Viewers call out Fortune Hotel for being a ‘cheap knock off’ of The Traitors

Viewers have criticised new reality show The Fortune Hotel for being a “rip off” of popular BBC programme The Traitors after viewers appeared to find too many comparisons between the two.

The ITV show sees ten pairs of contestants flown out to a luxury hotel in the Caribbean where they are handed a metal suitcase upon checking in. One of the cases holds £250,000 while another carries an “early checkout” card which has the power to send one of the “unfortunates” home.

Contestants have the opportunity to swap cases throughout the show and at the end of each episode with a series of games played throughout. The goal is to find who has the money.

But the show felt too similar to the hit series presented by Claudia Winkleman for many.

The Fortune Hotel…. A poor man’s Traitors”, said one person while others called it a “cheap knock off” and “rip off”.

Observant viewers noticed similarities in the format and other details including music and presenting style.

“Even the slowed down music being an absolute carbon copy of The Traitors,” said one person as another compared Stephen Mangan’s presenting style to Winkleman saying “He even teased the daily challenge in the exact same way.”

One person speculated that the programme “has nicked the vocalist from The Traitors” as they compared sound production between the shows.

 (ITV/BBC/PA Media)
(ITV/BBC/PA Media)

Others didn’t mind the comparison as they celebrated, “OK so The Fortune Hotel is essentially The Traitors 2.0 and I’m totally here for it!”

But The Traitors wasn’t the only show it was compared to as other unlikely shows were added to the mix.

The Fortune Hotel is not the Traitors… its carrot in the box,” said one person referring to the popular 8 Out of 10 Cats segment in which comedians attempt to deceive each other to exchange an empty box for one with a prized carrot within it.

The Fortune Hotel is a glamorous version of Chase the Case. I’ve seen reference to The Traitors but no nod to Chase the Case. Dan Walker must be vexxed,” said another referring to the BBC programme in which contestants must compete to find a suitcase full of cash.

But there was no coming back for others, “Just watched The Fortune Hotel. Definitely when you buy The Traitors from Wish. What a load of rubbish!”

“Twitter would get a lot more enjoyment out of 20 minutes of tv if they didn’t immediately compare every standalone strategic reality show to The Traitors,” reasoned another.