Music in Traitors Mansion

It’s finally here, and it’s bigger than ever - Celebrity Traitors. And all of the rumours about the A-list line up of players were true. What a show we’re in for!

The first two episodes, broadcast this week, were the utter suspense-filled Claudia Winkleman-bedazzled turret-full of joy and drama that we all hoped for. The show has grown to be one of our annual mega budget reality TV show fixes, in all its castle-y, twisty, wink-murder glory.

And doing the heavy lifting in the mystery, tension and playfulness is the ingenious soundtrack by composer Sam Watts that runs almost constantly underneath every single moment, alongside a smorgasbord of iconic hits and reimagining of classic tracks (catalogued on this website). Even during Claudia’s magnificent darkly-side splitting and deadpan delivery as overseer of this magnificent game, music heightens every word and visual. The roundtable discussion took place over music that would have been right at home in a theme park ghost house, or a scene from the Scream horror franchise of my youth. 

Here are some of my favourite musical moments from the two thrilling episodes we’ve been treated to so far:

1. The gothically-morphed reimagining - reminiscent of arrangements used in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ - of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’, as the Traitors met in the tower. This was a masterful musical reference to what was to come - a poisoning, using the pollen from a black lily in the Traitors mansion bar - and it kicked in just as Claudia informed the Traitors that the murder would be committed 'in plain sight'

2. The cleverly interwoven funeral march from Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2, underpinning the walk to the cemetery by the game players, all dressed in mourning clothes. We also heard Mozart's deliciously deathly Lacrimosa shortly before this, as Claudia, draped in black lace and resplendent on horseback, met the game players in front of the mansion along with a horse drawn cart bearing three coffins, and Cat exclaimed to viewers at home 'it's all starting to feel a little bit real, we actually have murdered someone'

3. Gorgeously fun and quirky Paloma Faith's cover of ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ beginning as the coffin lid closed over her, the first to be murdered. This scene was musically magnificent, with a choir delivering the clues as to who might belong in each coffin

4. The piercing high note at the exact point when, during the tense roundtable, Ruth uttered the words ‘I actually have a question for Alan’. Oh how we gasped! (Gogglebox will have a field day that!) And the music made our reactions possible and encouraged, and allowed us our enjoyable moment of shock and excitement

As we were left on one almighty - some might say, flabbergasting! - cliffhanger last night, the credits rolled and the iconic theme tune kicked in. It’s a rollercoaster of a show, with all the production values needed for an hour happily well spent in front of the telly at the end of our days. As we romp merrily and excitedly through the rest of what promises to be an awesome series, we have a rich chance to acknowledge and celebrate what music does for us, and for everyone who’s Faithful to this bananas and mesmerising show.