‘The Celebrity Traitors’ Scores Record-Breaking Season 2 Premiere With Nearly 9 Million Viewers — SkimNews
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- The Celebrity Traitors Season 2 drew 8.8 million viewers on Thursday night, peaking at 9 million — a new premiere record for the 'Traitors' franchise in the U.K.
- The Celebrity Traitors commanded over 50% of all U.K. TV viewership during the premiere, making it the top program of the evening.
- The new record outpaces past launches by roughly 3 million viewers, beating both the inaugural celebrity season and the most recent civilian season.
- Claudia Winkleman hosts a cast including Richard E. Grant, Bella Ramsey, Myha'la, Maya Jama, James Acaster, Jerry Hall, James Blunt, and Michael Sheen.
- Richard E. Grant emerged as an early standout, causing 'chaos in the castle' through sheer enthusiasm for the game.
- The series airs on BBC One and iPlayer every Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. BST for the next month, with the second episode airing Friday night.
- The 'Traitors' franchise continues expanding: U.K. civilian Season 5 is set for early next year, while the U.S. runs Alan Cumming's celebrity edition on Peacock plus a civilian spinoff called 'New Blood' that launched in September.
Why it matters: Claiming over 50% of all U.K. TV viewers on a Thursday is a rare feat in the streaming era, demonstrating that the 'Traitors' format still delivers genuine appointment television. With civilian Season 5 due early next year and U.S. spinoffs already on Peacock, a BBC reality format is now exporting proven event TV across the Atlantic.
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