The show-stopping fashion is the most exciting thing about this season of Celebrity Traitors
The show-stopping fashion is the most exciting thing about this season of Celebrity Traitors
Katie RosseinskyFri, October 23, 2026 at 12:25 PM UTC
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Jama kicked things off with a high-end trench from Saint Laurent (BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Watching the round table showdowns during the current season of The Celebrity Traitors, it seems like our star players’ goals are threefold. Root out the Traitors. Argue back if you’re wrongly under suspicion. And if you can’t manage the first two? Make sure you’re wearing something unforgettable.
Ever since the show launched on the BBC in 2022, presenter Claudia Winkleman’s tartan goth style – a high camp array of kilts, chunky knits, leather gloves worthy of a Bond villain and ruffled Victoriana blouses – has become a source of feverish fashion worship. The pieces that she wears, whether they be from a high street brand or a little-known independent designer, have a habit of selling out almost as soon as they appear on screen.
But this time around, Winkleman has some serious sartorial competition. This autumn’s cohort of famous faces might be floundering a little as they try to work out who can be trusted in the castle, and who is just a very good liar – but they are certainly having plenty of fun with fashion at the same time.
Undoubtedly top of the style pecking order is Love Island host turned Traitor extraordinaire Maya Jama, who set the tone in the first episode when she rocked up wearing a £2,570 hi-shine khaki trench coat from Saint Laurent, looking like some sort of cartoonishly chic detective inspector from a schlocky sci-fi movie.
The fact that she was immediately anointed as a Traitor by Winkleman might have caused a less confident fashionista to try and fly under the radar in unremarkable outfits. Instead, Jama has taken the opposite approach. On day two, she wore a shaggy sheepskin bolero jacket with almost comically exaggerated shoulders in a mustardy yellow hue. The vibe? If Big Bird spent a year studying at Central St Martins.
Jama’s power jacket, the work of London design house Agro Studio, encapsulates the perfect Traitors style formula – go all-out on the top half, because that’s what viewers will see when you’re sat at the roundtable. This is, of course, the most keenly watched, most intensely dramatic part of each episode, so it makes sense to dress the part and lean into the show’s theatricality.
Jama’s fuzzy bolero is one of this series’ most talked-about looks (BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Following the same cues is former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock, who has been offering up her own colourful take on lady of the manor style, playing with typically Traitors-esque plaids and chequered fabrics but making them her own with bold shapes and eye-catching colours.
Her first castle outfit was a vintage Dolce & Gabbana checked jacket and skirt co-ord (sourcing pieces from the archives shows just how seriously this year’s celebs are taking the show’s fashion contest), while her sunshine yellow tweedy jacket in a cropped trench-like style from Paul Costelloe helped brighten up an early roundtable.
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Pinnock brightened things up in sunshine yellow tweed (CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Pinnock has also thrown in a few more affordable labels too, like when she wore a raincoat from Instagram favourite Damson Madder. On Thursday night’s show, though, her penchant for a slightly out-there fashion choice might have subconsciously influenced her fellow players to distrust her. “The gloves don’t help,” comedian Joanne McNally quipped of the singer’s elbow length red gloves (“proper Cruella deVil vibes!”) during a debrief with Pinnock and Romesh Ranganathan after the round table. It’s The Traitors after all – more tenuous stuff has certainly been seized upon as proof of nefarious nighttime goings-on.
McNally, meanwhile, prefers a statement shirt and tie for her roundtable appearances, experimenting with oversized collars and unexpected textures, like her shiny lilac-on-lilac ensemble in episode three. Opting for a more lowkey but still stylish look is 70-year-old Jerry Hall, who has gone full Highland heroine with a dash of Americana, alternating extremely cosy knits and tartan scarves with fringed jackets nodding to her Texan roots.
Also worthy of note? Joe Lycett’s characteristically out-there get-ups, which included a refreshingly bonkers polka dot blazers and shorts combo, paired with fuzzy lilac lapels and matching socks, a chequerboard anorak and what appeared to be a cow print shell suit. Ranganathan’s looks, meanwhile, are considerably more pared back in comparison; he’s very much flying the flag for the fashion conscious every-bloke in his patterned jackets (again, putting the focus on the upper half for those breakfast and roundtable moments).
Joe Lycett, left, dons a checked jacket and Jerry Hall, centre, opts for Highland chic (CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
This fashion smorgasbord doesn’t just happen by magic, of course. The show has a dedicated cast stylist, Catherine Moran, whose job is to make sure that the players’ looks work together on screen, and that each star has a distinct visual identity.
Before filming starts, Moran recently revealed to The Telegraph, the celebs receive a “wardrobe guide” featuring a few mood boards and some pointers on colour, “which looks great on screen”. This cheat sheet also has tips on “practical elements such as how many outfits they need, activewear for missions and other bits and bobs they may not have thought of”.
She’ll then talk to the stars about what they want to wear; some of them will work with stylists, others will choose their own clothes, and some “want some help from me to put it together”, she told The Telegraph. Then when filming is in process, she will “coordinate the cast together each day, ensuring that we have a good selection of colours throughout, and everyone looks and feels different”.
The process is similar for the civilian version of the show (albeit presumably without the input of personal stylists). And although the main competition hasn’t quite had as many big style moments as the celebrity spin-off, there have been a few Traitors and Faithfuls who deserve honourable mentions, like jumpsuit-loving Stephen and bold knitwear aficionado Jade from season four earlier this year.
Of course, not all the players are jostling to make a fashion statement. There’s been plenty of sensible outdoor gear from the likes of James Acaster and Ross Kemp, who are flying the flag for the Mountain Warehouse man (although Kemp probably ensured all of his anoraks and puffa coats were SAS-approved beforehand – that is a guy who takes preparation seriously).
With just a handful of episodes left before the finale, we’re now reaching the point in the competition where we’re having to bid farewell to some of our snazziest on-screen dressers – and bemoaning the Traitors’ murdering and the Faithfuls’ blundering voting strategies for depriving us of more great outfits. Their game plans might not have been flawless, but this celebrity cohort has certainly proven that the castle can be a catwalk.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
