How composer Sam Watts took The Traitors to the Proms – and got his break on The Sarah Jane Adventures

You may not have heard of him, but if you’re a fan of The Traitors – and we are in our millions – his music will already be instantly recognisable. “I’m very excited,” he says. “Since the success of the first series, I said we should be pushing for a Prom. So at the end of last year when producer Sarah Fay told me it was happening, I was thrilled.”

The Traitors Prom is being staged twice on Saturday 26 July and promises to be one of this year’s biggies. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, it aims to capture the intensity of the hit BBC1 reality show, its themes of treachery and murder reflected in a playlist of classical pieces and pop tracks; even a blend of both. It follows in the wake of previous Proms dedicated to major BBC series: Life Story a decade ago, Strictly in 2016, and numerous Doctor Who extravaganzas.

The Traitors is riding a crest of popularity, having won Baftas and NTAs and, crucially for the BBC, it’s a ratings success with upwards of ten million glued to series three earlier this year. For the uninitiated, The Traitors is filmed in the spectacular setting of Ardross Castle in the Highlands and unfolds like a grand-scale version of wink murder.

“Faithful” competitors must identify and banish the murderous Traitors in their midst, in a quest to bag £120,000. Originating in the Netherlands, The Traitors is produced in the UK and US by Studio Lambert Scotland, while parent company All3Media has licensed the format to almost 30 territories.

Watts is working flat out translating his Traitors score for the live performance. “I’m in the middle of remixing all the electronic elements for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to play along with. We’ve completely reworked the music and reorchestrated it. The audience will hear music they’re familiar with but played in a way it never has been before. Quite a project!”

Originally from Yorkshire, Watts now lives in Edmonton with his Canadian husband, the writer Mike Schubert (no relation to Franz). But he intends to be at the Albert Hall on the day.

“It’s a whirlwind. I land on the Friday and fly back on Sunday, so Saturday will be full on with the technical rehearsal in the morning then the two concerts.” He may even make an appearance on stage, but quite how remains under wraps – as are several surprises in the Traitors tradition.

Having studied music at Nottingham University, Watts was blessed with encouraging mentors. “One of my composition professors was the wonderful Mervyn Cooke, who is an expert on film music and very good friends with the composer George Fenton.”

Watts wrote his dissertation on Fenton’s music for The Blue Planet (BBC1 2001), and the next thing he knew, Fenton was hiring him as his assistant on the movies Hitch, Bewitched and Mrs Henderson Presents. In 2006, to Watts’s delight, Fenton invited him to compose music for the BBC’s Planet Earth.

Now 43, Watts looks back on the “youth and exuberance” that turbocharged his career. The next crucial step was born of his admiration for Russell T Davies and his work on shows such as Queer as Folk (“hugely influential for me”) and of course Doctor Who.

“I wrote to Russell in the old-fashioned way with an actual letter and enclosed a CD. And I was very lucky that he didn’t just throw it in the bin. He actually decided to listen.”

“Sam was one of the luckiest moments of my career,” Davies tells RT. “In the heights of Doctor Who back in 2006, everyone in the world sent me their CV. I didn’t have time for them all, sorry! But one night, at midnight, I plucked a letter off the pile at random, and there was a CD. I put it on to play... And the next day, I walked into work to tell them we had our composer for The Sarah Jane Adventures!”

This was the 2007 Who spin-off starring Elisabeth Sladen that ran for five years. “I love Sam’s work. It’s clever, nimble, witty, full-blooded and, best of all, you can sing along. He’s a lovely man and I’m so delighted by his success.”

Watts was invited to send in a demo to The Traitors team in 2021. All he had to go on was the original Dutch version. Not normally a fan of reality shows, he was “completely hooked, which was a good sign”. He composed the theme (blending menace and excitement), cues for key moments such as the missions and Round Table denouement. His music has now been sold as part of the package to other territories.

“It’s on about 12 versions – I’ve lost track. As well as the UK and US, it’s used in Australia, Poland, Sweden, and both the Canadian series, because we have English-speaking and French-speaking versions.” This autumn it will be heard on the highly anticipated The Celebrity Traitors.

Before emigrating, Watts was a devoted Prommer. “I’ve always loved the BBC Proms and the fact that they’re continually pushing and changing and have started to include film and TV music. I also love that they’ve stuck to the original remit, to get more people listening to classical music. We need to show it’s not some snobby elitist thing. It’s essentially for everyone. Because we put people like Bach and Mozart on pedestals, we can forget that theirs was the popular music of the time.”

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