The Celebrity Traitors returned to BBC One last night, and it looks like the country was more than ready to get back around the Round Table. The 75-minute Season 2 opener was watched by an average of 8.9 million viewers, peaking at just over 9 million during the episode. That makes it the biggest opening episode of The Traitors in the UK so far, across both the celebrity and civilian versions of the BBC hit.

Even more impressively, the launch attracted almost 55% of everyone watching television at the time. It also became the second most-watched non-sport programme of 2026 so far, behind only the civilian Traitors finale earlier this year.

The numbers are already well ahead of last year’s first Celebrity Traitors launch, which began with around three million fewer viewers. And these are only the overnight figures, meaning the total audience will grow as more people catch up through BBC iPlayer. The episode was followed by The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked, hosted by Ed Gamble, which pulled in around 3 million viewers of its own.

The 21 celebrities taking part in The Celebrity Traitors 2026 are Amol Rajan, Bella Ramsey, James Acaster, James Blunt, Jerry Hall, Joanne McNally, Joe Lycett, Julie Hesmondhalgh, King Kenny, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Maya Jama, Michael Sheen, Miranda Hart, Myha’la, Professor Hannah Fry, Richard E Grant, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Ross Kemp, Sebastian Croft and Sharon Rooney.

We won’t spoil anything here, but the opening episode gave us plenty to talk about, from the first Traitor reveals to an inevitably dramatic cliffhanger. You can read our full Episode 1 recap and find out who the Traitors are here.

Season 2 continues tonight, Friday, 2 October, at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, before returning every Thursday and Friday throughout October.

For CultureCues, those numbers are huge, but after the build-up to this series, we’re not too surprised. The first celebrity season became one of the biggest TV events of 2025, and last night’s opener had everyone talking. I should know, my phone was pinging throughout with messages from me and my pals about every suspicious look and theory. With 8.9 million already watching and plenty more catching up today, The Celebrity Traitors is showing no signs of slowing down. We can’t wait for more cloaks, murders and whatever Claudia has waiting for them next.

The Celebrity Traitors continues tonight at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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