John Bercow signs up as contestant on The Traitors USA

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 21 September 2023

John Bercow, former speaker of the House of Commons, signs up as a contestant in the US version of The Traitors.

John Bercow, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, has signed up to compete as a contestant on the US version of The Traitors.

The 60-year-old oversaw proceedings in parliament from 2009 to 2019 - including the highly-contentious EU withdrawal period - but has subsequently been banned from holding a parliamentary pass after an independent investigation found him to be a "bully" of his staff and a "serial liar".

Bercow has always denied those claims and has described the finding against him as the result of a "kangaroo court" lacking in legal expertise, despite the panel including a former Lord Justice of Appeal and a former Chief Coroner⁠.

Now he has agreed to take part in the US version of the duplicitous reality show, which begins filming in Scotland this week.

The first season of the show featured a mixture of former reality TV stars and celebrities alongside civilians, but the 21-strong lineup of for the new season will be entirely well-known faces.

Others competing alongside Bercow include Big Brother USA legend Dan Gheesling, boxer Deontay Wilder, Peppermint of RuPaul's Drag Race fame, Ekin-Su Culculoglu from the UK edition of Love Island and Michael Jordan's son Marcus Jordan.