Winners of 2026 Celebrity Traitors announced after epic final showdown - The Independent
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Claudia Winkleman has crowned the Celebrity Traitors 2026 champion after a nail-biting final – with the Faithful emerging victorious.
Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft were the last Faithful standing after a tense final roundtable, having chosen to banish Leigh-Anne Pinnock, King Kenny and James Blunt in the show’s final moments.
While it seemed as though King Kenny was a shoe-in to win at the start of the final, he was ultimately banished around the firepit after a never-before-seen tie between him and James Blunt. Croft and Ranganathan were asked by host Winkleman to decide amongst themselves who to banish and Croft managed to convince Ranganathan to side with him – banishing Kenny and securing a victory for the Faithful.
Unfortunately for Blunt, he dug his own grave after voting to banish again, resulting in both Croft and Ranganathan choosing to lose him before ending the game for good.
Just seven celebrities remained at the start of tonight’s final episode: Faithful contestants James Blunt, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Michael Sheen, Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft, and Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny.
The Traitors were a man down after last night’s semi-final – with James Acaster confessing to being on the dark side at the roundtable, in a show first. The comedian had been interrogated ahead of the banishment vote by co-star Michael Sheen, who had deduced that he was involved with Ross Kemp’s murder in plain sight earlier in the series.
It was reported that filming of the episode was paused so producers could intervene when Acaster became distressed. The BBC responded with a statement, saying that its “highest priority is always the safety and welfare of everyone taking part”.
A spokesperson added: “Players are closely monitored and supported throughout by production which includes a dedicated and experienced welfare team.”
This series of Celebrity Traitors has been a ratings winner for the BBC, brining in 15 million viewers at its peak.
Thursday’s semi-final was watched by its biggest live audience to date, with 10.7 million tuning in, with a 62 per cent share of Thursday night’s viewership.
This should come as no surprise to fans, with the 2026 season being one of the most dramatic to date. Richard E Grant kicked off the show by accidentally admitting to being a Traitor, just moments after being picked by Winkleman. Unsurprisingly, he was the first to be banished – making the celebrity cast the first ones ever to find a Traitor so early in the competition.
Other highlights have included Ross Kemp becoming one of the most intense contestants to take on the show, with the paranoid former EastEnders star regularly convinced that the Traitors were out to get him (ironically, he was murdered in plain sight and didn’t even notice). Meanwhile, comedian Miranda Hart made her TV comeback after spending years out of the spotlight while suffering complications from Lyme disease.
There have also been several recruitments this time around, with Maya Jama and Richard E Grant choosing to recruit James Acaster, while Jama and Acaster replaced Grant with mathematician Hannah Fry following his banishment.
When Fry was caught out, Jama and Acaster then recruited King Kenny.
The show’s civilian version, The Traitors, will return for its fifth series in January 2027.
