The Celebrity Traitors concluded on a high on Friday night as the grand final drew in a record-breaking 11.2 million viewers – despite garnering mixed reviews. Fans of the hit BBC One series tuned in to see Faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian ‘Bash’ Croft crowned the winners after successfully banishing Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny at the final hour.And while critics claimed the final episode was ‘underwhelming’ and ‘anticlimactic’, the nail-biting conclusion drew the biggest UK overnight and consolidated TV audiences of 2026 so far.The average overnight audience of 11.2 million (later peaking at 11.6 million), was up from the 11 million who tuned in to the 2025 series final which saw Traitor Alan Carr emerge victorious. Viewers applauded Romesh and Sebastian for beating Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny, who went under the radar until Thursday’s episode, when their fellow Traitor James Acaster revealed his identity in a moment of stress.They scooped £41,500 each for their chosen charities – Choose Love for Sebastian and the Refugee Council for Ranganathan. The Celebrity Traitors concluded on a high on Friday night as the grand final drew in a record-breaking 11.2 million viewers – despite garnering mixed reviews Faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian ‘Bash’ Croft were crowned the winners after successfully banishing Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny at the final hourThey shared an embrace as host Claudia Winkleman congratulated them on their big win.’I trusted Bash and I was right to. I cannot believe it! I just really hope my mum is proud,’ the comedian said.In his exit interview, he added: ‘I think my biggest highlight is making a friend in Bash – relying on the fact that I thought he was a friend in that end game and that paying off, that is something I feel really good about.Sebastian broke down in tears and said: ‘That was just incredible. This might actually be the best day of my life.’Adding what the highlight of his experience was, the actor shared: ‘It was the moment that Rom said the word Faithful, and the hug that we had was just wild, it was crazy.’The duo then joined the host and celebrity finalists outside the picturesque Ardross Castle, where they raised a glass around the fire pit. Fans branded the episode ‘excellent television’. ‘They deserved to win from the start. ICONIC,’ one wrote on X. ‘Romesh turned out to be very good at this game.”Yessss Romesh and Sebastian!! Aw really happy for them, played an excellent loyal game to the faithful and deserved it in the end!”Romesh and Bash both giving their winnings to charities that support refugees is the perfect cap to this series! made me feel genuinely proud to be British.”I’ve always said if any faithful had to win I’d love it to be Bash, Romesh and Leigh-Anne so 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.’
while critics claimed the final episode was ‘underwhelming’ and ‘anticlimactic’, the nail-biting conclusion drew the biggest UK overnight and consolidated TV audiences of 2026 so far It was Celebrity Nervous Nellies as this bunch of entertainers lost their wits… and their heads: Read CHRISTOPHER STEVENS five-star review of the final By Christopher Stevens, TV criticRating:Rating: Five starsAND breathe. The most fraught, high-anxiety series of The Celebrity Traitors flailed to a nerve-wracking climax last nnight as King Kenny betrayed his friend Maya Jama – only to be voted off in the final reckoning. ‘Almost scraped it! I was so close, I could smell the victory,’ he snarled.For me, the previous closeness between the two should have alerted all their rivals. Whether or not the frisson between them has amounted to anything more than a light-hearted flirtation, we can only guess for now.But since they are all supposedly kept apart after lights out, that should have strongly implied to the others that Maya and Kenny had some opportunity to be together when no one else was around… for example, in a turret.From the moment in episode two that Richard E. Grant announced, with reckless glee, that he’d been picked to be a Traitor, this show has been on the verge of falling apart. It’s been exhilarating but exhausting to see this bunch of highly successful entertainers lose their nerve, their wits and their heads.You’d have been forgiven for imagining that the penalty for being eliminated from the game really was sudden death. EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp, who has braved maximum security prisons and gangland stake-outs in his role as an investigative documentary-maker, leapt out of his skin when singer LeighAnne Pinnock brushed his arm.Actress Sharon Rooney was shivering and shuddering as she pleaded against banishment at the round table. Traitor Maya Jama doodled hearts and kisses over her assassination notes. Comedian James Acaster, unable to bear the tension any longer, confessed his crimes as a Traitor on Thursday night and pleaded for absolution.What were they expecting when they signed up? The show might as well have been called Celebrity Nervous Nellies. Yet at the start, most of them were promising presenter Claudia Winkleman that they could lie without conscience and dispatch their fellow players with easy callousness.Perhaps it’s the sheer popularity of the show that was nudging the contestants towards the brink of hysteria. In a showbiz world of performative empathy, where the golden rule is to Be Kind, they were forced to be a tiny bit nasty, in front of more than ten million people.And it was more than most of them could take. ‘Keeping a massive secret is so tough,’ sighed Maya as she was banished. James Blunt appeared genuinely aggrieved to be suspected in the final reckoning.Oddly, the ones who seemed most at ease were the people who have survived in genuinely tough careers. Jerry Hall was a supermodel in fashion’s most cut-throat era, as well as being married to Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch. That’s no life for a delicate flower. And YouTuber Kenny Ojuederie – stage name King Kenny – was a professional light-heavyweight boxer. Little surprise he could roll with the punches. The BBC might inadvertently have stoked the nail-chewing with their emphasis on ‘mental welfare’.After Acaster’s wobble this week, a spokesman said: ‘Our highest priority is always the safety and welfare of everyone taking part.’ T HERE’S nothing more calculated to heighten anxiety than a squadron of therapists and psychologists hovering on the margins.It’s a fair bet that next year, the producers will ensure that only players who will really relish treachery get chosen to be Traitors. Not only Acaster but also Professor Hannah Fry were ambivalent at best about their roles, which sapped some of the fun. This series has felt very different from last year’s, which was won by the improbably devious Alan Carr.Everything seemed to fall into place during his victorious run. This year, much of it has seemed more forced. It would be too cynical to suggest that, when the Traitors plotted their murders, certain players were untouchable.Still, it worked out well for the producers that the biggest beasts survived the opening rounds (apart from Richard E, who effectively defenestrated himself). Romesh Ranganathan and Michael Sheen, who both present BBC quiz shows, clung on almost till the end – though the actor met his end after the penultimate episode (‘Our Welsh dragon has been slain,’ mourned Claudia). Miranda Hart, a star the BBC would dearly love to tempt back to their comedy schedules, also proved durable.This was despite their obvious talents for sleuthing. The fact that, night after night, the Traitors kept them in the game was plain odd. O N the other hand, it’s no shock that singer James Blunt was allowed to live. He could have been invited to the turret at midnight and still wouldn’t have been able to guess the identities of the hooded villains. It wasn’t all about cloaks this time.The costumes have been extraordinary too. Joe Lycett’s plastic mac was so eye-catching that musician and actor Sebastian ‘Bash’ Croft insisted on borrowing it. Maya came down to breakfast on the last day in a wraparound shawl apparently woven from extruded toilet rolls.Where this series has excelled is with its games, usually the weakest part of every episode. Some of the challenges were quite brilliant, and as entertaining as the round table wrangling. For the final mission, a helicopter descended, creating such a downdraught that it lifted Claudia’s fringe and almost blew her wig off altogether.Maya and Leigh-Anne ended up having to abseil down as it hovered, and did it so confidently that it’s impossible to imagine they did it without training. Bash jumped too, lowering himself over a loch and then unclipping his harness to plunge into the water.The courage that took is enough for me to let him off for describing himself as a ‘devil’s avocado’ instead of advocate, before the four last men standing voted out the only remaining woman, Leigh-Anne.In a climactic confrontation, James was sent out by one last blunder of his own. He could have chosen to end the game and stay in, but gambled and lost. Once again, it was a test of nerve <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/tvshowbiz/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->
Despite fans lapping up the dramatic on-screen events, critics of the show awarded the final episode somewhat mixed feedback.The Times hailed it ‘an extraordinary result after a sometimes underwhelming series’, adding that the episode was less ‘TV gold’ and more like ‘precious silver’. They added: ‘This series has not had the epic status of the first partly because for most of it the two main traitors barely took a scratch and had a ridiculously easy run.’Meanwhile, The Independent felt the final was an ‘anticlimactic finish’ to what they called a ‘sophomore series’.Elsewhere, The Guardian stated that while the show was still thrilling, its record-breaking viewing figures ‘have somewhat belied its comparatively muted nature’.They went on to add: ‘It’s true this season is unlikely to go down as a classic – too few twists, not enough suspense, too few metaphorical jugulars severed, not enough Celia Imrie farting in a shack – but it still got its main job done. The Daily Mail however dished out a five star review for the ‘nerve-wracking climax’, though there were some stern words for those reluctant to embrace the treachery, betrayal and back-stabbing.They said: ‘What were they expecting when they signed up? The show might as well have been called Celebrity Nervous Nellies. Yet at the start, most of them were promising presenter Claudia Winkleman that they could lie without conscience and dispatch their fellow players with easy callousness.’Perhaps it’s the sheer popularity of the show that was nudging the contestants towards the brink of hysteria. In a showbiz world of performative empathy, where the golden rule is to Be Kind, they were forced to be a tiny bit nasty, in front of more than ten million people’