The most talked-about show on TV climaxed by crowning an unlikely, but somehow fitting champion. With a whopping 16 million viewers expected to have tuned in, the BBC was a big winner too. Here are all the treacherous talking points from a gripping grand finale…
Alan went from zero to antihero
Narratively, it couldn’t have been neater. Comedian Alan Carr began the series nervously guzzling rosé and bemoaning that fateful shoulder-tap from Claudia Winkleman, admitting: “I have a sweating problem and can’t keep a secret.” He ended it as a cold-blooded killer and only the second Traitor to win a UK series. What a story arc.
Alan Carr got away with his crimes due to sheer charm – Paul Chappells/BBC/Studio Lambert
Across nine episodes, cuddly Carr grew into his green velvet cloak. He riskily murdered Paloma Faith and Celia Imrie in plain sight. Once he got away with both, he gleefully murdered, fibbed and wisecracked his way to victory. With his loud stage-whispers and brazen laughter, he long looked like a banishment waiting to happen.
Even forgetting he had an immunity shield and that fireside giggling fit didn’t give him away. To viewers, it looked blindingly obvious, but inside Ardross Castle, he was “just Alan”.
He got away with his crimes due to sheer charm. Deploying humour to deflect, he hid his guilt behind chuckles and cheeky winks. Chaos was the ultimate cover. The Faithful underestimated him all the way through. Even Carr’s fellow Traitors failed to fully appreciate his shrewd gameplay until he’d outlasted them.
The reluctant villain kept up his deception right to the end, remained undetected and deservedly prevailed. “Flabbergasting” is the word. Cue Disney-style fireworks over the castle.
Murder on the Winkleman express
Back to the beginning. After an intimate breakfast for five, the action kicked off with an explosive mission aboard a steam train – although it was essentially four escape rooms on rails. Despite the presence of sportsmen and puzzle experts, Alan took the lead impressively, aided and abetted by the brawn of Joe Marler.
They successfully banked all the cash with 30 seconds to spare. The train blew up, sure, but the highlights were a slapstick scene when a wooden crate lid repeatedly hit Marler on the head and some hoarse cheerleading from host Winkleman. Hey, at least there was no rail replacement bus service.
The action kicked off further with an explosive mission aboard a steam train – Euan Cherry/BBC/Studio Lambert
Cat’s nine lives ran out
Well, that went contrary to all predictions. After his giveaway giggle at the end of the last episode, when Carr couldn’t even keep a straight face while vowing “I am a Faithful”, many presumed he’d be straight out on his ear at the final Round Table. Instead it was his conclave co-conspirator Cat Burns who bit the dust.
Despite keeping the lowest profile of all three Traitors, the ice cool singer-songwriter was rumbled at last. Evidence against her was scant, but Nick Mohammed said he could picture Cat in the turret alongside Jonathan Ross, her calm demeanour contrasting with his larger-than-life schtick.
Despite keeping the lowest profile of all three Traitors, Cat Burns was rumbled at last – Euan Cherry/BBC/Studio Lambert
Joe bought into that theory, also bringing up Cat being quiet at Round Tables. David Olusoga concurred, making it three votes to banish her – narrowly beating two votes for David.
Her downbeat departure left an all-male final four. Yet there was still time for one last twist. Joe saying “I’m sorry” to Cat was a gentlemanly gesture but proved a tactical error. Perhaps chivalry is dead, after all.
Joe was kicked into touch
In a dramatic plot twist, his “hundies” turned on him, and ex-England rugby prop Joe had no defence. The mohawk-haired bruiser came into this final convinced that Cat and Alan were Traitors. His plan was to keep close to them, stay in the game, then pull the rug at the last moment. The best-laid plans and all that.
Joe planted doubt in the heads of Nick and David with that farewell apology to Cat. Was it one Traitor bidding goodbye to another after backstabbing them? Joe himself had pushed the idea of “parting shots” when Jonathan bowed out. Now he was hoisted with his own petard.
David was already wary, speculating that Joe’s inscrutable manner, name-flinging and narrative-building could be a smokescreen. This only cemented his suspicions. Opportunistic Alan piled on Joe for reneging on his promise to vote for David.
Joe Marler might have tripped at the last hurdle, but he bows out as one of the show’s big winners – Paul Chappells/BBC/Studio Lambert
The killer blow was delivered by Joe’s confidante Nick. His reasoning was nonsensical – he cited Joe voting for Cat, when he’d done exactly the same after making a pact to do so – and the vote visibly pained him. He told Joe he loved him, drawing not one but three hearts above his name on the slate, but the deed was done.
Marler might have tripped at the last hurdle, but he bows out as one of the show’s big winners, at least career-wise. With his deadpan wit, “Big Dog theory” and beloved “hundies”, this self-styled “oil rig” of a man became a cult hero and boosted his mainstream fame. Expect plenty more TV appearances in the future.
Faithful fooled in the endgame
And then there were three. Nick and David fatally put their trust in Alan, agreeing to end the game as a trio. It meant the “Spexy Beast” stole the entire prize pot. The Faithful correctly assumed all along that there had been three Traitors, but figured they were Jonathan, Cat and Joe, hence they’d rooted them all out.
How did two such formidable intellects – a polymathic geophysicist and a history professor – get it so wrong? When it counted, they failed to follow the evidence and forgot all their previous strategies. Heart overtook head and they paid the ultimate price.
Alan burst into guilty tears as apologised for his subterfuge. “It’s been tearing me apart,” he sobbed. Nick and David sportingly rushed to comfort him, reassuring Carr that he’d done a great job for his charity, Neuroblastoma UK. He’d lied all along before snatching the money but still earned their sympathy. A master manipulator to the end?
Spoiler leak failed to ruin the fun
It caused conniptions at the Corporation all day. The internet was abuzz with news that this final was mistakenly released in Canada 24 hours before its UK airtime. Viewers of Canada’s Crave network reported being able to watch the episode in its entirety on Wednesday evening, before it was hurriedly pulled.
Online forums flooded with spoilers. Despite the BBC playing whack-a-mole, some could still be found by eager Googlers on this side of the Atlantic. Thankfully, UK media outlets didn’t publish the result, so millions could watch this flagship final as intended. Phew. I blame those pesky Traitors.
End-of-series verdict
Record-breaking ratings and a bona fide cultural phenomenon. We can safely call that a hit. Contrary to pre-series fears that famous faces would come with too much baggage, behave like luvvies and ruin the intrigue, the casting has been a revelation.
All 19 VIPs fully embraced the experience, playing the game as hard as the “civilians”. They might go down in Traitors history as the worst-performing Faithful ever, but it wasn’t for want of trying – and it’s been hugely entertaining to watch them fail. This pattern continued right to the end.
Full of memorable, meme-able moments – Celia Imrie’s flatulence and banshee wail, Ruth Codd’s rants, Jonathan Ross’ exit speech, the two murders in plain sight, Kate Garraway’s haplessness, Joe Marler and Alan Carr generally – the inaugural celebrity contest has been an addictive, thrilling ride. And what a final act. An annual fixture now, surely. By order of the Traitors.
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Next up: That’s your last duplicitous debrief for now, but fear not. The fourth series of the civilian edition is due to land in January. Wonder if the non-famous Faithful will do a better job?
