Love Island’s Ekin-Su Culculoglu signed up to last year’s series of Dancing on Ice
By Thomas Mackintosh & John Hand
BBC News
Former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow is to star in the next series of the Traitors US.
He will feature alongside other celebrities including Love Island’s Ekin-Su Culculoglu and professional heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder.
Following the success of the British version last year, the first American series was made available on the BBC iPlayer as a box set.
The American version is hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
The murder-mystery gameshow sees several contestants chosen to become traitors capable of killing off rivals in a bid to secure a large cash prize.
Studio Lambert, which makes the show, confirmed on social media the series is being filmed at the 19th Century Ardross Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, the same venue that hosts the British version.
Unlike the UK version of the hit reality show, the American series includes celebrities, with Culculoglu, Mr Bercow and Wilder being joined by the likes of The Real Housewives of Miami’s Larsa Pippen, Bling Empire star Kevin Kreider and Maksim Chmerkovskiy from Dancing With The Stars.
Mr Bercow may seem an unlikely choice in such starry company – but clips of him arbitrating feisty Brexit debates in the House of Commons, and Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) made him somewhat of a cult figure in the US.
He gave an interview with The American magazine in 2019 in which he said: “Whenever I travel to the US, people say to me how much they enjoy watching our PMQs – and how they wished they had something similar.”
He stepped down from the role that year – after saying the Speaker’s “order, order” instruction an estimated 14,000 times.
His period in charge of the House of Commons also saw several revelations of parliamentary staff reporting allegations of bullying and harassment by MPs and other senior figures, including Mr Bercow himself – which he has always denied.
Image source, Getty Images
John Bercow stepped down as Commons Speaker in 2019
Just like the UK version, the contestants the US series will be split into faithfuls and traitors, with the latter group using lies and subterfuge as they aim to stay undetected to win the show, eliminating – or “murdering” – faithfuls as they go.
Viewers will discover which group Culculoglu, Mr Bercow and Wilder will be placed in at first on the opening night of the series, which airs on streaming platform Peacock in the US.
The US show paid out $250,000 (£205,000) for the prize, higher than the UK’s £101,050 winnings last year.
Full list of Traitors US contestants:
- Carsten “Bergie” Bergersen, Love Island USA
- Chris ‘C.T.’ Tamburello, The Challenge
- Dan Gheesling, Big Brother
- Deontay Wilder, Boxer
- Ekin-Su Culculoglu, Love Island UK
- Janelle Pierzina, Big Brother
- Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, The Challenge
- John Bercow, House of Commons Speaker
- Kevin Kreider, Bling Empire
- Larsa Pippen, The Real Housewives of Miami
- Marcus Jordan, Basketballer
- Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Dancing with the Stars
- Mercedes “MJ” Javid, Shahs of Sunset
- Parvati Shallow, Survivor
- Peppermint, RuPaul’s Drag Race
- Peter Weber, The Bachelor
- Phaedra Parks, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
- Sandra Diaz-Twine, Survivor
- Shereé Whitfield, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
- Tamra Judge, The Real Housewives of Orange Country
- Trishelle Cannatella, Real World: Las Vegas
