The Traitors has one big issue and they need to look to Love Island to fix it

Having returned on New Year's Day, The Traitors once again has viewers gripped with its fourth season in full flow. As everyone knows, the producers have added some additional twists and turns to the premise at this stage, including the now-unmasked Secret Traitor, which has only further fueled the public's appetite for all things Traitors. This raises a significant issue, as the Claudia Winkleman-fronted show is filmed so far in advance that the outcomes are already known - albeit by a select few.

That is great in theory, but if years of working in media have taught me anything, it is that the more people who are privy to information like this, the more likely it is to leak out, thus ruining it for the viewers. You only have to look at the outrage over the Strictly Come Dancing results leak to know that the public hates spoilers. Every previous Traitors contestant I have ever met or interviewed has said the hardest thing about appearing on the show is keeping it a secret from family and friends. A couple have even admitted that they did indeed entrust a few people with the secret - either out of necessity or simply because they couldn't keep it to themselves.

While they undoubtedly didn't mean any harm, all it would take for most people to let slip what they know about the show would be one drink too many in the local pub.

Indeed, it is not inconceivable that the show's result will be leaked by someone in the know ahead of the finale, and should that happen, what is the point in watching?

Given it's success it is about time they took a leaf out of the playbook of all the other big reality shows such as Love Island, Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.

All of these are broadcast more or less in real-time. What you see on TV is generally filmed the day, or sometimes mere hours, beforehand, and there is also a live element to the show.

The Traitors' advance filming also undermines any sense of urgency and can make the entire experience feel somewhat scripted. Using the standard reality format would up the tension and make it all a bit more exciting.

While presenter Claudia previously had commitments with the BBC's flagship Saturday night show Strictly Come Dancing for the last three months of the year, that is no longer an issue should she be needed for pre-production.

Shooting it in real time would also add an element of excitement to the tasks. It is famously filmed at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. At the time of writing, it is -2 with a snow and ice warning. The chill would definitely up the ante when it came to outdoor activities.

The reality is that the current filming method leaves the show open to leaks and also risks it becoming stale. The unpredictability and tension of a closer-to-live format could be just the injection the show needs.