‘Woke’ BBC bosses wanted words ‘killed’ and ‘murdered’ BANNED from The Traitors over fears it would offend

Syeda Irtizaali, the entertainment commissioner responsible for launching the UK adaptation, has opened up about the behind-the-scenes clash on a new podcast.

She claimed the corporation’s compliance team was nervous that such language might distress audiences, but Ms Irtizaali stood firm and refused to water down the show’s tone.

She has since left the BBC after a five-year stint and now serves as director of unscripted television at Netflix, but the battle over terminology was one of several she fought to get the programme on air.

Ms Irtizaali revealed on Insiders: The TV Podcast: “Obviously, the themes of The Traitors are murder mystery. I wanted to go even darker. I wanted to, with a big tongue-in-cheek, really go to town with the campery of it all.”

The BBC’s editorial policy advisers, however, grew uneasy about the terminology used when contestants were picked off during the game. Ms Irtizaali recalled being told: “I don’t think we can say the words ‘murder’ and ‘kill’.”

The television executive shared what the Beeb offered as a compromise, saying: “They said, ‘Can we say ‘eliminated’ and ‘exited’? Because what if there’s murder on the same day that the show goes out?”

Ms Irtizaali remained unconvinced that viewers watching Claudia Winkleman host the game inside a Scottish castle would somehow mistake it for coverage of actual crime.

“Our audiences are not going to get confused with a real-life news story and this camp old show,” she insisted.

She recalled her response was firm. “I said, ‘Thank you very much for the advice, but I’m not going to take it. We’re just going to do it how we want to do it’,” she said.

The programme ultimately kept “murder” and “kill” as part of its vocabulary, with the secret Traitors selecting fellow contestants to “murder” each night while the Faithful work to identify and banish them at the roundtable.

The Traitors fans have reacted unanimously in favour of Ms Irtizaali’s initial stance. Reacting to the quotes on X, many accused BBC bosses of being too “woke” and not listening to audiences.

“Given that it’s the BBC, I am actually surprised that there isn’t a disclaimer before and after each and every episode,” one X user sarcastically said after pop culture account SuperTV247 shared Ms Irtizaali’s remarks.

A second echoed: “Honestly good on her. British TV has been so scared of its own shadow lately that it’s nice to see someone actually trust the audience for once.”

“Thank god she didn’t listen to the woke and was allowed to push back,” another concurred, while a fourth hit out: “Go woke, go broke. Thank god.”

“There are some higher-ups at the beeb that are just completely detached from reality,” a fifth critic slammed, while a sixth weighed in: “‘Our TV networks aren’t WOKE.’ The networks:… #celebritytraitors.”

The language dispute wasn’t the only obstacle Ms Irtizaali encountered in bringing the programme to screens.

When she first made the case that the BBC needed a reality format capable of competing with ITV’s I’m A Celebrity, colleagues pushed back, arguing the genre “won’t work” and was “not really us.”

Even presenter Ms Winkleman needed reassurance, having been “really worried” about coming across as too cold, particularly when two contestants were sent home at the very start of the first series.

Ms Irtizaali left the BBC in March after five years with the corporation to become director of unscripted at Netflix, joining Anne Mensah’s UK commissioning team.

Prior to her interim appointment as director of unscripted at the BBC, she served as entertainment commissioner and was instrumental in forging the NBCUniversal partnership that produced both The Traitors and Destination X.

Her previous employers include Channel 4, where she commissioned The Last Leg and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

The BBC declined to comment when contacted by GB News regarding Ms Irtizaali’s remarks.