They split £83,000 between their chosen charities
Not many people saw that ending coming. Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft were crowned the winners of Celebrity Traitors, and it was a rare win for the Faithfuls. It’s over now.
Things had already gone badly for the Traitors before the finale started.
On Thursday, James Acaster cracked at the roundtable and confessed to being a Traitor, a first for the show.
This left Maya Jama and King Kenny up against four Faithfuls.
So here are the five moments from the finale that people will be talking about, plus a bit on why the show has taken over the country.
Michael Sheen was Murdered First
The episode opened with a killing, and the victim was Michael Sheen. Fans called it an obvious move and a stupid one.
He’d had a patchy series, backing the wrong Faithfuls alongside James Blunt more than once, but he came good late on.
He worked out Acaster’s secret before the confession and had Maya under real pressure.
Maya Went Out without Admitting she was a Traitor
Maya was the only original Traitor left, and for most of the series she’d stayed out of trouble. At the last roundtable she got hit from every angle and couldn’t convince anyone she was a Faithful.
James Blunt led the attack, going after her perfume theory and the way Ross Kemp was killed in plain sight. Even Kenny had to write her name on his chalkboard to protect himself.
She left the castle without confirming her role. Some fans said she deserved the win, and one pointed out she’d got that far with very little help from the other Traitors.
She’d had a rough time online as well. She hit back at negative comments after telling Acaster off for not helping in the puzzles task.
The Endgame Ended in a Deadlock
That left Kenny, the last Traitor, against four Faithfuls: Sebastian, James, Romesh and Leigh-Anne. Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock was the first to go.
The next vote didn’t settle anything. It split between Kenny and James Blunt, and the group ended up deadlocked.
Normally a stalemate suits the Traitor. This time the Faithfuls found a way out of it.
Sebastian and Romesh banished the last Traitor
After the deadlock, Sebastian Croft and Romesh had a quick chat and decided to banish Kenny instead. That was the end of the Traitors.
Plenty of viewers had Kenny down as the winner.
Earlier in the week he’d switched his vote at the last minute to banish Joanne McNally, and Maya and Acaster then murdered Sharon Rooney, which left the Faithfuls confused and suspicious.
Two Faithfuls shared the prize
Once Kenny was gone, the game was nearly over. James Blunt was banished in round three of the final showdown, which left Romesh and Sebastian to share the win.
They split £83,000 between their chosen charities, Choose Love and the Refugee Council.
It’s a neat contrast with last year.
Alan Carr won as a Traitor against David Olusoga, Nick Mohammed and Joe Marler, so the celebrity version has now been won by each side once.
Why Everyone’s Hooked on Celebrity Traitors
If you’re new to it, the idea is simple. Celebrities are Faithfuls, a few are secretly Traitors, and any Traitors left at the end take the whole prize.
Each night the Traitors murder someone, and the rest vote another player out at a roundtable. The prize goes to a charity of the winner’s choice, which takes some of the sting out of the backstabbing.
The viewing figures are huge. Last year’s finale was the most-watched UK television broadcast of 2025, and 11.1 million people watched it live, peaking above 12 million.
This series is holding up well. The semi-final drew a peak audience of 10.7 million.
The setup is bigger this time as well. There were 21 celebrities, with Claudia Winkleman presenting ten episodes filmed in Ardross in the Scottish Highlands.
It’s also been properly chaotic. Richard E Grant appeared to give away that he was a Traitor in the very first episode, and Acaster, recruited as a Traitor, kept describing himself as the reluctant one.
Even Maya made a slip in the semi-final. She raised a glass to killing the Faithfuls before correcting herself and saying banishing instead.
Before the series she’d said she wanted to play someone completely unlike herself. She was after a proper villain, and she got her wish by being made a Traitor.
The BBC clearly isn’t done with the format. In March it announced a three-year deal to keep Celebrity Traitors and The Traitors going until 2030.
It travels well too. In India, Karan Johar hosts The Traitors on Prime Video, and this year’s second season was won by Krystle D’Souza and Rida Tharana as Traitors.
If you’re following both, that’s a good contrast. The Indian season went to the Traitors, while the BBC’s celebrity series went the other way.
