The Traitors fans are flabbergasted by juicy twist in new teaser – but what could it mean?

The 2026 TV calendar is getting off to the best possible start on New Year's Day – with the latest season of The Traitors set to kick off at 8pm on BBC One.

Claudia Winkleman will once again be inviting a group of strangers to the iconic castle in the Scottish highlands, with viewers set to be treated to yet another few weeks of treachery, twists and unmissable TV moments that will hopefully live up to the drama of the recent celebrity edition.

And it looks like we won't have to wait long for the first major twist this season, with viewers spotting something out of the ordinary in one of the recent teaser trailers released by the BBC.

In the clip, we hear Claudia's voice saying: "Have yourself a merry little Christmas", before she adds: "I'm joking."

But more significant that what we hear, is what we see. As Claudia makes her announcement, a figure wearing one of the iconic Traitor's cloaks is seen ominously approaching while clutching a lantern. Only, rather than the usual dark green colour seen in previous seasons, the cloak in question is red.

Watch the teaser below:

When combined with a previous teaser that was entirely in black and white save for a few flashes of red, it seems clear that this colour will be playing a prominent role in the new run.

But what exactly does it signify? We'll obviously have to wait until the first episode airs in a few days time before we know for sure, but fans have already been speculating on social media about the possible purpose of a red-cloaked traitor.

"Oh is it a traitor traitor, where they’re told 'you will only win if you are the sole traitor at the end,'" one fan suggested on X (formerly Twitter).

Another mused: "Imagine if the traitors are in trouble, they can call in a past traitor (the red traitor) to give them advice/tips," while a third fan wrote: "All money on it being a secret traitor that isn’t revealed to the audience."

Those all seem like reasonable suggestions, and it will certainly be fascinating to see exactly how this season is set to differ from the past editions of the show.

Of course, The Traitors has never been afraid of shaking things up with changes to the format year on year to add a little extra drama – with last year's addition of a new power known as The Seer just one of many notable examples.

Whatever this one ends up being, we're pretty sure we can bank on another thrilling season of high drama. We can't wait!

The Traitors season 4 begins on Thursday 1st January 2026 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Seasons 1-3 are available to watch on iPlayer.

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