The Traitors - c. 60% of contestants below 35 - ageist?

[Housebuyingfamily]

Haven’t done the exact calculation but 12 out of the original 25 were in their 20s, then there are early 30s people too. So 60% under 35 can’t be far off.

A few “older people” in 50s-70s absolutely there as a token or (dare I say it) novelty.

I get that young people watch prime time tv and BBC need these audiences, but should the show be so blatant in this targeting / shouldn’t it better reflect the demographics of the country? Isn’t it outright ageism? I also think people with more life experience are likely to be more interesting in how they navigate the game.

I said that to my husband last night. It made me angry and then dislike the programme from the off. Hadn't seen it before this series. I was annoyed that 2 of the 3 who got off the train were older.

For it to be labelled ageism we’d need the data on how many people actually applied and what age range they fall into.

If 60%+ of the applications to the show were under 35, then the current contestants would accurately reflect the applicant pool. Shows like this can’t reflect the make up of the entire general population, because they won’t attract the entire general population to apply.

I'm under 35 and watch the show. Neither of my parents do. They wouldn't know what the show was to apply for it.

It would be interesting to see the demographics of the applications. I imagine much more than 60% is those below 35. The gap as you say is people between 35 and 50. Considering a very high number of people between 35 and 50 have small children and don't have the luxury of buggering off to a castle in the Highlands for a month I can see why they would have fewer applications (or at least diversity in the individuals applying) in that age range. Older than that isn't who the show is targeted at and they don't watch to want to go on.

I agree with PP that the requirement to potentially spend several weeks away from home probably means that the demographic applying is more skewed towards younger people (and people with grown up famililes who fancy a challenge). It also favours people without children or doing certain types of jobs (where it's easier to take a block of time off).

How many people in that age group would actually apply though? And I do agree it’s marketed for a younger audience

We watched it for the first time yesterday and I thought that too. I'm 66
Mind you Linda struggled in the challenge.

Who cares ? I’m 46 and enjoy the show. I’m interested in the personalities not ages of the players

I like that there are at least some older contestants unlike in some other shows. I just looked at the ages of series 1 contestants and I think only about 30% of those were over 35 too but I still remember thinking it was a pleasingly diverse group!

Hundreds of thousands of people must have applied across all ages. There was a million ways to balance the ages.

Episode 1 the guy in his 40s went, episode 2 the guy in his 50s went. Surprise 🙄

soon it’ll be big brother with everyone under 30.

It's a strategy game.

They partake in challenges to win money. Some very physical ones. One of the considerations in who to murder will be who performs well in challenges. Sometimes the older people struggle to keep up in the challenges (as do some of the younger to be clear! But a 70yo in a physical race against a 25 year old rarely works in the 70yo favour).

Also again they strategise who to murder. They kill people who won't be banished, who hold power. Often that's the older people that are well liked, can be a 'father figure'. A 20 year old is also seen as more 'impressionable' or 'manipulatable'. The traitors will think they can bend manipulate them more.

Have you seen Love Island?

I do feel like this cohort is getting dangerously close to The Apprentice style contestant recruiting, which will render the show unwatchable.

People that are a bit older have more sense / dignity / wisdom and don't want to make a show of themselves.

The first series had as many contestants in their 20s but I think there was a wider range in the other half.

I think it’s because of the challenges, most of them are physical rather than, say. a game of Scrabble.

You’d need to see the data on the age ranges of applicants in order to back us your claim.

But I can’t imagine many older people wanting to apply - it’d be a bit embarrassing.

This is a far bigger issue on the singing competitions. I'd be more upset about that if this bothers you.

YABU unless we know what the pool of applicants and the pool they had to select from, looked like.

Agree regarding demographic of application. I'd rather be shot in the foot than appear on a show like this (40's) I would assume it's more 'out there' people over 40 applying and that's probably not the norm- same for say, big brother, etc. it's not necessarily ageism- and you may even find that by application it has a higher number of 'older' players.

I'm mid-fifties and I love watching this and have watched every series. I think you are wrong about who it's targeted at, tbh. But no way in hell would I apply to go on it because I'm not an idiot. IMO the percentage of people stupid enough to apply to go on something like this declines exponentially for every five years older people get. Glad there are lots of silly young(er) people who actually want to do it.

I thought the same OP. 12 in their 20’s, 7 in their 30’s, a 40 yr old and a 44 yr old, one in 50’s, two 60’s and one 70’s.

It feels more skewed than previous years but I will have to check that. I liked the range of ages in prev series, but they all look so young and polished. Hoping that when we get to know them all better it’ll seem less love island/ big brother esque.

Im sure more young people applied than old, but they can totally choose the distribution they want - there should be plenty to pick from!

I'm sure they get fewer applications in the 30- 60 age bracket but that's a poor argument when they must still get enough to find 10+ interesting, healthy and presentable people.

If they can be diverse with skin colour regardless of numbers of applicants, they can be diverse with age too, regardless of numbers of applicants . Though the challenges do mean that many older people couldn’t do them effectively.

I said that when I watched the first episode. I’d just finished the NZ one right before and I thought they had a brilliant set of contestants. Usually the U.K. one is my favourite but I was put off from the start. I’m watching it but I’m not overly invested.

Here we go - age bracket data.
I think it’s particularly a comparison to last year when there was a much more even spread of 20’s and 30’s.
Waiting to get to know them better I think.