The Celebrity Traitors finale aired last night, closing a series that BBC insiders say is on course to have pulled in more than 15 million viewers per episode.
So what? Figures for the denouement are likely to be even higher. These ratings are unprecedented in recent television history, topped only by sporting events, royal occasions and Christmas specials of much-loved classics. The series has
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spawned countless viral moments;
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been watched by one in four UK adults; and
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redefined success for flagship programming.
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Record breaker. TV execs calculate views based on live broadcasts and streaming figures after 28 days, meaning total audience numbers won’t be known for some time. The four-week average for the first episode of The Celebrity Traitors was 15 million views, by far the best tally for a series premiere for more than two decades.
Fancy dress optional. Live screenings in cinemas, pubs and clubs were not counted.
How it compares. Last year Mr Bates vs the Post Office was watched by 12.3 million people, while Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity both had about 10 million views.
Old habits. As The Celebrity Traitors progressed, more people watched it live, possibly to avoid ubiquitous spoilers on social media.
The format. At its heart, the show is an elaborately constructed game of wink murder. Three contestants are secretly designated ‘traitors’ who murder one person each night. The ‘faithfuls’ attempt to identify and banish them.
Dutch courage. The programme began life in the Netherlands, which also spawned Big Brother and The Voice. It was adapted for British screens by Stephen Lambert, whose studio created Gogglebox and Race Across the World.
Secret sauce. The non-celeb version was already a hit, bringing in north of 10 million viewers for the first episode of its third season.
Steven Moffat, who created Sherlock and helped write Doctor Who, believes the format is so successful because it reveals fundamental truths about how humans are impulsive and easily led. “No different,” he said, “from the meetings to determine the leadership of the Conservative Party.”
Star dust. The celebrity edition stood out for having a starrier roster than the average reality show, including Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr, Charlotte Church and Clare Balding. Each received a flat fee of £40,000, but many were already fans of the show.
By contrast, ITV reportedly paid Nigel Farage £1.5 million to appear on I’m a Celeb.
Organised chaos. The Celebrity Traitors was also helped by having a comically ineffective group of faithfuls, at least early on. This made for compelling viewing. It was further buoyed by Celia Imrie’s breaking wind at a tense moment, which helped lift episode three’s viewing figures to a series high and was hailed by the Guardian as “the fart that saved TV”.
Lesson. At £1 million per episode, The Traitors is expensive to produce. But Stephen Lambert believes its success will reverberate through the industry. “Traitors proves the future of television is going to be fewer and fewer middle ground shows, nice to have, but not that memorable,” he said. “It will be low-cost, high-volume shows, or high-risk, high-cost stand-out shows.”
What’s more… The final episode was leaked online by a Canadian broadcaster. Unusually, when asked by producers, every UK newspaper agreed to conceal the result.
Photograph by Paul Chappells/ Studio Lambert/ BBC.