Michael Buerk eyes up the Traitors stint and names popular show he turned down
Veteran broadcaster Michael Buerk reckons his decades at the BBC would make him a perfect fit for a stint on The Traitors.
The 77-year-old former newsreader says of the hit back-stabbing reality show: "If you survive 50 years at the BBC, you can stab people in the front."
Michael reveals he has turned down several offers to appear on Strictly Come Dancing. But he says he would love to appear on a proposed celebrity version of The Traitors, Claudia Winkleman's other reality series. Michael, who hosts Radio 4's The Moral Maze, says: "I do think it will fit my skillset, being treacherous."
Michael Buerk has spoken about the prospect of appearing on reality TV shows (Getty Images)
He shared that he doesn't fancy following in Angela Rippon's footsteps by doing Strictly Come Dancing (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)He adds he is happy to leave the dancing to newsreader pals such as Angela Rippon and John Sergeant, both 79 - who have appeared on Strictly. Michael says: "I am the only one who hasn't done it. I have been asked four, five times maybe. But I can't dance. There is an element of humiliation there but I can handle that.
"The small problem is that there is a strategy about these things and I kind of think the only role I could play is the bumbling, knob-footed idiot. It has been done. John Sergeant did it.
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"I don't feel there is a gap for me. I would be a gap you see, and not a star. I think I will save the public from the embarrassment. I believe it is intense. I did cast an eye over it in earlier years. And it did seem to be hard work.
"I thought the whole point of reality TV was that you just hung around, showed off, got humiliated, well paid and buggered off. But Strictly Come Dancing struck me as a bit more effort."
Michael however has teased that he would like to appear on a celebrity version of the Traitors, which is hosted by Claudia Winkleman (BBC/Studio Lambert/Mark Mainz)Michael worked on the news on BBC1 from 1976 to 2003, having joined the broadcaster in 1970.
The Traitors is based on the show De Verraders, which airs in the Netherlands. The UK version, which is filmed around Ardross Castle in Scotland, has been described as the "ultimate reality game of detection, backstabbing and trust".
Contestants are divided into Faithfuls, who make up the majority, and secretly-assigned Traitors. The former group must identify the other if they want to win, as any Traitors left at the end of the series take home the prize fund.
The show launched on BBC One in 2022 and its debut series reportedly had an average viewership of 5.4 million across all audiences. Earlier this year, the Traitors returned for a second series, which concluded just last month.
An executive producer teased just weeks ago that a celebrity version could happen. Stephen Lambert said: "I think it would be pretty entertaining … We talk to the BBC about the future of all our shows and that's obviously a possibility."
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