Claudia Winkleman says this aspect of The Traitors is 'problematic'

The host thinks 'conversations' on the topic are necessary

The Traitors season 2 contestants
(Image credit: BBC)

After weeks of nail-biting scenes and castle-based chaos, The Traitors finale is almost here. At the start of the year, 22 new contestants made their way to the Scottish Highlands to compete in the morality game, led by host Claudia Winkleman, and now just 8 remain. 

The first contestant to be sent home from the second season of The Traitors was 67-year-old Aubrey, followed by 66-year-old Sonja. As it stands, only one contestant over 45 remains - a fact that host Claudia says is "problematic".

Speaking on BBC Woman’s Hour, Claudia was asked whether in her opinion the show might have a problem with ageism. "I would like to sit down and have quite a few conversations about it," the presenter replied, before adding: "I don’t want to say anything because what if people haven’t watched?"

She then went on to say that she found this aspect of the series 'problematic', continuing: "I mean, lots of people haven’t and they’re listening now and they go ‘oh, this sounds all right’ so I’m not going to say any names, but yeah, it’s problematic. But then you’ll carry on watching and you will see. And that is all I can say."

It's also been noted that in this series, four out of the five contestants who have been 'murdered' by the Traitors have been women.

The gripping gameshow has proved to be a huge hit with fans, with an estimated six million people tuning in to see the first episode. The finale has been confirmed for Friday 26th January at 9pm, meaning that there are just three episodes left.

Claudia also went on in the interview to discuss the importance of 'power' in the game, explaining: "It is interesting what power does, and how people are often scared of power, and genuine magnetism is all I can say about anything, both in series one and series two. I think you either have it, or you don't. I'm just talking about my reality show here. Some people are compelling and people are drawn to them. To watch that is extraordinary."

Who has left The Traitors?

  • Aubrey: Murdered
  • Sonja: Banished
  • Kyra: Murdered
  • Brian: Banished
  • Ash: Banished
  • Jonny: Banished
  • Meg: Murdered
  • Tracey: Murdered
  • Anthony: Banished
  • Diane: Murdered
  • Miles: Banished
  • Paul: Banished
  • Charlie: Murdered
  • Charlotte: Banished 

The Traitors UK season 2 continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Wednesday 27th January.

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren has bylines in publications such as Marie Claire UK, Red Magazine, House of Coco, women&home, GoodTo, Woman's Own and Woman magazine.

She started writing for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant and covers everything from fashion and celebrity style to beauty and careers.