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The first episode of Celebrity Traitors is in the books and to say it was a rollercoaster would be an understatement.
Unlike the civilian version of the series, which has become a major hit for the BBC, viewers didn’t need to be introduced to the contestants and there was no big train ride up to Ardross Castle.
Instead, the celebrity contestants were whisked up to the picturesque highlands castle in a convoy of black Land Rovers. The celebrities barely had time to take in their surroundings before being put to task on their first challenge, where they literally had to dig their own graves.
Despite the morbid task, the group were actually digging to find a shield which would protect them from the show’s first murder. Jonathan Ross, Joe Wilkinson, Joe Marler, Kate Garraway, Celie Imrie and Charlotte Church all found a shield. However, Charlotte later gives away her shield after the first mission goes wrong, thanks to a mishap from Clare Balding.
Meanwhile, host Claudia Winkleman selected singer-songwriter Cat Burns, comedian Alan Carr and TV host Jonathan Ross as the first three traitors of the series. In a major twist, the first murder of the show will be committed in plain sight.
However, in a cliffhanger ending, Alan Carr is told to mark the face of the first victim with a black lily but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see who perishes.
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As ever with The Traitors, there is plenty of deception and eyebrow-raising in the first episode. Alan Carr was obviously a standout and suspicions about him will continue for as long as he’s on the show. Clare Balding did herself no favours by completely botching the first part of the mission only to be saved by Charlotte Church.
Well-meaning Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed was also a standout but his selfless helping of Celia Imrie makes him look a bit too good to be true. Speaking of Imrie, she was given a special introduction as the very beginning of the show when Claudia placed her portrait on the wall only for the picture to give a little CGI wink back at the camera.
Traitors star makes huge error in first challenge of Celebrity series
Clare Balding made a grave error during the first mission of the BBC series on Wednesday’s episode (8 October).
The stars were tasked with dragging a Trojan horse through a series of gates they had to unlock by answering a question correctly, to add £15,000 to the prize pot.
As the contestants were discussing an answer, the broadcaster, 54, accidentally locked in a number before the others came up with a suggestion and appeared to be horrified at what she’d done.
Traitors star makes huge error in first challenge of Celebrity series
Celebrity Traitors contestant Clare Balding made a grave error during the first mission of the BBC series on Wednesday’s episode (8 October). The stars were tasked with dragging a Trojan horse through a series of gates they had to unlock by answering a question correctly, to add £15,000 to the prize pot. As the contestants were discussing an answer, the broadcaster, 54, accidentally locked in a number before the others came up with a suggestion and appeared to be horrified at what she’d done.
Holly Patrick9 October 2025 06:00
Celebrity Traitors 2025 lineup – full list of contestants for the first all-star edition of the game show
Just another reminder of who’s who in this year’s series:
Greg Evans9 October 2025 02:00
How much are Celebrity Traitors being paid and what prize will the winner get?
According to reports, the celebrities will be paid a flat fee of £40,000 for appearing in the series.
Greg Evans9 October 2025 00:01
Alan Carr proves to be MVP of episode one
With the first episode in the bag, it’s safe to say that Alan Carr was the standout contestant in the early goings.
Not only was his self-deprecatory humour a great bit of light relief, but his reaction to being named as a traitor (”I feel sick”) was priceless.
How much longer he lasts remains to be seen but he’s given plenty of viewers a good giggle already.
“Alan is going to be a terrible Traitor but he’s top-tier hilarious so I hope he stays until the end,” said one fan.
“The person who decided to cast Alan Carr in Celebrity Traitors deserves the biggest pay rise in television history,” remarked another.
A third person said, “Alan Carr is equally the best and worst traitor of all time” said a third.
Greg Evans8 October 2025 23:00
How many characters die in Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet?
As the first question of the mission was accidentally ruined by Clare Balding, we’ve decided to look up how many people die in both Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet.
The answer is 15, although we’re sure Stephen Fry would have figured it out eventually.
Clare Balding accidentally locks in number during Traitors challenge
Greg Evans8 October 2025 22:40
The Celebrity Traitors review: It’s still the camp and menacing show we know and love – with a stonking all-star cast
And that’s a wrap for the first episode!
Keen to know what we thought? Here’s Kate Rosseinsky’s glowing review of the debut episode:
Greg Evans8 October 2025 22:19
The Traitors select Alan Carr to commit the murder, much to his own annoyance. “How the hell am I gonna do this?” he asks.
The show ends on a knife-edge but we don’t get to see who is murdered. All will be revealed in Thursday’s episode!
Greg Evans8 October 2025 22:17
Traitors discover how they will murder their first victim
Alan, Cat and Jonathan have learnt how they will murder their first victims.
The Traitors are told they must find a “poison black lily” and mark the face of the faithful they want to murder.
However, the victim won’t “die” until the next morning. However, the traitors are worries about how easy it will be to mark someone’s face without being noticed.
Greg Evans8 October 2025 22:11
Mission completed – but at what cost?
The celebrities successfully complete the task with only Charlotte Church sacrificing her shield in the protest.
“Some of them haven’t even exercised for 30 years,” jokes Paloma Faith in a jibe at her fellow contestants.
Meanwhile, Jonathan, who for some reason is dressed like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, looks stressed as the others discuss who could be a traitor.
The first murder is imminent – who will be the victim?
Greg Evans8 October 2025 22:07
The Ted Lasso star is proving himself to be almost as intelligent as Stephen Fry. After effortlessly solving the key puzzle, he’s also instrumental in solving the word puzzle.
“Y’all blessed that you have Nick,” said a fan on social media.
“Nick Mohamed savant genius level,” noted another.
“Nick Mohammed is the MVP,” said a third.
Nick Mohammed is very good at the Traitors tasks (Cody Burridge/BBC/PA Wire)
Greg Evans8 October 2025 22:03