Traitors bosses reveal secret rule Claudia Winkleman was forced to follow on BBC set

THE creators of The Traitors have revealed the one thing they told host Claudia Winkleman to do: shut up.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival the producer of the BBC1 reality TV hit, Stephen Lambert, said she had to keep all talking to a minimum to maintain the tension.

It was a big change for Claudia, 51, who's known for her quick-fire presenting style on her other big show, Strictly Come Dancing.

Stephen, who was also talking about the host of the US version of the contest, Alan Cumming, said: "The main production note to give them was to be quiet.

"Hosts are used to talking all the time and it's actually a game where the host has to shut up a lot of the time.

"Particularly in the round table section, it's that walking around that they do - keeping quiet adds to the drama and adds to their authority and power."

The festival's question-and-answer session on The Traitors, which is about to launch its second series this autumn, also saw confirmation that the BBC had no plans for a celebrity version of the show.

That's despite the fact that many of the other versions of the programme do feature famous faces playing the game of skullduggery.

Stephen did say there would be some new twists in the follow up season, however. But he wouldn't give away what they were.

It was also revealed that when the show was first being conceived, producers had the idea of calling it The Mutineers and setting it on a boat.

The current format, which is on dry land in a Scottish castle, has been a huge hit with channels in countries around the world.

Nick Smith of show distributor All3Media confessed at the festival: "I'm probably not meant to say this, I think there are 26 (territories) that are now signed and there's more that will be signed within the next few months.

"So it's the fastest selling format in the world."