'The Traitors' host Alan Cumming nearly broke up a fight during Season 3

The Traitors host Alan Cumming has revealed that he nearly broke up a fight during the show's "intense and brutal" third season.


"There's bits in it that are so intense and brutal," Alan, 59, revealed to Newsweek in a recent interview.

According to The Traitors host, an argument during a banishment roundtable nearly escalated into a physical brawl.

"I actually thought I was going to have to break up a fight at round table one time," Alan recalled.

"It was really terrifying. I don't break up many fights."


Alan suggested that the rest of Season 3, which premiered on Peacock last week, will shock The Traitors viewers and be much more dramatic than what had unfolded on Seasons 1 and 2.

"Everything has been upped a bit and the contestants bring their energy and their backstories. So that makes it a whole new thing as well," Alan explained.

"I love the fact of how each season is so different to the one before, even though, structurally, it has a similarity."

And Alan teased that the ending of Season 3 "is not like anything" The Traitors viewers have ever seen before.

When looking back on the filming of The Traitors' third season, Alan said producers wanted to raise the bar for production given the show's prior seasons had been so popular.


"Partly because the second season was so successful, there was a pressure to not just repeat ourselves, it actually upped the ante," Alan shared.

"When you do a show like this, the first season, nobody knows what's going to happen. It's virgin territory. Then, of course, people watch it. So it's a question of pulling the rug from under them and keeping it fresh."

Alan said it was important to have "twists and surprises" for Season 3.

"Even with my costumes and everything, we upped the ante on that. I just think it was a combination of all these things," Alan said.

Alan boasted about how The Traitors' third season really "hit its stride" in a way that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.


"It is bigger. I'm sort of a cult leader. I have my followers. I didn't have followers in the other seasons," Alan quipped.

"So now I've gone from just like a dandy, lord of the manor in his castle, to official cult leader. I'm fine with it."

Alan opened up about how his character on the show is always evolving.

"It's sort of about the language that he uses. It's very flooded and kind of arcane. Instead of saying, 'Hey everybody, quiet down,' like... he would say, 'Players, there must only be one voice we hear at the round table,'" Alan said.

"It's about this kind of language and authority that he has, I think that is the secret to it. It's amazing, when you are playing a character, it's sort of like doing drag."


Alan compared his hosting role to having an alter ego.

"So I'm kind of doing Traitors drag, and I have this character, and obviously it is quite draggy with all my swishing cloaks and everything," he joked.

"But also, it gives me the freedom to be this other person, to be much more heightened and aggressive. And I obviously play lots of big characters. In real life, I'm not shy, but I definitely don't walk in and go, 'Hello everybody. I'm here!'"

New episodes of The Traitors are released on Thursday nights at 9PM ET/PT on Peacock.

Season 3 of The Traitors stars Bob Harper, Bob the Drag Queen, Britney Haynes, Carolyn Wiger, Chrishell Stause, Ciara Miller, Danielle Reyes, Derrick Levasseur, Dylan Efron, Gabby Windey, Jeremy Collins, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Nikki Bella, Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano, Sam Asghari, Tony Vlachos, Wells Adams, and Wes Bergmann.


Inspired by Dutch series De Verraders, The Traitors features celebrities and reality TV stars -- including memorable faces from Big Brother and Survivor -- competing to identify the Traitors among the Faithfuls in a mafia-style game for up to $250,000.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski