How can I watch The Traitors UK in 2026?
The Traitors UK streams free on BBC iPlayer — all four series, no subscription, no ads. Netflix does not carry the UK version. New episodes hit iPlayer the moment they air on BBC One. iPlayer is geo-blocked outside the UK, with no official portability for travelling licence-fee payers.
This guide covers where to watch each series of The Traitors UK, how to keep watching when you travel, and what to stream next once you’ve finished Claudia Winkleman’s latest body count at Ardross Castle.
Free pick (most viewers):
BBC iPlayer is the only home of The Traitors UK in the United Kingdom. All four series, in full, no ads, no extra cost beyond your TV Licence. Open iPlayer ➜Why no paid CTA up here? You don’t need a streaming subscription to watch The Traitors UK. Pushing one would be misleading. Scroll for the honest paid recommendation: a reality-TV upgrade for when you’ve finished all four series.
At-a-glance: where every series of The Traitors UK lives
| Series | UK air dates | Episodes | UK | United States | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Nov–Dec 2022 | 12 | BBC iPlayer (free) | Peacock | BBC First |
| Series 2 | Jan 2024 | 12 | BBC iPlayer (free) | Peacock | BBC First |
| Series 3 | Jan 2025 | 12 | BBC iPlayer (free) | Peacock | BBC First |
| Series 4 | Jan 2026 | 12 | BBC iPlayer (free) | Peacock | BBC First |
| Series 5 | Jan 2027 (expected) | TBC | BBC One + BBC iPlayer | TBC | TBC |
All four aired series are kept on iPlayer permanently — there is no expiry rotation as of May 2026.
Watching The Traitors UK in the UK
Cost: £0 beyond your TV Licence (£180/year from 1 April 2026).
Where: BBC iPlayer on the web, plus apps for iOS, Android, Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, smart TVs from Samsung/LG/Sony, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Sky Stream, Virgin Media boxes and most Freeview Play recorders.
What you need
- A UK postcode and a valid TV Licence.
- A free BBC account (sign up at bbc.co.uk/iplayer).
- A device with the iPlayer app — most modern TVs and streamers carry it.
What you don’t need
- A Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime subscription.
- A Sky, Virgin Media or NOW TV account.
- A dish, set-top box rental, or any monthly fee.
If you already pay your TV Licence, you have everything you need. The format itself — a country house, twenty-something contestants, three secret Traitors picking off the Faithful one murder at a time — runs on iPlayer from the moment BBC One finishes the broadcast.
Watching The Traitors UK from abroad
International access is where most viewers get stuck.
The important caveat: iPlayer has no official portability
Unlike Spotify or Netflix, BBC iPlayer does not support travelling licence-fee payers. The UK opted out of the EU Cross-Border Portability Regulation after Brexit, and the BBC has never implemented its own equivalent. iPlayer is geo-blocked the moment you leave the UK, even within the EU.
The two practical routes from abroad
- Local broadcaster (legal route). International rights to The Traitors UK air on Peacock in the United States and on BBC First in Australia. Search your country’s All3Media or BBC Studios partner for licensed access before considering anything else.
- VPN to a UK server with a BBC account that was created from a UK postcode. This is what many expats do, but iPlayer’s terms of use prohibit accessing the service from outside the UK — treat this as information on what exists, not a recommendation.
One thing that will not work
Netflix UK does not carry The Traitors UK. Even if you set a VPN to the UK, Netflix licenses the format’s non-UK editions only.
The single paid upgrade worth knowing about
If you’ve watched all four series and want more high-stakes reality TV in the same vein, the cleanest paid option is:
NOW Entertainment Membership — £7.99/month
Carries Big Brother UK, Love Island, Married At First Sight UK, plus Sky Originals like A Town Called Malice. No long contract, cancel any time. See current NOW Entertainment offers ➜Why this one? It’s the cheapest UK reality library outside iPlayer, has the largest catch-up archive of dating/competition formats, and runs month-by-month so you can drop it the moment the next series of The Traitors UK begins on iPlayer.
We’re flagging just this one because stacking three or four paid streaming offers on a single page rarely converts. NOW Entertainment is the most truthful upsell for someone who has just finished The Traitors and wants more of the same.
Episode times and BBC One scheduling
When a new series is on air, The Traitors UK typically broadcasts:
- First episode of the series: early January on BBC One (New Year’s Day for Series 3 and 4)
- Regular episodes: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, at 8:00pm for Series 4 (Series 3 mostly went out at 9:00pm)
- Finale: a Friday night on BBC One. The show is pre-recorded, so the finale is not live
iPlayer adds episodes the same evening, usually within minutes of the BBC One broadcast finishing. For exact times of the next live broadcast, check tonight’s TV Guide UK.
About The Traitors UK
The Traitors UK is a reality competition based on the Dutch format De Verraders, presented by Claudia Winkleman and produced by Studio Lambert Scotland for BBC One. Series 1–2 and Series 4 each cast 22 contestants; Series 3 expanded to 25. The cast lives together at Ardross Castle, a Scottish Highlands country house, while three of them — the Traitors — secretly “murder” one Faithful each night. The Faithfuls’ job is to identify and “banish” the Traitors at a round-table vote before they lose everyone. The winning side splits a prize pot of up to £120,000.
The show won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Reality and Constructed Factual at the 2023 ceremony for its first series, and Claudia Winkleman won Best Entertainment Performance the same year. The format has been licensed in over a dozen countries — the BBC version remains the highest-rated worldwide.
What to stream after The Traitors UK
If you’ve burned through all four series and the wait until Series 5 is too long:
- The Traitors Australia — also on BBC iPlayer in the UK, free.
- The Traitors US — Alan Cumming hosts a celebrity edition; carried by Peacock and (in some UK windows) on iPlayer.
- Big Brother UK — NOW Entertainment, see above.
- The Mole — Netflix, US version.
FAQ
Is The Traitors UK on Netflix?
No. The Traitors UK is a BBC commission and streams exclusively on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom. Netflix licenses some international editions but not the Claudia Winkleman version.
Can you watch The Traitors UK for free?
Yes. All four UK series are free on BBC iPlayer for anyone with a valid UK TV Licence. There is no subscription fee and no advertising.
Where can I watch old series of The Traitors UK?
Series 1 (2022), 2 (2024), 3 (2025) and 4 (2026) are all live on iPlayer in full. The BBC has not removed any series at the time of writing.
How can I watch The Traitors UK from abroad?
BBC iPlayer is geo-blocked outside the UK and the BBC offers no official portability for travelling licence-fee payers. Peacock carries the show in the US and BBC First carries it in Australia — those are the legal routes. Many expats use a UK-based VPN with a UK BBC account, though iPlayer’s terms forbid this.
When is Series 5 of The Traitors UK?
Series 5 is expected on BBC One and iPlayer in January 2027 with Claudia Winkleman returning. The BBC’s three-year deal, announced in March 2026, keeps the civilian series going to series 8 in 2030. Filming is again at Ardross Castle. In the meantime, The Celebrity Traitors series 2 is on BBC One and iPlayer now: it began on Thursday 1 October 2026 and airs Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm.
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Last updated: September 2026 (series dates and schedule). Prices and licence fee last verified May 2026 — please check the BBC iPlayer and NOW TV pages for the latest pricing before purchase.
