CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night’s TV: Traitor Wilf has learned to lie as a charity worker

The Traitors 

Rating: ****

A Bunch Of Amateurs: Storyville

Rating: **** 

Why are lies like jelly and cream in a Christmas trifle? Because they pile up, layer upon layer.

That tasty spoonful of philosophy could come from a festive cracker. But it’s an observation by Wilf — one of the mendacious double agents in The Traitors (BBC1).

Wilf has been an impeccable traitor so far, expertly deflecting all suspicions away from himself, even when that meant betraying one of his fellow quislings.

He says his work as a charity fundraiser has taught him the art of emotional manipulation, which is worryingly frank — and frankly worrying. The lies are piling up so thick, as this brilliantly devious show passes the halfway mark, that the trifle is deep enough to fill a swimming pool.

The Traitors, 29-11-2022,1, Claudia Winkleman, Studio Lambert Associates, Llara Plaza

No one trusts anybody. When actress Alex confided in doctor Amos that she’d turned down an invitation to betray everyone and become a traitor herself, his reaction was to question her motives for telling him: ‘She could be triple bluffing me.’

The rules need some ironing and tweaking — it’s not clear how many people can emerge as winners, or what would happen if all the traitors were exposed before the end of the game.

That’s not too important, since the real fun for viewers is in watching people try to spot the liars. School administrator Fay thrust her face at trainee lawyer Rayan and dared him to look her straight in the eyes. When he blinked, she denounced him.

As it turned out, Rayan wasn’t duplicitous. He was just a bit shy.

Everyone is starting to take the accusations personally now. Most get emotional when their motives are questioned, even though lying is the whole point of the game.

We all have an ingrained need to be believed.

The Traitors, 13-12-2022, Claudia Winkleman, Studio Lambert Associates, Llara Plaza

There’s never been a show quite like this. It’s the anti-Bake Off, the opposite of all those telly competitions where taking part and making friends matters more than winning.

Netflix has something similar lined up for next year, a gameshow called Cheat — a quiz game where players are encouraged to bluff and trick their way to the jackpot when they don’t know the answer. Danny Dyer and Ellie Taylor, the East End geezer and the lightning fast comedian, will be the hosts.

Part of the genius of The Traitors is that the producers haven’t gone for an obvious presenter, a Cruella De Vil.

Scatty Claudia Winkleman always seemed like the sort of person who’d give you her last licorice allsort and then apologise for not having brought more. But she’s relishing the nastiness here.

Despite the showboating and the bickering at the Bradford Cine Circle (established 1932), there’s not a shred of real nastiness at the Monday-night meetings.

Some members, such as retired carpenter Colin and musicals fan Harry, have been coming almost since the club started. But they don’t just watch movies: their passion is for making their own.

A Bunch of Amateurs: Storyville, 13-12-2022 (Bradford Movie Makers image, Labor of Love Films)

A Bunch Of Amateurs: Storyville (BBC4) was an affectionate portrait of the group, filmed over several years, as they struggled to keep the club going.

A gala screening didn’t go well — even people who’d bought tickets at £5 a head didn’t bother turning up. Harry in particular was bereft: he saw his dream of starring in his own remake of Oklahoma slipping away.

The 90-minute documentary could easily have been trimmed to half an hour, and aired in one of BBC1’s We Are England slots.

But it was worth waiting the length of a feature film, just to get a happy ending. The club was saved . . . by a £10,000 government Covid grant. Now there’s a twist nobody saw coming.