Pubs hope The Traitors can help save 'dying' trade

"It's like pantomime," says the manager of a pub that is hoping to use hit BBC TV show The Traitors to attract a new generation of faithful patrons.

Venues in Hampshire and Dorset are attempting to bring in younger customers by showing the popular show live to create a shared viewing experience.

The launch show of the fourth regular series was broadcast on New Years Day and watched live by an average of 6.4m people.

Siobhan Farmer, the manager at The Rising Sun in Colden Common near Winchester, says "people think pubs are a dying trade," but claims the show is "bringing in lots of new customers".

The recent popularity of The Traitors has come after the successful celebrity version of the show, which averaged close to 15m viewers per episode.

Farmer says: "We're always thinking of new ways to bring people in, a few customers were talking about it, it sounded really interesting, so we just thought 'why don't we just put it on and see how it goes,' and people are really enjoying it."

Karen Shepheard who sits at an appropriately round table at The Rising Sun says she is a "superfan" of the programme, shown on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings on BBC One and iPlayer from 20:00 GMT.

She says she lives on her own and watching it at home feels "isolating".

She adds: "I'm really passionate about it but I've got no-one to talk to about it, so if I can come here, I can chat and I can have ideas."

Her daughter Tilly works at the pub and says it is a great way to "give the people what they want".

"Everyone wants to watch different things and if someone wants to watch The Traitors compared to the football, you want to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome," she says.

Jack Aldridge, the manager at Brewhouse and Kitchen in Poole says they started showing The Traitors last year and found it was successful.

He says they will be showing the final episode of the series, which will air on Friday 23 January, and believes there is no better place than the pub for people to come together and debate the TV show.

"It's like pantomime, people go mad for it," he says.

He describes key scenes, like when Alan Carr won the celebrity version of the programme as a "drop your pint moment".

Rising costs, high taxes, and changes in drinking habits have put pressure on many UK pubs.

In December British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said increases in business rates, due to come into force in April, could threaten the equivalent of 15,000 jobs.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said an announcement to soften the effect of looming business rate rises on pubs was coming in the next few days.

Businesses have warned they will struggle to pay higher rates, after Covid-era relief ends and sites are revalued.

The government has already announced a £4.3bn fund to help as the relief is phased out.

Reeves confirmed "there is additional support coming" for pubs before new rates come into effect".

The BBPA has called the announcement "a huge win for pubs across the country".

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