The latest season of The Celebrity Traitors reached its conclusion following a five-week, 10-show run that achieved record-breaking viewership despite a comparatively muted tone throughout the competition. T hey took it right down to the wire but in the end we finally got a moment of true treachery in this series of Celebrity Traitors where none of the contestants seemed to have understood the brief. As if that were not unexpected excitement enough at the end of a five-week, 10-show run whose record-breaking viewing figures have somewhat belied its comparatively muted nature, we had a last-minute wobble from Romesh that threw the endgame into turmoil. That is sort of the point of The Traitors, in its celebrity incarnation or otherwise, and if that last sentence makes no sense to you – well.
During the final round table, King Kenny turned on Maya, casting the decisive vote to banish her from the game. Upon her departure, Maya left the remaining contestants with a parting warning, telling them, “Good luck. You’re going to need it.” As Maya left, you see, a shimmering, furious vision in jade, she added to her goodbye, “Good luck.
The statement sparked immediate tension among the group. Romesh felt that James Blunt was being overly dismissive of Maya’s final words. Overcome by sudden doubt, Romesh changed his strategy and voted to banish Blunt, who had remained a total Faithful throughout the game. Romesh considered James Blunt to be uncharacteristically dismissive of what that might mean and – à la Nick Mohammed with Joe Marler last year – was suddenly convulsed by doubt and voted to banish the man who could not have been more clearly a Faithful than if he’d been … well, Joe Marler. Blunt, who had remained so consummately untouched by self-doubt throughout the show despite being 100% wrong 32bn times – “God give me the confidence of a perfectly pleasant white man” could become his new family crest – was shattered by the volte-face. Looked twice, and seized it, except there was one last chance for Blunt to be wrong again and so he looked once. The ebbs and flows in popularity, the alliances made and broken, the tiny moments that become pivotal (or the huge blunders – hope you’re OK, Richard E G, or the massive curveballs – hi, James A, we’re still processing that one) and join in the fun, sign up to the temporary national pastime, or you don’t, there’s no point dipping in and out – you either get to know the personalities.
Blunt, who had maintained complete confidence despite consistently incorrect guesses during the season, was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Meanwhile, Kenny seemed positioned for a victory until Bash intervened in the discussions. Kenny, meanwhile, silently rejoiced because it left him in pole position to win.
Bash managed to split the vote and convinced Romesh to shift strategy, leading to the banishment of Kenny, who was the last remaining Traitor in the competition. In Latin, under a berk rampant, perhaps “Consistency in all things” will do.
With only three Faithfuls remaining, the group initially appeared ready to end the game and split the prize money three ways. However, a final vote resulted in Blunt being voted off just before the end.
Ultimately, Bash and Romesh secured the victory and chose to split their prize money, directing the funds to benefit two charities dedicated to supporting refugees and displaced persons.
The season concluded after key moments involving other memorable cast members, including Leigh-Anne, Miranda, Richard E Grant, and James A, leaving audiences with a dramatic finish to the high-stakes game show. Who had only ever been cheering up Miranda with her impromptu choreography and it hurt all our hearts to see her suffering for it, and it was some form of oblique justice for Leigh-Anne.
