THE TRAITORS: CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR RED NOSE DAY MOVIE SPECIAL

It’s the TV show that caught the nation’s imagination and now a cast of award-winning actors and comedians have signed up to play some of the most iconic characters from series two of The Traitors in a spoof movie version of the hit BBC One show.

In a stunning transformation, Suranne Jones becomes Claudia Winkleman in this exciting new sketch for the Red Nose Day night of TV which was exclusively revealed in BBC’s The One Show on Monday 11 March.

Audiences should grab some popcorn and pour themselves a chalice of fizzy rosé, because THE most hotly anticipated film of the year is to die for! Expect Jazatha Christie being ignored, Ross’ infamous wink, Diane’s untimely murder and the Traitors turning on each other at the roundtable.

The Traitors: The Movie will bring to life some of the most iconic moments from the series featuring some of the nation’s favourite contestants, such as Diane (Sally Phillips), Harry (Jonathan Bailey), Jaz (Asim Chaudhry), Miles (Kiell Smith-Bynoe), Paul (David Walliams) and Ross (Iain Stirling), as well as a very special cameo from Mollie Pearce, playing herself. Catherine Tate will also take on the role of Evie. Or is that Charlie? Perhaps they are one and the same person after all...

The all-star cast are true fans of the original show and jumped at the opportunity to take part in The Traitors: The Movie for Comic Relief.

Suranne Jones says: ‘‘I’ve grown up with Comic Relief and every year I think I must do something, so it’s an absolute thrill to be cast. I watched The Traitors and I love Claudia, so everything is done with love as I step into her shoes. The most important thing is we are raising money for really important causes. So we are having fun, but the main thing will always be the causes.’’

Jonathan Bailey says: ‘‘Being invited to be in a Comic Relief night of TV sketch is the proudest moment of my career so far. On top of that, The Traitors is my all-time favourite TV series - I would be star-struck if I met any one of them. I’m sure I am the first in a long line of actors who will play Harry in biopics. Actually, I want to take this moment to publicly apologise to Harry for what I’ve done.’’

Sally Phillips says: ‘‘Being involved in Red Nose Day is always a laugh. It’s pretty difficult to use your job for good, so this is the one time a year that you get to raise money while working. I binged watched most of The Traitors in a day and I became obsessed. Actually, don’t tell me who won because I watched as far as Diane’s death and I’m going to go home today and watch the rest of it. It’s completely gripping.’’

The Traitors series two finalist, Mollie Pearce, says: ‘‘Red Nose Day is a great cause and something I’ve grown up watching. When I read the script, I thought it was so funny and great entertainment, it’s nice to make people laugh and smile after such an intense series. I don’t think I have really had time to process being asked to be involved in the sketch. When I got the call, I was running around the house with my mum screaming. I feel very privileged and very lucky.’’

Audiences will have to tune in to revisit their favourite moments from series two, produced by Studio Lambert, to find out if the sketch has been faithful to the popular reality show and why Jonathan Bailey is publicly apologising to Harry.

The Traitors: The Movie will air on Comic Relief: Funny for Money on 15 March from 7pm, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.