is among several high-profile UK celebrities targeted for the show, confirmed by Studio Lambert at the Edinburgh TV Festival last week.

One industry source quoted in the report stated, “The BBC want the crème de la crème of stars for the celeb spin-off, and they ideally have to be incredibly smart, funny, and mischievous — and that’s Ricky in three words.”

Another source revealed, “Behind the scenes, big names have already expressed their interest in taking part from the moment it was revealed the new version of The Traitors was being made.”

Other potential stars include British TV presenter Jonathan Ross, a friend of Gervais, and Friends alumna Courteney Cox, who is known to be close to The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman.

The Traitors became a massive hit for the BBC upon its debut in 2022. Studio Lambert quickly secured recommissioning for additional series, with three already having aired and a fourth on the way.

The show features a group of participants gathered in a Scottish castle, where a minority are secretly assigned roles as “murderers.” The primary suspense hinges on whether this group can eliminate everyone else before being discovered.

Filming for the celebrity version is expected to commence in early 2025.