'The Traitors' composer Sam Watts: 'If I was a traitor, I’d be off by episode two'

Would you be a traitor or a faithful? Three years ago, this question would have made little sense. But with The Traitors being one of the BBC’s biggest recent hits, it’s now a guaranteed conversation starter.

‘I’m a bit of a control freak, so I think I'd like to be a traitor,’ Sam Watts, the composer behind the show’s main theme, tells M. ‘But I don’t think I’d be very good! I’m not a great liar. If I was a traitor, I’d be off by episode two.’

The Traitors has swiftly become a cultural phenomenon since its 2022 UK launch (based on the Dutch series De Verraders), pulling in millions of viewers, dominating social media and spawning the much-talked-about Celebrity Traitors, which concludes tomorrow night (6 December). There was even a special Traitors-themed Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in the summer, during which Sam encountered the show’s sharply dressed host Claudia Winkleman (‘she’s everything you’d hope her to be — and more!’ Sam exclaims).

Sam, who has also worked on music for the likes of Plant Earth, Doctor Who: Tales of the TARDIS and The Sarah Jane Adventures, believes the popularity of The Traitors is on another level.

‘Initially, we had no idea about the reception it would get,’ he says. ‘Series one had good, but not brilliant, viewing figures, then over the Christmas period 2022 it just caught the population’s imagination. It’s the most bizarre thing to be part of a show like this.’

'I'd like to be a traitor — but I don’t think I’d be very good!'

With over 20 years of media composing under his belt, Sam can trace his formative musical beginnings to Yorkshire. At home, he would listen to the likes of Pantera and Carly Simon — as well as a fair share of opera music — as his creative curiosity was piqued.

‘I used to sit and hit [the family piano]. My mum used to get really annoyed, so she sent me to lessons,’ Sam recalls. ‘But it was this exposure to so many different types of music as a kid that really excited me.’

Going on to study music at GCSE level (‘I had some great teachers who encouraged me to start writing my own music’), Sam became aware of the ample possibilities that can come with media composing: ‘As a teenager, I realised there were scores in what I was watching on TV. I started to really enjoy music by John Williams, Wendy Carlos and Anne Dudley. I remember watching Wilde and being blown away by Debbie Wiseman’s brilliant score.’

While studying composition under musical experts Nicholas Sackman and Mervyn Cooke at the University of Nottingham, he was introduced to acclaimed film and TV composer George Fenton (Gandhi, Groundhog Day, The Blue Planet) after the latter visited as a guest lecturer.

‘George was very generous, and I ended up badgering him until he gave me a job,’ Sam recalls with a laugh. ‘I worked for him as a music assistant for three years on projects like Mrs Henderson Presents and Hitch. But I became too comfortable, and George wanted me to write my own music, so I stopped. I wasn’t sure how to move forward, but he then called me a few months later for a TV show he was working on. It turned out to be Planet Earth.’

‘I had some great teachers who encouraged me to start writing my own music.'

Sam was tasked with writing the music for the segment in each episode of the David Attenborough-narrated nature series where the production team share how they captured the action we see on screen.

‘It was trial by fire as it all had to be made electronically. There was no budget for orchestras,’ he says. ‘But rather than becoming concerned about this being a flagship BBC documentary, I just got on with it. I put my bravery down to the folly of youth!’

With such a significant credit in the bank, Sam’s next break came after they sent a CD of his music to Russell T Davies, the showrunner and writer behind the 2005 revival of Doctor Who. ‘I’d always been a Dr Who fan, so I sent Russell a showreel and a note which said something like: “I’m not going to kiss your ass, but you make great TV and I’d love to work with you.”

‘Weeks later, I got a call from producer Julie Gardner asking me to meet them. After being given a script and asked to come up with a pitch, I was offered [Doctor Who spin-off] The Sarah Jane Adventures. That just shows how you have to put yourself out there, network and forge connections with people to get the job.’

Sam first heard about The Traitors gig in 2020 from his friend Abi Lambrinos, a producer at the show’s Studio Lambert. ‘I was asked me to put together a reel of music that might fit The Traitors,’ he recalls. ‘Instead, I decided to write something new to show them what I could do. I spent a few hours on a Saturday morning working on a demo, then sent it over saying, “This is really rough, but will give you an idea of what I’m thinking.” They loved it, and it became the Traitors theme.’

As nothing had been filmed at that point, Sam had to work without any clear visual references. Studio Lambert’s producers described the format and shared a few references to paint a picture of what they were after.

‘When working like this, you have to hone in on specific wording,’ Sam explains. ‘They loved the Game of Thrones music, which is an epic score. I listened to it and asked myself what they liked about it. It’s got this driving, repetitive feel; it’s primal; there’s a lot of percussion and aggression. I then sat at the piano and tried to create my own version of that emotion.’

Despite its bombast, the final version of the Traitors theme wasn’t recorded with an orchestra. Instead, Sam made use of the music production software Cubase while his brother Dan added some synth lines and guitars for a ‘a shiny, more programmed version’.

‘The fact that my initial idea somehow stuck is very strange,’ Sam says now about his theme. ‘Given the ubiquity of the series, it’s bizarre how the music is everywhere.’

Never was this more apparent than at the aforementioned BBC Prom, where his Traitors theme was performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karen Ní Bhroin.

‘I’ve been to the Royal Albert Hall many times, so to hear my own music played there by world-class musicians was a dream,’ Sam tells M. ‘I got a text from Russell when [the Traitors Prom] was announced saying, “This Prom has been years in the making!” It was always something I said I wanted.’

'Hearing my Traitors theme being played at the Royal Albert Hall was a dream.'

While The Traitors’ appeal keeps growing, with versions now screening in such countries as Poland, India and New Zealand, Sam hasn’t written any further music for the show since 2022.

‘Everyone thinks I’m constantly working on it as it’s such a big thing, but I’m always looking for more opportunities,’ he says. ‘I’m looking forward to working with Russell again on his upcoming Channel 4 series, Tip Toe.’

While Sam remains, to borrow a Traitors phrase, ‘100% faithful’ to the craft of composition, he’s keen to advise the next generation of media composers about the realities of making it in this highly competitive industry.

‘Anyone wanting to do this needs to know that a career is not linear,’ he says. ‘You need some resilience, and you have to keep going. I will pass on advice I was given by George Fenton: “Work hard, and be nice.” It’s always stood me in good stead.’

How very faithful…

The Celebrity Traitors finale airs tomorrow (6 November) at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.