SPOILERS BELOW!
The BBC’s hit reality TV show The Traitors’ third season has gone out with a bang. The murder mystery game set in a Scottish castle won an audience of 7.4million viewers, according to BARB audience figures supplied by overnights.tv.
This is well up on last year’s finale, which drew an audience of 6.9million.
The show, made by production company Studio Lambert, debuted in 2022 and sees a group of participants (producers prefer the word “players” over “contestants”) holed up in a Scottish castle. A small number are selected by producers as Traitors who must try to bump off their housemates to secure a prize of up to £120,000. Meanwhile, the others, deemed Faithfuls, must use their time to try to identify the Traitors among them. The show is hosted by Claudia Winkleman, who also fronts the BBC’s biggest entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing.
Friday night’s grand finale of The Traitors saw the Faithfuls triumph, with two remaining players Project manager Jake Brown and former soldier Leanne Quigley sharing a final prize of £94,600.
The show has now been running for three seasons in the UK, and producers have faced the challenge of players becoming too aware of how the game is played by introducing changes. One such iteration appeared in Friday evening’s show, which meant one Faithful (Francesca) was allowed to identify a Traitor (her erstwhile closest housemate Charlotte). This led to some fans criticising the show’s final hour as it became a battle of wits just between the two of them. Both were ultimately banished.
However, the BBC will be happy with the viewing figures, particularly as there is a celebrity version of the show in the works. Other versions of the show, which was invented in the Netherlands, air in Australia and the US.