Celebrity Traitors breaks TV records with premiere in major BBC ratings win

The long-awaited Celebrity Traitors has already broken records as its premiere episode drew an astonishing 6.1 million live viewers, marking the biggest-ever launch for The Traitors in the UK.

The number tops all previous premieres, and comes second only to the series three finale earlier this year. The figures don't even include BBC iPlayer views.

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

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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 celebrity edition of the hit psychological game show is being hosted by the series' usual host, Claudia Winkleman. This version of the show sees 19 famous faces gather in the Scottish Highlands for a battle of wits.

The star-studded cast includes Alan Carr, Kate Garraway, Jonathan Ross, Charlotte Church, Tom Daley, Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie, and Cat Burns, with each contestant competing to win £100,000 for charity.

Just like in the original series, players are 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.

The opening episode was packed with viral moments, including the scene where Charlotte Church dove into a grave she was meant to dig as part of the first challenge.

While the others opted for shovels, Charlotte decided to claw through the dirt with her bare hands, soiling her white dress — only to miss out on the prize of immunity by the end of the task.

Fans have branded the moment “TV gold”. One viewer joked: “Whoever put Charlotte Church’s medal deep in that grave deserves a medal themselves.”

The premiere also introduced this season’s Traitors — Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr, and Cat Burns. Alan nervously reacted to his role, joking: “I have a sweating problem and I can’t keep a secret. What am I going to do?”

Fans have called the celebrity line-up “the most premium celebrity cast a celebrity format has ever seen”.

One viewer took to social media to say: “This is such a stellar cast, TV will never be this good again.” Another shared: “I'm actually obsessed with this cast already 10/10 from the BBC!”

The Celebrity Traitors will air twice a week, with a celebrity edition of The Traitors Uncloaked hosted by Ed Gamble that viewers can tune in to if they want to hear juicy details from behind-the-scenes.

The Celebrity Traitors airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One.

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