{"id":766274,"date":"2026-09-10T15:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/766274\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T15:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:26:15","slug":"nick-mohammed-takes-claudia-winklemans-role-in-stage-version-of-the-traitors-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/766274\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Mohammed takes Claudia Winkleman\u2019s role in stage version of The Traitors | Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

In another twist for the intrigue-cloaked world of The Traitors<\/a>, Nick Mohammed is to star in the new West End play based on the ridiculously gripping TV series.<\/p>\n

Mohammed, a finalist in the BBC\u2019s first series of The Celebrity Traitors last year, will now play the host of the show, effectively taking over the role of Claudia Winkleman for the stage version. There are several different variants of the play, written by John Finnemore and directed by Robert Hastie, so audiences over the course of its run will see different outcomes as characters are banished, \u201cmurdered\u201d and exposed as faithful or treacherous in the fierce competition to win a cash prize. The Traitors \u2013 Acts of Betrayal<\/a> begins performances at the Gillian Lynne theatre in London in May.<\/p>\n

Mohammed, also known for playing his comic alter ego Mr Swallow<\/a> on stage, said it was a \u201cwildly ambitious\u201d project. \u201cJohn Finnemore has crafted an absolute masterpiece: a cycle of five plays that are each as funny as they are moving, and of course, deeply, deeply unpredictable \u2026 To take on Claudia\u2019s role, as it were, is not just a privilege but a real challenge as an actor \u2013 I simply don\u2019t have enough hair! But I will do my utmost not to disappoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

A video filmed at the 19th-century Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, where the BBC<\/a> version of the international franchise takes place, shows Winkleman with Mohammed as he takes The Traitors\u2019 \u201cHost oath\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert which is co-producing the play, said: \u201cThe actor who portrays the host in these plays has to hold a live audience through an entire game each evening, five different ways. It needs charm, mischief, acting talent and complete control of the stage. Nick has all four, and the fact that he played the game and knows its intricacies, is a wonderful bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The play is billed as being akin to a full series of The Traitors that unfolds over the course of one night. At weekday performances, \u201cthe story begins identically but takes five different paths. Characters banished or murdered early in one version emerge victorious in another.\u201d On Saturdays, the audience plays a part in determining the outcome.<\/p>\n

The set, no doubt featuring the series\u2019 famous round table for heated discussions, will be designed by Ben Stones. The other creatives ratcheting up the tension include sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, lighting designer Mark Henderson, choreographer Kate Prince and composer Martin Lowe.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Mohammed was the presenter for the 50th anniversary<\/a> of the Olivier awards, which recognise achievements in theatre, dance and opera. As host of the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London, he followed in the footsteps of his Ted Lasso co-star Hannah Waddingham, who presented the Oliviers in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

In the finale of The Celebrity Traitors, which hit a peak of 15.4 million viewers according to the BBC, an emotional Alan Carr emerged victorious after successfully deceiving his housemates \u2013 and was promptly congratulated and comforted by \u201cfaithful\u201d Mohammed. Several actors, including Richard E Grant, Bella Ramsey and Myha\u2019la, are among the celebrities taking part in the second series<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In another twist for the intrigue-cloaked world of The Traitors, Nick Mohammed is to star in the new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-766274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}