The second season of England’s “Celebrity Traitors” series starts with records.
More than 8.8 million viewers tuned in to the Thursday night premiere of the BBC’s spoofing reality show, taking its audience tally to 9 million, according to overnight figures. Additionally, more than 50% of TV viewers were watching “Celebrity Traitors,” making it the highlight of the night.
This marks a new premiere record for series “The Traitors” in the United Kingdom, drawing nearly 3 million more viewers than past launches for both the inaugural season of last year’s celebrity version and its most recent civilian season. The number will increase even more as those who missed the first episode catch up in the coming days.
And what a premiere it was. This season of “Celebrity Traitors” features an impressive list of names joining host Claudia Winkleman; these include Richard E. Grant, Bella Ramsey, Myha’la, Maya Jama, James Acaster, Jerry Hall, James Blunt, Michael Sheen and more. Grant has already proven himself a standout player for his sheer enthusiasm for the game, causing instant chaos in goal. The program will air on BBC One and iPlayer every Thursday and Friday at 8pm (BST) over the next month, with the second episode airing this evening.
Season 5 of the UK civilian series “Traitors” will premiere early next year. The franchise has also been hugely successful in the U.S., with Alan Cumming hosting a hit version on Peacock as well as a civilian spin-off called “New Blood” that launched in September.