BBC gets ultimate revenge as it signs up star poached by ITV for Celebrity Traitors

The BBC is in the midst of casting the upcoming celebrity version of hit show The Traitors and has reportedly secured a star that ITV once poached from them as a contestant

An ITV employee may have raised a few eyebrows at the organisation in the back by reportedly signing up for a hit BBC show.

Robert Peston worked at the Beeb at a prolific level from 2005 until 2015 - at which time he jumped ship to become ITV's Political Editor. But now it seems the 64-year-old journalist is returning to the teet of old Aunty as he is said to have been snapped up as a contestant on the celebrity version of hit reality show The Traitors.

The series, fronted by Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman, is branching into the celeb version field after the success of the first two seasons of the civilian version of the show. The star-studded edition of the show is reportedly in the midst of casting and will see stars taken to the castle in Scotland to film the show.

But the BBC may have enacted a bit of revenge by signing up Peston as a contestant after ITV poached him from their newsroom almost a decade ago. And his signing may signal that the bosses of the hit show aim to attract stars with high intellect to make the series particularly juicy.

A source told The Sun: “Poaching Peston for Traitors shows real ingenuity on the BBC’s part. And it’s a huge insight into the kind of show Celebrity Traitors will be. Casting is still under way, but this won’t be reality stars and the usual faces. It will be genuinely interesting names, doing the kind of TV they’re unlikely to enrol in again."

The source went on to suggest Peston would have an advantage over his fellow celebrities due to the fact he studies back stabbing professionally as a political journalist. The Mirror has contacted representatives of Peston and the BBC for comment. Other names linked to the star-studded version of The Traitors include Clare Balding, Tom Daley and Stephen Fry. The celebrity version of the show was confirmed in August.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level. It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!"

Mike Cotton, Creative Director Unscripted at Studio Lambert and Executive Producer for The Traitors says: “We are thrilled to be inviting some celebrities into our castle to come and play the game. Seeing famous faces navigate the round table or don the infamous green cloaks will be unmissable TV, and what a double treat for the fans with Series 4 also confirmed too. There's a whole lot of exciting treachery and deception yet to come from the Highlands… Claudia’s going to have to pack some extra knitwear.”

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