The cloaks are back, and so is the BBC’s biggest reality machine. The Celebrity Traitors season 2 premiered on BBC One on Thursday 1 October 2026, with Claudia Winkleman once again presiding over 21 famous faces at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The celebrities are playing for up to £100,000 for their chosen charities, and the opening two episodes made it plain that the nation has not tired of watching people lie badly in tartan.
The line-up mixes actors, comedians, musicians and broadcasters, including Richard E. Grant, Bella Ramsey, Michael Sheen, Jerry Hall, Maya Jama, James Acaster, Joe Lycett, Ross Kemp and Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Without spoiling the game: Grant made an early slip about his own status in a chat with Lycett, Kemp grew deeply suspicious of a sailor’s hat, and the first Round Table ended with the first celebrity elimination.
The numbers behind the hype
According to figures cited by What Hi-Fi?, episode 1 averaged 8.9 million overnight viewers and took roughly 55 per cent of the entire television audience in its slot, the biggest launch for any UK series of The Traitors. For comparison, the first Celebrity Traitors opened to 6.1 million overnight viewers, and its finale reached 15.4 million. Episode 2 averaged 8.5 million, and even Uncloaked, Ed Gamble’s post-show video podcast, averaged 3.1 million after the premiere.
The most striking statistic concerns younger viewers. As reported by The Guardian, 83.5 per cent of all 16-to-34-year-olds watching television at the time were tuned in to Celebrity Traitors, a remarkable result for an age group widely assumed to have defected to Netflix and Prime Video.
How to watch
- UK: new episodes air on BBC One at 8pm BST every Thursday and Friday and stream on BBC iPlayer, which is free with a BBC account and a valid UK TV Licence.
- US: season 1 is on Peacock, but as of early October 2026 Peacock has not listed season 2 and no US release date has been confirmed.
- Canada: The Traitors streams on Crave, though there is no release date for Celebrity Traitors UK season 2.
- Ireland and Australia: no confirmed release for season 2; Australian viewers are advised to watch 10Play for news.
UK residents travelling abroad can use a VPN to reach their usual iPlayer account, subject to the service’s terms and TV Licence rules.
Episode schedule
- Episode 1: Thursday 1 October, 8pm
- Episode 2: Friday 2 October, 8pm
- Episode 3: Thursday 8 October, 8pm
- Episode 4: Friday 9 October, 8pm
- Episode 5: Thursday 15 October, 8pm
- Episode 6: Friday 16 October, 8pm
- Episode 7: Thursday 22 October, 8pm
- Episode 8: Friday 23 October, 8pm
- Episode 9: Thursday 29 October, 8pm
- Episode 10: Friday 30 October, 8pm
What about 4K?
For the AV-minded, the news is less thrilling. The BBC has not advertised 4K/UHD quality for season 2. BBC iPlayer does offer Ultra HD for selected programmes and events, such as the FIFA World Cup, but availability is title-specific, so seeing the show in the iPlayer app on a 4K TV does not guarantee a UHD stream. A good upscaling TV remains the best way to scrutinise every suspicious glance across the Round Table.
