Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.aol.co.uk
Fans of The Celebrity Traitors have been left fuming by one element of the show – the seemingly never-ending cliffhangers. Claudia Winkleman ushered 21 fresh contestants into the Scottish castle last week, with Ross Kemp, Jerry Hall, Michael Sheen and Romesh Ranganathan amongst the line-up. During Thursday’s episode on October 8, a historic moment unfolded when actor Richard E Grant became the first ever Traitor to be eliminated during an inaugural banishment. This followed an intense cliffhanger from the previous week, when the BBC programme concluded just as the celebrities prepared to cast their votes for the first departure.
Richard E Grant was banished after a major cliffhanger (Image: BBC)
Numerous fans had already suspected Richard was facing elimination after he enthusiastically disclosed to the group that Claudia had selected him as a Traitor – before recognising his mistake and attempting to retract his statement.
However, audiences were distinctly unimpressed that the programme’s producers kept them waiting for several days before the roundtable revelation. Many believe the series’ numerous cliffhangers simply prolong proceedings unnecessarily and force viewers to watch identical sequences multiple times, reports Wales Online.
Posting on Reddit, one viewer commented: “I get doing it in the first series as it made people want to come back, but by now the show is so successful that you don’t need these hooks of suspense.
“I personally think every episode should end with the murder cliffhanger or a big moment. I’m not a fan of the round table getting the cliffhanger treatment, especially when we now have to wait until NEXT THURSDAY. It’s more annoying than exciting for me personally.”
Another commented: “I dont even hate the third episode having a cliffhanger for a key moment but the repeated cliffhangers for every decision is bizarre and kills tension. It’s ruining it as every decision is gone over ten times.”
A third chimed in: “It just does the opposite of make me excited. I’m all on board and engaged as the episode is reaching the conclusion , then there is a cliffhanger and it just feels like.. uh.. i guess ill find out next week..
“By the time the next week rolls around the reveal doesnt hit the same because I’m going in cold again, im not riding on the buildup of the episode anymore so it loses something.”
Following the resolution of the roundtable cliffhanger, Hannah Fry was enlisted to replace Richard as a Traitor, joining Maya Jama and James Acaster in the process.
Yet viewers are already predicting her downfall, regarding her as the most obvious recruit for the Traitors given she poses one of the greatest threats to them – meaning her fellow Faithfuls will be scrutinising her every move.
Fans have further pointed out that suspicion will mount around Hannah as she continues to escape being murdered, since the Traitors would logically target her for elimination if she were truly a Faithful. Posting on X, one viewer commented: “Recruiting Hannah was such an obvious mistake; she’s never going to be able to explain her continued state of not having been murdered. Had they recruited anyone else she would still be under suspicion for, you guessed it, not being murdered. #CelebrityTraitors”.
Celebrity Traitors is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
