Quick Answer
What nights is Traitors on? Series 4 ran on BBC One from Thursday 1 to Friday 23 January 2026, mostly Wednesday to Friday evenings at 8pm. Series 5 has no announced date. The Celebrity Traitors series 2 began on Thursday 1 October 2026, then aired on Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, according to press reports. Check BBC One listings once dates are confirmed.
Key Takeaways
- Nights and start times change from run to run, so use the listing for the series in front of you rather than last year’s pattern.
- No series 5 date had been announced in the sources checked for this article (20 October 2026). A January 2027 start is an expectation, not a fact.
- Reports say new episodes reach iPlayer after they air on BBC One. We found no BBC statement about a midnight release or early access to a full season.
What nights is Traitors on? Past runs show the pattern
Nobody outside the BBC can say yet which nights series 5 will use, so the most honest guide is how recent runs were scheduled. The pattern is a few evenings a week over roughly three to five weeks, with the exact nights set by the series.
| Run | Dates | Nights | Start time as reported | Episodes |
| The Celebrity Traitors series 1 | 8 October to 6 November 2025 | Wednesday and Thursday | 9pm | 9 |
| The Traitors series 4 | 1 to 23 January 2026 | Thursday to Saturday in week one, then Wednesday to Friday | 8pm (7.45pm on Saturday 3 January, 8.30pm for the finale) | 12 |
| The Celebrity Traitors series 2 | From Thursday 1 October 2026 | Thursday and Friday | 8pm | 10 |
| The Traitors series 5 | Not announced | Not announced | Not announced | Not announced |
Sources for each row are listed at the end. Reported times differ between outlets, so treat the table as a record of past patterns, not a timetable.
What days is the Traitors on BBC One?
In series 4 the regular pattern was Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The opening week was different: the first three episodes went out on Thursday 1, Friday 2 and Saturday 3 January 2026, with the Saturday episode starting a little earlier, at 7.45pm, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The Celebrity Traitors used a two-night pattern both times. Series 1 aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and series 2 moved to Thursdays and Fridays.
The Traitors UK episode release dates so far
Series 4 had 12 episodes. The dates listed on Wikipedia, with weekdays added, were:
- Week one: Thursday 1, Friday 2 and Saturday 3 January 2026
- Week two: Wednesday 7, Thursday 8 and Friday 9 January
- Week three: Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 January
- Week four: Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 January (finale)
The Scotsman’s schedule for the final fortnight matches those dates, although its own weekday labels contradicted each other in places, so the BBC’s listing should be treated as final.
Start times: what time does the Traitors start tonight BBC One listings show
Series 4 was reported at 8pm on BBC One, with two exceptions: the Saturday 3 January episode at 7.45pm and the finale at 8.30pm, described as a 75-minute episode. The Celebrity Traitors series 1 was reported at 9pm, while series 2 moved to 8pm.
A start time that moves by 15 or 30 minutes is normal for a big finale or a Saturday. If you are working out whether you will make it for the start, the BBC One listing for that day, or the iPlayer live channel page, is the check to make.
Series 5: what is and is not known
Here is what the sources support, and what they do not:
- The BBC has recommissioned the format until 2030, with at least three more series of each of The Traitors and The Celebrity Traitors, according to the Royal Television Society (12 March 2026).
- The RTS says the next series of The Traitors is expected in January 2027. That is an expectation based on earlier years, not a BBC schedule.
- Applications for the civilian series closed on 31 May 2026, and filming in the Scottish Highlands over summer or autumn 2026 has been reported, but we did not find a BBC confirmation of the filming dates.
- Country & Town House reports that the Secret Traitor twist from series 4 will not return, quoting producer Stephen Lambert. We could not check that against a BBC statement.
If series 5 has been announced by the time you read this, the BBC’s own press office or the BBC One programme page will have the nights and times.
Format: how The Traitors works
The Traitors is a reality game show set in a Scottish castle and hosted by Claudia Winkleman. A group of contestants arrive as strangers. A handful are chosen in secret as Traitors, and the rest are Faithfuls who do not know who is who.
The week-to-week routine is simple, even if the strategy is not:
- Contestants take part in challenges that add money to a shared prize pot.
- At night, the Traitors secretly choose a Faithful to “murder”, who leaves the game.
- At the round table, the group votes to banish someone they suspect of being a Traitor.
- The game continues until the final, when what remains of the pot is decided.
The rule of thumb is that the Faithfuls win by finding every Traitor, and the Traitors win by surviving to the end. The exact rules of the final have changed between series, so check the BBC’s own description if the detail matters to you.
Series 4 added a Secret Traitor, a contestant who was not chosen at the start. According to Wikipedia, the round table moved to before the challenge in episode 4, and a “Dagger” arrived in episode 9. Those are format changes, not results. The show is built to be followed from the first episode, so newcomers should start at the beginning of a series.
Where to watch: BBC One, iPlayer and what is not on offer
The Traitors is a BBC show. It goes out live on BBC One and then appears on BBC iPlayer. You need a TV licence to watch live BBC programmes and to use iPlayer, and Which? notes that downloads also need one.
Do not use unofficial streams to watch ahead or around the broadcast. They are unlicensed, and they are the quickest route to a spoiled episode anyway.
Is there a midnight release time for the Traitors on BBC iPlayer?
We found no BBC source describing a midnight release time. The Scotsman’s series 4 schedule says episodes appear on iPlayer only after they air on BBC One, without giving a precise time. Earlier series were already on iPlayer to watch back to back.
In practice, that means the answer is “after the broadcast” rather than “at midnight”. If you need the exact moment an episode becomes available, the iPlayer page for the episode shows it once it is up.
Binge watch the Traitors full season early access: does it exist?
For the UK series, we found no report of a full season being released ahead of the broadcast. Series 4 was released episode by episode as it aired. The route to bingeing is to wait until the run has finished, when the earlier series sit together on iPlayer.
If an outlet offers “early access” to a full season, check that it is an official BBC or licensed service. Please do not download from unofficial sources.
The Traitors episode download speed BBC iPlayer: what affects it
No BBC or reporting source we found gives a download speed for Traitors episodes. Which? (26 March 2026) says download time depends on the programme’s length and whether you choose standard or high definition, and that downloads usually stay available for up to 30 days, depending on the content.
For a 60 to 75 minute episode, the practical advice is to download on home Wi-Fi in standard definition if your connection is slow, and to start before you leave the house. That is general advice, not a measured speed.
What time zone does Peacock release The Traitors US episodes in?
The US version is a separate show, The Traitors, which streams on Peacock. Peacock’s own page for season 4 (8 January 2026) gave premiere times as 6pm PT and 9pm ET, with a regular Thursday listing of 9/8c. It did not describe a single fixed release moment beyond those times.
So Peacock quotes Eastern and Pacific times rather than UK time. For a UK viewer in winter, 9pm Eastern is 2am the next morning in the UK. That conversion is our arithmetic, so check it on the day, because the US and UK clocks change on different dates. The same Peacock page said subscribers could also watch The Traitors UK and The Traitors Australia, with no schedule given.
The Celebrity version: how it differs from the main series
The Celebrity Traitors uses the same game with famous players. Series 1 ran from 8 October to 6 November 2025 on BBC One, with nine episodes, and Wikipedia gives its finale audience as 14.94 million UK viewers. Series 2 has 10 episodes, with the cast announced on 2 May 2026.
What nights is Celebrity Traitors on UK: the series 2 pattern
The Scotsman reported that series 2 began on Thursday 1 October 2026 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, then continued on Thursday and Friday evenings at 8pm. A companion show, “Traitor or Faithful? Claudia Decides”, was reported on iPlayer at 9.15pm on 1 October.
If the run has no breaks, ten episodes over two nights a week would end on Friday 30 October 2026. That is our own arithmetic, not a BBC date.
The Traitors Uncloaked BBC schedule
Uncloaked is the companion show hosted by Ed Gamble, also released as a video podcast. For The Celebrity Traitors series 1 it went out on BBC Two after the main episode, at 10pm on the night the Yorkshire Post checked. For series 2, The Scotsman reports it on BBC One straight after each main episode, with bonus episodes on BBC Sounds. For the first episode of series 4, the Yorkshire Evening Post said it followed on BBC One rather than the usual BBC Two.
The channel has moved between runs, so look it up for the series you are watching. Because it comes straight after the episode, it is a discussion show built around what just happened.
Spoiler policy: how to watch the Traitors UK without spoilers on catch up
This article does not name banished or murdered contestants or any winners. It describes format changes only.
If you want to watch the Traitors UK without spoilers on catch up, these steps help, although we have not tested them against any one app:
- Watch on iPlayer once the episode is available, and avoid social media until you have.
- Mute the show’s name, the host’s name and contestant names in the apps you use.
- Leave Uncloaked until after the episode, since it discusses it.
- Be careful with headlines and notifications on the morning after a broadcast.
If you are following a second country’s version, such as the US series on Peacock, the same advice applies. The US and UK versions air on different timetables, so a US episode can land while you are still catching up on a UK one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What nights is Traitors on?
In series 4 it was mostly Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on BBC One at 8pm, with the opening week on Thursday to Saturday. The Celebrity Traitors series 2 used Thursday and Friday. Series 5 has no announced nights yet, so check BBC listings.
What time does the Traitors start on BBC One?
Series 4 was reported at 8pm, with the Saturday 3 January episode at 7.45pm and the finale at 8.30pm. The Celebrity Traitors series 2 was reported at 8pm. Times can shift for finales, so check the BBC One listing for the day.
Does the Traitors come out on iPlayer at midnight?
We found no BBC source for a midnight release. Reports say series 4 episodes appeared on iPlayer after airing on BBC One, without a precise time. Wait for the episode page to show as available rather than assuming a set hour.
Can I watch the full season of the Traitors early?
For the UK series we found no report of early access to a whole season. Episodes were released as they aired, and older series can be watched together on iPlayer. Avoid unofficial streams, which are unlicensed and risk spoilers.
What time does Peacock release The Traitors US?
Peacock’s page for season 4 gave premiere times of 6pm PT and 9pm ET, with a regular Thursday listing. It quoted US times, not UK time. In winter, 9pm Eastern is 2am the next morning in the UK.
Is Uncloaked on after every episode?
For The Celebrity Traitors series 2, The Scotsman reports Uncloaked on BBC One straight after each main episode, with bonus episodes on BBC Sounds. Earlier runs used BBC Two for some episodes, so check the listing for the series you are watching.
