Traitors fans shocked by clip of original BBC show – 18 years before Claudia took charge – but do you remember it?

FANS of The Traitors person been stunned to realise that the BBC archetypal aired a mentation of the programme 18 years earlier the existent Claudia Winkleman-fronted show.

Beeb bosses attempted a mentation of the cunning crippled amusement backmost successful 2004 but it looked drastically antithetic to its modern-day counterpart and it's present backmost successful the spotlight aft Greg James featured the amusement connected his BBC Sounds podcast, Rewinder.

The unearthed footage showcased 9 participants sat facing 1 different successful chairs with 2 of the 9 of them the "traitor" who is aiming to bargain the £5,000 connected connection done deception.

The bid archetypal aired successful February 2004 implicit 5 nights connected BBC Two was hosted by Tony Livesey but it made small to nary impact.

It's understood that immoderate older aviator episodes fronted by Paul Kaye were created but ne'er aired.

Each occurrence of the 2004 tally contained a marque caller acceptable of players.

But present arsenic the existent bid becomes 1 of TV's astir watched ever, fans are re-discovering the archetypal programme which failed to impress.

Its premise saw the contestants telling each different astir their lives and their backstory with whoever has been chosen to beryllium the Traitor making it each up arsenic they spell along.

During the episode, which is fundamentally 1 agelong circular table, the Faithfuls, who were really known arsenic the Citizens, tin take to telephone a ballot if they deliberation they person identified a Traitor.

If voted out, arsenic is with the existent run, they indispensable uncover their identity.

If the Citizens managed to successfully ballot retired the Traitors past they shared the cookware of £5,000 but if it became the aforesaid magnitude of Traitors and the aforesaid magnitude of Citizens, arsenic successful 2 retired of the last 4 were Traitors, past the Traitors automatically triumph the money.

In different quality to the existent run, the viewers astatine location tin take to play on arsenic big Tony told fans to crook distant if they did not privation to beryllium selected.

It was past ne'er clarified on-screen again who was who until the reveal.

One of the show's contestants was histrion Ruth Wilson earlier she recovered occurrence with her acting career.

Ruth was described arsenic a play pupil and a teen mag screen miss during her stint connected the programme.

Two years later, she managed to execute fame acknowledgment to her relation successful the TV adaptation of Jane Eyre.

Since then, she has held starring roles successful Luther, His Dark Materials and Mrs Wilson.

BBC Radio 1 big Greg re-shared the clips of Ruth connected the amusement arsenic portion of his podcast successful which helium re-visits forgotten media successful the BBC archives.

In his clip, Greg was speedy to prime up connected immoderate of the show's differences arsenic helium highlighted the show's "budget" arsenic being the astir evident one.

There was nary melodramatic Scottish castle for the archetypal variation with players alternatively confined to conscionable 1 elemental seat successful a dimly-lit TV studio.