Update, October 27: Fans have a theory, and it’s a juicy one. This is fan speculation, not anything the BBC has said. In Friday’s challenge, the Faithful accidentally named the three Traitors, Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny, as their most trusted players, which left only Traitors eligible for the secret advantage. That advantage was a double-vote dagger. Viewers are now theorising that producers swapped out a planned reward like the US show’s Power of the Pardon, since a pardon would be useless to a Traitor (The Independent, October 26).
Plus, a behind-the-scenes nugget: James Acaster said at a recent Q&A, in a clip shared on TikTok, that producers play “The Hanging Tree” from The Hunger Games, a cappella, as players sit down for every Round Table. “They do it every single roundtable,” he said. Former players Tom Elderfield and Reece Ward backed him up (Digital Spy, October 26).
The Celebrity Traitors is heading into its final week with another huge audience, after Friday night’s episode drew a peak of 9.7 million viewers and left the latest banishment unresolved.
The episode, which aired on Friday, October 23, averaged 9.5 million viewers and recorded a 57.2% audience share, according to figures reported by the BBC and the Press Association. Its peak audience reached 9.7 million (The Standard / PA).
That was a slight drop from Thursday night’s episode, which peaked at 10.3 million viewers when Ross Kemp was murdered in plain sight. Even so, the latest figures show that The Celebrity Traitors remains one of the UK’s biggest television draws as Series 2 approaches its finale. The earlier figures, including the launch, are in our record ratings report.
Miranda Hart becomes the latest murder
Friday’s episode began with the Traitors having to choose between Miranda Hart, Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft as their next target.
They ultimately chose Hart.
The decision made strategic sense for the Traitors because Hart had been actively trying to work out who was operating under the cloaks. James Acaster described her as a particularly strong detective, according to coverage of the episode (BBC News).
Hart’s exit also produced one of the episode’s more emotional moments. Reflecting on her return to television and her experience filming in Scotland, she spoke about being able to get back to doing the professional and personal things she loves after difficult years with her health.
Every exit so far, episode by episode, is on our murder and banishment tracker.
The next banishment ended on a cliffhanger
The episode then moved into another Round Table, where Sharon Rooney and Joanne McNally became the two players facing banishment.
The vote ended in a tie, leaving Traitor King Kenny with the deciding vote.
But viewers did not get the answer on Friday night.
The episode ended before Kenny revealed whether Rooney or McNally would be sent home, meaning the result will carry into the next episode on Thursday, October 29 (BBC News).
That cliffhanger appears to have helped keep viewers watching. The episode’s 9.7 million peak came despite being the second half of a week that had already delivered the show’s 10.3 million peak on Thursday.
Just two episodes remain
There are now only two episodes left in Series 2.
The next episode airs on Thursday, October 29 at 8pm, followed by the Series 2 finale on Friday, October 30 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The finale has an extended running time (BBC). The full cast and episode schedule are in our cast, schedule and how-to-watch guide.
The remaining players are now operating with considerably less room for error, while the three remaining Traitors, Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny, continue trying to stay hidden.
Confirmed: The 9.5 million average, 9.7 million peak, Miranda Hart’s murder and the Rooney-McNally cliffhanger are reported developments from the latest episode.
Speculation: Whether King Kenny will banish Rooney or McNally, and whether the remaining Faithful can expose the Traitors before the finale, remains unknown until the show airs. For how earlier series ended, see every Traitors winner, US and UK. The rest of the franchise is on our Traitors hub.
Sources
- The Standard (Press Association): Celebrity Traitors roundtable cliffhanger draws peak audience of 9.7 million (24 October 2026)
- BBC News: Celebrity Traitors left on a knife edge after a trip to the field of screams (23 October 2026)
- BBC: The Celebrity Traitors, Series 2, Episode 9
- BBC: The Celebrity Traitors, Series 2, Finale
- The Independent: Celebrity Traitors fans say producers changed twist after challenge blunder (26 October 2026)
- Digital Spy: Celebrity Traitors’ James Acaster reveals intense show moment viewers don’t get to see (26 October 2026)
