What The Traitors Can Remind Us About the Power of Radio...
The Traitors on the BBC has been a showcase of sensational creativity for many years and is continuing to be a global success. And, I have a theory about why The Traitors has captured so many of us. Let’s be clear, our favourite queen, HRH Claudia Winkleman, deserves a considerable amount of the credit, but it isn’t entirely down to her. Or her knitwear (her style is often the main point of conversation in my girlfriends’ group chat).
The suspense, the suspicion, the extraordinary confidence of people who have got absolutely everything wrong. And an autumn 2026 celebrity cast that is simply extraordinary (so many huge moments and we are only a week in). There’s plenty to love. But I think part of its appeal is something much more familiar: the feeling of watching something together.
Knowing that other people are gasping at the same moment, shouting at their televisions and immediately reaching for their phones to discuss what on earth just happened (What did Richard just say?). Having something to talk about the following morning that doesn’t require a lengthy explanation before somebody else can join in.
“Have you watched it yet?”
And suddenly, you’re in a conversation.
Of course, The Traitors isn’t a live broadcast, and plenty of people catch up afterwards. But the anticipation between episodes creates a shared rhythm. There’s time to discuss, disagree, develop wildly elaborate theories and persuade yourself you’ve spotted something everyone else has missed. The conversation becomes part of the entertainment, spanning fay beyond that hour or two in front of the box.
I wonder how much we’ve missed having more of that.
I love being able to watch what I want, when I want. With work, children and everything else going on, that flexibility is very welcome. But when we’re all halfway through different things, on different platforms, at different times, finding that immediate point of connection can take a little more effort.
A programme like The Traitors gives us somewhere to meet. Whatever sort of week we’ve had, we can spend a little time caught up in the same story. We don’t need to know much about each other’s lives to have an opinion about who should have been banished.
It’s a collective. A community. We are part of something greater than being tucked up on our sofa as the autumnal winds howl on.
And this communal warmth and togetherness is the VERY reason my heart always comes back to radio.
Across twenty years of copywriting, production, voiceovers, presenting, scheduling and creative work, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what comes out of the speakers. The words, the voices, the music, the timing. But the relationship between a station and its listeners is what makes all of those things matter. We are a team and a community.
I felt this from a very young age as I listened to the evening show on Signal One with Chris Bovaird and with Chris Moyles on Radio 1 breakfast. I may have been alone in my room, but I was part of a little club. Something outside of school, the complexities of pre-teen friendships and everything that growing up brings. This was my own little world that I shared with so many others. It required nothing from me but I gained so much from it and I will be eternally grateful.
Today, you might be listening alone in the car, working in a quiet room or making dinner while everyone asks you for something. Maybe you live alone and spend much of your day by yourself. But a familiar presenter starts talking, and there’s another person keeping you company. There are other listeners there too, and even though you can’t see them, you are together. United by a shared love of that particular music, subject matter or presenting style.
Someone sends in a message that could have come from your own kitchen. A song comes on that takes you straight back to a particular summer. A local story gets people talking. You hear somebody describe a feeling you hadn’t quite found the words for.
Radio can make something shared feel remarkably personal.
It can also respond while life is happening. To the weather outside, the news that morning, a listener’s unexpected contribution or a moment nobody could have planned. There’s room for people to shape what happens next.
Television, sport, podcasts and online communities can all bring us together too. What I love about radio is how naturally that connection fits into an ordinary day. You can take part while getting on with your life, without even looking at a screen – and let’s face it, anything that enables us to have more screen-free time is a gift right now.
When I hear people dismiss radio as something whose best days are behind it, I think about that relationship. I also think about the clients I work with who continue to invest in audio and explore what it can do. The theatre of the mind, the immersive imaginative creativity and the passive consumption that seeps into our subconscious.
The Traitors reminds me how much pleasure there is in having something in common. Something to look forward to, react to and talk about. I truly think that is one of the major components in its success.
And why I firmly believe radio will continue to thrive amongst, and even beyond other media loudly taking up space and the attention of consumers.
Radio gives us opportunities for unique connections every day.
It’s deeper than digital and virtual friends. It’s more accessible than simple human interactions at our choosing.
It’s community at our fingertips, and in today’s world, we need it more than ever.
