Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft win The Celebrity Traitors as finale sets BBC ratings record

Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft were crowned the winners of "The Celebrity Traitors" series two on Friday night, splitting an £83,000 prize pot after surviving as the last two Faithfuls at BBC One's final round table. Ranganathan is giving his £41,500 share to the Refugee Council, while Croft's half goes to the youth-focused charity Choose Love, according to a Press Association report and HELLO! Magazine's finale recap.

The decisive moment came when broadcaster Maya Jama, one of the series' original Traitors, was banished by the surviving players at the last round table, with recruited Traitor King Kenny providing the deciding vote against her. It capped a season in which the murderous "Traitors" faction had been rebuilt twice over after earlier unmaskings, ending the game with none of its members left standing. Details of the finale are confirmed by the official BBC One episode listing.

A record-breaking run

Friday's finale drew an overnight average audience of 11.2 million on BBC One and a peak of 11.6 million, with a 62.9% share of all television viewing at its height — the highest-rated episode of the celebrity spin-off to date, PA reported. That builds on an already strong season: the October 1 premiere averaged 8.9 million overnight viewers with a 9.1 million peak, which PA described as the most-watched debut episode of any series in the "Traitors" franchise's UK history.

The results extend the format's dominance of the UK ratings. Series one's finale, which aired in November 2025 and crowned comedian Alan Carr as its winner, peaked at 15.4 million viewers. The BBC's non-celebrity "Traitors," which returned in January 2026, drew a 6.4 million overnight audience for its premiere and a 9.6 million peak for its own finale — a record for that edition, but still well short of the celebrity version's numbers.

How the season unfolded

Twenty-one celebrities entered the game when it launched on October 1, filmed, as in series one, at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands and hosted again by Claudia Winkleman. The original Traitors were Jama and actor Richard E. Grant, who was banished by the group at the very first round table and, on exiting, revealed his role, saying he had "checkmated" himself, according to HELLO!'s account of the episode. Jama and Grant had already recruited broadcaster and mathematician Hannah Fry as a third Traitor before his exit; Fry was unmasked and banished mid-series, prompting Jama to recruit comedian James Acaster, who later confessed his own role and was banished in the penultimate episode. A final recruit, the content creator known as King Kenny, survived into the finale before being banished by the remaining players just ahead of singer James Blunt and, finally, Jama herself.

Along the way the season claimed a string of recognisable names as Faithful casualties, including actor Bella Ramsey, broadcaster Jerry Hall, comedian Joe Lycett, "Traitors" favourite-turned-victim Miranda Hart and former EastEnders actor Ross Kemp.

"Players, you just banished a legend." — Claudia Winkleman, addressing contestants after Jerry Hall's banishment

Who's affected

The outcome is a straightforward win for charity: the full £83,000 pot, built up through the series' missions, is now split between the Refugee Council and Choose Love rather than going to any single celebrity. It is also a reputational boost for the BBC, which has leaned heavily on the "Traitors" format — in its civilian and celebrity versions alike — as one of its few bona fide ratings hits in a crowded UK television market increasingly dominated by streaming. The Wikipedia entry for the series, compiled from contemporaneous news coverage, notes that critics had flagged this cast — which included Grant, broadcaster Amol Rajan, actors Myha'la and Sharon Rooney, singer-songwriter James Blunt and former Little Mix member Leigh-Anne Pinnock — as containing fewer professional sportspeople than series one's line-up.

Reaction and what's next

Early reaction from the cast has focused on the game rather than the loss. Press Association's report on the finale's ratings noted that James Blunt said he was "thrilled" with how the series ended, despite being banished at the final round table just before Jama. A BBC-produced companion special, "Uncloaked," hosted by comedian Ed Gamble, is expected to bring surviving cast members together to dissect the season's twists, following the same pattern as series one.

The BBC has not announced whether, or when, a third celebrity series will be commissioned; coverage of Friday's finale focused on the ratings and the prize-giving rather than on any renewal. Given the size of the audience the format is now drawing, a further series looks commercially obvious, but it remains unconfirmed as of this writing.