Celebrity Traitors final draws 11.2 million viewers
The Celebrity Traitors final drew 11.2 million viewers, with Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft winning £83,000 for refugee charities.
How it was covered
- BBC News carried 55% of the airtime and concentrated on ratings analysis, Croft's radio interview and future series.
- BBC One concentrated on the final result, prize money and the show's audience.
- Channel 5, Channel 4, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- GB News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
More than 11 million people tuned in to watch the final of Celebrity Traitors on BBC One on Friday night, according to BBC One West and BBC News. The finale ended with comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft revealed as Faithfuls.
BBC One West reported that the last two traitors were banished before Croft, known as Bash, confirmed he was a faithful. Ranganathan then said he had begun and ended the game as a faithful. The two winners shared a prize pot of £83,000, which BBC One West said they were giving to two refugee charities.
David Sillito's report on BBC One West said more than 14 million had been watching. Later BBC One West bulletins put the live final audience at more than 11 million. On Sunday, BBC News cited 11.2 million viewers and TV critic Scott Bryan's estimate that iPlayer could take the total to 15 or 16 million. Bryan said it would be the most watched TV episode of the year bar live sport.
Simon Jones said on BBC One West that the show had cemented its position as the biggest show on British television. The same bulletin reported criticism that the series was a bit dull compared with the first celebrity series, with less backstabbing, though it kept viewers guessing.
BBC News reported that Croft joined Ranganathan on his Radio 2 show with fellow contestants Leigh-Anne Pinnock and King Kenny. Croft said the hardest part was arriving at the start and walking into a chapel to see Maya Jama and Michael Sheen.
Scott Bryan told BBC News the celebrity version works because it feels like sport and attracts viewers who do not normally watch reality TV. He said Richard E. Grant's early admission that he was a traitor changed the course of the series. BBC News reported that the BBC has already committed to several more series of both the celebrity and civilian versions.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft won as faithfuls. | ||
| The Celebrity Traitors final drew an audience of more than 11 million on BBC One. | ||
| Only on one channel | ||
| Sebastian Croft appeared on Romesh Ranganathan's Radio 2 show with Leigh-Anne Pinnock and King Kenny. | Not reported by BBC One | |
| The winners are giving the £83,000 prize pot to two refugee charities. | Not reported by BBC News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC One West led with the result and the size of the audience, using David Sillito's reflective package and Simon Jones's studio analysis. It stressed the £83,000 prize for refugee charities and the show's status as the biggest show on British TV, while noting criticism that the series was less sharp than the first celebrity run. Later bulletins repeated the more than 11 million live figure but did not carry the detailed ratings projection seen on BBC News.
- “Now, more than 11 million people tuned in to watch the final of the Celebrity Traitors last night here on BBC One.”
- “those two celebrities share a prize pot of £83,000 that they're giving to two refugee charities.”
- “Now, some critics said it was a bit dull compared to the first celebrity series with less backstabbing, less rouse, but ultimately it kept viewers guessing until the end.”
BBC News focused on the ratings and the post-final aftermath, putting the 11.2 million audience in context with an estimate of 15 to 16 million including iPlayer. It carried Sebastian Croft's Radio 2 interview and a studio analysis from TV critic Scott Bryan on why the celebrity format works, how it compared with the earlier series and the BBC's future plans. It gave less space to the mechanics of the final than BBC One West.
- “that show got 11.2 million viewers that's a huge audience by today's standards”
- “if you also include iPlayer those figures come through through later I would expect it to be about 15 16 potentially”
- “it feels like sport nobody wanted to know any spoilers about what was going to happen”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 08:51 GMT
- 08:52 GMT
Scott Bryan, TV critic
BBC News · Sun 1 Nov
- 13:07 GMT
- 13:07 GMT
Romesh Ranganathan, comedian
BBC News · Sat 31 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.