Express & Star

The Traitors final attracts TV audience of nearly 10 million

It is currently the most-watched programme of the year.

By contributor By Ian Jones, PA
Published
Host Claudia Winkleman (centre) with the two winners of the 2025 series of The Traitors, project manager Jake Brown and former soldier Leanne Quigley
Nearly 10 million people have watched the final of the 2025 series of The Traitors, which was won by Jake Brown and Leanne Quigley (Ian West/PA)

Nearly 10 million people have watched the final episode of this year’s series of The Traitors, setting a new record for the biggest audience in the programme’s history, new figures reveal.

The tense game show, in which members of the public attempt to identify who among them are “faithfuls” and “traitors”, ran three nights a week on BBC One during January.

The concluding episode on January 24, in which “faithfuls” Jake Brown and Leanne Quigley outwitted their fellow contestants to share a prize of £94,600, has been seen by an average audience of 9.91 million, according to official ratings published on Monday by the research organisation Barb.

The figure includes all people who recorded and watched the programme up to seven days later, along with those who viewed on tablets, PCs and smartphones.

It is almost two million higher than the equivalent ratings for 2024’s final, which were 8.03 million.

It is also higher – by a tiny margin – than the average audience of 9.89 million who saw the final of the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing, also on BBC One.

Ratings of this size should be enough to guarantee The Traitors a place in the top 10 most-watched shows of 2025.

Barb’s data suggests the audience grew over the programme’s four-week run, averaging 8.80 million in week one, 9.08 million in week two, 9.26 million in week three and 9.61 million in week four.

No other programme transmitted so far this year has enjoyed ratings this large.

The only other show to break the seven million mark to date in 2025 is BBC One’s long-running medical drama Call The Midwife.

The Traitors has surged in popularity during its relatively short life on television.

Ratings for this year’s final, 9.91 million, are more than double the 4.73 million who watched the final of the first series in December 2022.

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