Traitors creator believes show has long-term future

The man who helped bring hit show The Traitors to our screens believes we could be watching it for decades to come.

Stephen Lambert is the CEO of Studio Lambert which has produced the programme for the BBC since it began in 2022.

"We'll do everything we can to keep it fresh and to make each season better than the last - the format has amazing staying power," he said.

Lambert graduated from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich in 1981 and returned to host its annual Lasdun Lecture.

"Look how long The Apprentice has been going [and] Big Brother is still going in in America... they've been going for 25 years," he told BBC Look East's Amelia Reynolds.

"I think the skill of a format is it has to be both repeating, which gives you familiarity, but at the same time it has to offer freshness both in terms of the cast and in subtle changes or twists that you have within the format."

Lambert said there are a number of reasons behind the show's enormous success - nearly 10 million people watched Rachel Duffy triumph in the fourth series in January.

"We gave it this great gothic setting in Ardross Castle in Scotland," he said.

"We were lucky enough to persuade Claudia [Winkleman] for the British version and she's just brilliant.

"And I think it's fascinating seeing this game, which is really a kind of game like poker - I mean, people are given licence to lie."

The producer, who set up his company in 2008, also praised the participants.

"I think our cast is very good - whether it's the civilian version or, of course, the celebrities.

"The people that took part in the celebrity version were an extraordinary collection of people," he added.

More than 15 million viewers (including catch-up viewing) saw comedian Alan Carr crowned the winner of the Celebrity Traitors in November.

Lambert is the creator of other well-known unscripted global formats, including Undercover Boss, Gogglebox and Squid Game: The Challenge.

His programmes have won more than a dozen BAFTA awards and several Primetime Emmys.

"A love of television" was essential to anyone wanting a career in the medium, he added.

"I'm amazed when I meet people who want to work in television and I start asking them, 'Oh what have you watched recently?' and they go, 'Oh, I don't really watch television'," said Lambert.

"And you think... maybe you've not the right person to go into television - what I'm looking for is a critical appreciation of television programmes that people have watched... or even better, what ideas have you got for a new programme?"

His lecture was called Why We Watch: The psychology of reality and the power of story.

The Lasdun Lectures bring together thought-leaders from across disciplines, to explore topics that resonate both locally and globally, according to UEA.

Past lectures have focused on women's health, the state of democracy in the United States, and the findings of the 16th Century shipwreck The Gloucester.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.