The murderous Seventeenth-century true crime story that impressed actuality present The Traitors

The Traitors is now a British televisual institution as familiar as Only Fools And Horses or Ant & Dec, but the seeds of an idea first came from the Netherlands and was born out of a 17th century shipwreck.

Back in 2014 Dutch producer Marc Pos, who had already enjoyed great success with global viewing hits like Big Brother and Idols, was reading a history book about a famous mutiny on a Dutch East Indio Company ship called the Batavia. The vessel hit a coral reef at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Australia and 300-plus survivors made land on small, barren coral islands.

Merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz took charge of the main survivor group and planned a mutiny to seize a rescue ship when it arrived and started a reign of terror. A separate group of survivors on another island, led by soldier Wiebbe Hayes, fought back and held off the mutineers.

The tale sparked an idea in Pos who, along with Jasper Hoogendoorn, sketched out the bones of a possible show called The Mutineers which was set on a ship where eliminated contestants were forced to walk the plank.

Although the ship element didn’t survive, the blueprint for a gameshow about a group of secret saboteurs did and and it evolved into a concept where unsuspecting players were murdered by night and unmasked during the day – De Verraders (The Traitors) was born. Dutch network RTL eventually aired the first show just five years ago in 2021 and it travelled fast.

A psychological thriller, Traitors was an instant hit thanks to its simple roots – it’s basically the ultimate party game elevated by a grand theatrical setting. The game tension all comes from the mystery and paranoia of never knowing who you can actually trust, and viewers loved witnessing emotions run high.

Its success spread fast around the world because the concept is so simple and it’s relatively cheap in terms of production. All the show requires is a group of people in one central location and then human nature takes its course as the players betray or plead their innocence in an attempt to stay the course of the series.

The first country outside the Netherlands to take on. The Traitors was the UK in 2022 with host Claudia Winkleman at the beautiful setting of Ardoss Castle Scotland. It became a national institution after just one series, sparking viral moments galore and an obsessive fandom who consumed podcasts and articles about the show and its contestants.

A year later the US version launched with Alan Cumming – filmed at the same Highlands location but while the show followed the same narrative it mixed reality stars and celebrities into the mix with ‘civilian’ players, creating another layer of intrigue (or paranoia).

By 2025 there were more than 20 versions of The Traitors in six continents and that figure has doubled today with All3Media International confirming new formats arriving in Indonesia, Estonia, Slovakia, Serbia, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Malta. And while the concept is the same in each territory, every nation brings its own unique social dynamic and atmosphere to the screen.

Themes of trust and betrayal travel well and the game itself requires little translation from one country to the next. All TV companies need are a willing cast, an atmospheric venue and a captivating host.

But The Traitors has become bigger than just a TV show and it’s now a ‘global entertainment ecosystem’ that has spawned various boardgames and mobile apps, a live experience in London and even a stage production due in 2027.

The UK’s celebrity edition of The Traitors is perhaps the biggest hit of all, with the first season’s finale pulling in over 15 million viewers for the BBC making it the UK’s biggest show of the year.

Never mind the celebrity names, paranoia and betrayal are the real stars of this show.

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