How The Traitors became the most popular show on TV

In less than three years since its debut, the psychological reality series The Traitors has captivated the nation, rapidly ascending to become one of the UK’s most-watched programmes and attracting some of the highest television ratings of the decade.

The show initially launched on BBC One in December 2022 with a relatively modest viewership, averaging 3.7 million for its first series and peaking at 4.7 million for the final episode. These figures, while respectable, were overshadowed by other major broadcasts that month, including the football World Cup, Strictly Come Dancing, and even Coronation Street.

However, the decision to hold back the second series until January 2024, post-Christmas, proved to be a strategic masterstroke. With a higher profile, increased publicity, and less competition, the new slot paid dividends. Ratings soared from the outset, with 6.2 million tuning in for episode one. The series averaged 6.9 million viewers, culminating in a peak audience of 8.2 million for the final.

The upward trajectory continued with the third series, which returned in January 2025. Viewing figures leapt once again, averaging 9.3 million across the month and reaching a remarkable 10.0 million for its final. This represented more than double the audience for the first series finale.

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Yet, it was the spin-off, The Celebrity Traitors, that truly cemented the franchise's status as a ratings juggernaut. Broadcast in October and early November, the celebrity version attracted a huge average audience of 13.3 million across its run, culminating in a massive 14.9 million for the final episode.

Such figures are exceptionally rare for any television programme outside of live news or sport in the current broadcasting landscape.

Only three other instances this decade have seen a seven-day audience close to 15 million or higher: the final episode of Gavin & Stacey on Christmas Day 2024 (19.3 million), the animation Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, also on Christmas Day 2024 (17.1 million), and the final episode of Line Of Duty on 2 May 2021 (15.8 million). All these were shown on BBC One.

The enormous success of The Celebrity Traitors appears to have provided a significant boost to the non-celebrity version.

The current fourth series of The Traitors is already surpassing the ratings of its predecessors. The first three instalments have all enjoyed seven-day audiences exceeding 11 million, with the launch episode drawing 11.9 million viewers.

These figures, published by the research body Barb and analysed by the Press Association, represent official seven-day consolidated ratings, including all viewers who recorded or watched the programme up to a week after transmission, across all devices.

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If the current series follows the pattern of previous years, audiences are expected to climb towards the end of the run, with the final, airing this Friday on BBC One, potentially reaching above 12 million, though perhaps not quite matching the 14.9 million achieved by The Celebrity Traitors last year.

A new series of The Celebrity Traitors is due later this year, which will indicate whether the phenomenon can grow further or if it has reached its peak popularity.