Celebrity Traitors smashes viewing figures as 6.5M fans tune in

Its mix of treachery and detective work has made The Traitors a standout hit for the BBC.

Now the addition of a celebrity version has broken records, as Wednesday’s opening episode attracted 6.5million viewers, marking the biggest-ever launch for The Traitors in the UK.

The number tops all previous premieres, including the civilian series opener in January which garnered 5.4million views.

The total audience is expected to soar even higher in the coming days, with viewers who streamed the show on iPlayer yet to be counted.

Celebrity Traitors should soon cross the 10million viewer mark, making it one of the BBC's most successful reality show debuts in recent years.

According to the BBC, the first episode peaked at 6.5million views with 52.7 percent of households with their televisions switched on tuning in. The premiere averaged at 6.1million views with a 46.4 percent share.

The BBC hit sees players secretly divided into Faithfuls and Traitors. 

The Faithfuls have to try and root out the Traitors before they're murdered one by one, while the Traitors attempt to manipulate their way to the end without being caught.

Millions tuned in to watch Claudia Winkleman, 53, choose this year’s traitors. The presenter selected chat show host Jonathan Ross, comedian Alan Carr, and singer Cat Burns.

They were immediately given the task to ‘murder’ one of the faithful in plain sight by using the pollen of a poison lily and touching someone’s face.

Wednesday’s episode ended on a cliff hanger with traitor Alan rubbing the lily and trying to choose his victim.

Last night, the rest of the celebrity cast, which includes Celia Imrie and Charlotte Church, discovered that Alan had murdered contestant Paloma Faith.

She was subsequently buried in an elaborate funeral task which was conducted by Winkleman, who arrived on horseback.

The players then made their way to the first banishment ceremony, where the contestants debated who they thought was a traitor before taking a vote.

The episode ended with three votes for Kate Garraway, three for Niko Omilana, two for Tameka Empson, and one for Tom Daley.

But with nine more celebrities left to vote, it was not clear who would be eliminated.

The result will be revealed during next Wednesday’s episode.

Fans were left unconvinced Alan has what it takes to be a Traitor after he appeared to laugh after being chosen on Tuesday's debut episode.

Alan couldn't help but giggle when the TV host tapped him on the shoulder while all the celebrities were blindfolded around the table.

The comedian admitted he's worried about his chances of going undetected by his fellow celebrities.

Speaking to the camera, he said: 'I have a sweating problem and I can't keep a secret. What am I going to do? It's a weight burning on my shoulders, I'm so nervous.'

Alan even proclaimed he was 'worse than Linda!', referring to series three contestant Linda Rands who memorably looked right at Claudia when she addressed the traitors in front of the entire group, causing eventual winner Jake Brown to suspect her.

Viewers took to X to react to the selection of Traitors, with many predicting Alan won't manage to avoid detection because of his reaction to being chosen. 

They wrote: 'Alan Carr is gonna be the worst Traitor ever, so obvious'... 'Alan Carr as a Traitor is going to be absolute box office stuff.'

'Cat may susprise us but feel like she'll crumble. Alan has NO hope'... 'Alan Carr is somehow going to vote himself as a Traitor at the roundtable isn't he?'

'Alan Carr having to bite his lip to stop laughing immediately. He has no hope whatsoever.' 

Celebrity Traitors: Meet the cast

Kate Garraway

Age: 57

Profession:  Good Morning Britain host 

Stephen Fry

Age: 67

Profession: Actor, author and broadcaster

Alan Carr

Age: 48

Profession: Comedian and TV host

Paloma Faith

Age: 43

Profession: Singer and actress  

Charlotte Church

Age: 39

Profession: Singer  

Tom Daley

Age: 39

Profession: Olympic diver  

Jonathan Ross

Age: 64

Profession: TV and Radio presenter  

Tameka Empson

Age: 48

Profession: EastEnders actress

Cat Burns

Age: 24 

Profession: Singer  

Nick Mohammed

Age: 44

Profession: Comedian and Ted Lasso star  

Clare Balding

Age: 54

Profession: Broadcaster and journlaist  

Joe Wilkinson

Age: 49

Profession: Comedian and actor  

Celia Imrie

Age: 72 

Profession: Actress  

Lucy Beaumont

Age: 41

Profession: Comedian  

David Olusoga

Age: 55

Profession: Historian and broadcaster  

Ruth Codd

Age: 28

Profession: Actress  

Mark Bonnar

Age: 56

Profession: Actor  

Niko Omilana

Age: 27

Profession: YouTuber  

Joe Marler

Age: 34 

Profession: Former England Rugby player