Celebrity versions of popular TV shows are usually rubbish \u2013 nothing more than a desperate attempt to keep our eyes glued to formats we already know and love. Take Celebrity Race Across the World, which started last night \u2013 I love the civilian version, but couldn\u2019t care less about watching C-listers sleep on buses. And yet, The Celebrity Traitors<\/a> has been different \u2013 staggeringly so.<\/p>\n An average of 12.6 million of us have watched the first celeb version<\/a> of the already popular murder mystery game \u2013 numbers that TV bigwigs can only wish for in their wildest dreams. We\u2019ve been hooked on former rugby pro Joe Marler\u2019s \u201cBig Dog\u201d theorising<\/a>, Jonathan Ross\u2019s impossibly lucky streak<\/a> and Alan Carr\u2019s transformation from sweaty nervous wreck<\/a> to a ruthless, lying killer. <\/p>\n With 19 players whittled down to just five, it all came down to an unpredictable, exhilarating final. Two Traitors \u2013 Alan and singer Cat Burns<\/a> \u2013 were left in the game, playing against the three Faithfuls: Joe, historian David Olusoga<\/a>, and comedian Nick Mohammed<\/a>. Would the Traitors (who have played an absolute blinder) trick the Faithful into handing them the prize money? Or would the Faithful \u2013 statistically the worst in the programme\u2019s history<\/a> \u2013 finally root them out and pull the rug from under their feet at the very last minute?<\/p>\n We\u2019d have to wait to get our answer, as before that there were a few agenda items to tick off the list. First, the final challenge, in which the celebs had to board a steam train, and solve clues to unlock keys which in turn would unlock boxes of cash to add to the prize pot. They had to do all this within 20 minutes \u2013 after which the cash would explode.<\/p>\n The challenges have been surprisingly interesting in this series \u2013 turns out it\u2019s more interesting to watch Stephen Fry<\/a> dig his own grave than it is a civvy \u2013 but this rigmarole felt like a distraction from the upcoming treachery. Still, the gang looked pretty cool running away from the train as the dynamite blew it up behind them. Better still, they added \u00a320,000 to the prize pot, making the final total an even cooler \u00a387,500. <\/p>\n Then, there was the business of another banishment. The game was in Joe\u2019s hands as he persuaded David and Nick to vote for Cat, while simultaneously convincing Alan and Cat that he would team up with them and banish David. <\/p>\n Somehow \u2013 despite his constant giggles \u2013 Carr had gone completely under the radar and his forceful accusations towards David seemed to mark him safe from banishment at the very last Round Table. It was Cat\u2019s time to go, leaving Carr as the sole Traitor against three Faithfuls (unbeknownst to them, as Cat didn\u2019t have to reveal her Traitor status upon her departure).<\/p>\n The odds were against Alan. Surely, he couldn\u2019t convince the remaining players that he really was a Faithful \u2013 and yet I found myself rooting for him to go ahead and take the lot. Going into the endgame, my nerves were shredded. I can only imagine how he was feeling.<\/p>\n It was finally time for each player to decide whether to continue or end the game depending on whether they believe a Traitor is still among them, by way of the Traitors tradition of throwing dust in a fire. It was Alan\u2019s word against Joe\u2019s in a real David and Goliath battle of wits. Before long, it became clear that Joe\u2019s defiance in (correctly) pointing at Alan as a Traitor drew far too much suspicion to himself and \u2013 after all four of them decided to continue the game \u2013 it turned out the originator of the (also correct) Big Dog Theory had signed his own death warrant. Or rather, his best friend Nick did. <\/p>\n In the last round of dust-throwing, David and Nick decided to end the game, convinced that they had rooted out the final Traitor in Joe. Little did they know that he was still among them, and with Alan also deciding to end the game, he was \u2013 unbelievably, brilliantly \u2013 crowned the winner. The prize money would be going to his chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK, and his chosen charity alone. And yet that still wasn\u2019t the zenith of the finale.<\/p>\n That came when Alan revealed to his fellow players that he was \u2013 and always had been \u2013 a Traitor. Shock rippled through the room (as did a few expletives), and Alan broke down in tears born of guilt and relief. \u201cIt\u2019s been tearing me apart,\u201d he sobbed to his fellow gameplayers as they rushed in to hug him. It was undeniably the TV moment of the year. <\/p>\n The beauty of The Traitors \u2013 both celebrity and civilian \u2013 is that anything really can happen. One of entertainment\u2019s greatest minds, Stephen Fry, can have no clue about the game being played in front of him. A respected, renowned Olivier Award-winning actor, Celia Imrie, can fart on primetime television<\/a>. A self-doubting, sweating, panicked comedian can go on to win the entire thing. <\/p>\n This series has proved that it doesn\u2019t really matter who plays. Famous or not, it\u2019s the game itself that reveals itself as the true star. <\/p>\n![\"TX](\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_273363400.jpg?w=760\")
The final prize pot amounted to \u00a387,500 (Photo: Euan Cherry\/BBC\/Studio Lambert)<\/p>\n![\"TX](\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_273364777.jpg?w=760\")
Cat was banished at the last Round Table, leaving last Traitor Alan to fend for himself (Photo: Euan Cherry\/BBC\/Studio Lambert)<\/p>\n![\"TX](\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_273364977.jpg?w=760\")
The prize money went to Carr\u2019s chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK (Photo: Paul Chappells\/BBC\/Studio Lambert)<\/p>\nYour next read<\/h2>\n
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