Overview
- Season 4 premiered on January 1 on BBC One and iPlayer with a new mechanic in which a hidden participant supplies a nightly shortlist that restricts who can be targeted.
- Three visible Traitors were selected at launch, while the identity of the concealed player remains unknown to contestants and viewers.
- Early episodes have already produced the first departures, prompting intense online sleuthing focused on handwriting clues, social-media trails, and undisclosed personal connections.
- Critics are divided over the change, with some calling it a necessary refresh and others warning it could make the show more frustrating to watch.
- Roughly 6.4 million tuned in for the opener as fan debate broadened to speculation about the hidden player and complaints from some viewers about perceived bias in early decisions.