"There's no way they could afford me" - Ricky Gervais quips about being tipped for celebrity edition of The Traitors

The Traitors UK is a British reality series that is based on the Dutch series De Verraders and is hosted by English television presenter Claudia Winkleman. The concept of the show is that a group of contestants are transported to a Scottish castle where some contestants become the "Traitors", who must work together in order to eliminate other contestants. The remaining contestants become "Faithful" and need to find the Traitors and vote them out before they get eliminated themselves.

Studio Lambert is the studio house that produces the show. It confirmed in the Edinburgh TV Festival, that took place from August 20 to 23, that the studio has talked to various A-list celebrities for the third season of the UK version, with Ricky Gervais among the top of their list.

Ricky himself responded to the reports on X (formerly known as Twitter) and denied his involvement in an all-celebrity season.

Ricky Gervais is a celebrity comedian known for writing and starring in shows like BBC's The Office, which has an American iteration as well. The 63-year-old has also hosted The Golden Globe Awards a record five times.

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A look at the format and previous seasons of The Traitors

BBC confirmed that The Traitors UK had been renewed for a fourth season, with a third season already filming. The series has been a hit among reality TV fans as over seven million people tuned in to watch the finale of the second season.

Season 1 saw 22 players arrive at a castle in the Scottish Highlands in hopes of winning the prize money worth up to £120,000. Among those 22 contestants, a group selected by Claudia Winkleman on the first day of the shoot, who are called the Traitors, have a goal to eliminate the Faithfuls and claim the prize for themselves.

When the Traitors decide upon one Faithful contestant to "murder" and eliminate, that person must leave the game immediately. The result of the elimination is not disclosed to the rest of the contestants until the next day, as the person eliminated does not enter the Castle to have breakfast.

The first season saw some challenges, offering the opportunity to visit the Armoury. In the Armoury, one player would be awarded the Shield secretly and randomly, which then awards that player an immunity from being eliminated. While the Shields would be hidden during the missions, other contestants could check out who had claimed its power. The power of the Shield was not present in the second season.

After each day, all the contestants should participate in a Round Table meeting where they decide whom to "murder". When it comes to voting, contestants cast their votes individually after which their votes are revealed to everyone. If a person is successfully banished, they must reveal whether they are a Traitor or a Faithful.

If in case, the number of Traitors is less than two, the team will be given the option to recruit a Faithful. The chosen Faithful could decline the offer, but it may result in them being eliminated. At the end of the game, the remaining contestants take a vote to end the game after which their identities are revealed. If all the Traitors are eliminated, the Faithfuls share the prize money. If any of the Traitors remain, they will get to share the prize money instead.

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The first season had 12 episodes and the winners were Aaron Evans, Hannah Byczkowski, and Meryl Williams who belonged to the Faithfuls. The second season saw 22-year-old British army engineer Harry Clark win the season from the Traitors' side and win £95,150.