Claudia Winkleman is the host of the BBC gameshow The Traitors but she revealed that she wasn't always going to be.

The Strictly Come Dancing presenter will return to hosting duties for the third series in January with a new group of contestants battling it out at a Scottish castle in the psychological game show that has gripped viewers each year since it began.

Winkleman almost wasn't the presenter on The Traitors because she turned the opportunity down - here's why she initially said no.

Why did Claudia Winkleman originally say no to hosting The Traitors?

Claudia Winkleman originally said no to hosting the show so she could prioritise her family life.

“I wasn’t keen on leaving home for three weeks, so initially I said, ‘I don’t think so, but thank you’,” Winkleman told the Radio Times.

“They then sent me the original Dutch version. I watched the first four episodes in one sitting, told the kids to make their own tea and then begged the BBC to let me be part of it.

“I’m used to being a cheerleader and a helper, so it felt very odd being so cold. By the end I couldn’t help but show how much I cared about them, but at the beginning, yes, it was deeply weird.

“The producers had to really persuade me to send two people home as soon as they arrived. I couldn’t really cope with it, but they said, ‘This sets the tone, don’t be wet’. So off they went.”

Recommended reading:

How to watch The Traitors series three

Fans of The Traitors can tune into the third series on Wednesday January 1, 2025 on BBC One or iPlayer at 8pm.

Viewers can watch the new episodes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights until the series ends.

Episodes one and two will air at 8pm but all episodes after that will air at the later time of 9pm.