The Traitors' smashes ratings as launch episode draws in 5.4million viewers despite MAJOR technical issue
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The Traitors' smashed ratings as the hit BBC series returned to screens on New Year's Day, with Claudia Winkleman back at the helm.
An impressive 5.4million viewers tuned in to watch the hotly-anticipated series, beating last year's 3.1million.
The series was even met with a technical fault as fans rushed to watch episode two on BBC iPlayer, minutes after the opening episode aired.
The show sees several Traitors be picked at the start of the series while the other contestants are Faithfuls.
Over the course of the game the Traitors have to convince the rest of the players that they are Faithful in order to try and steal the whole prize pot for themselves at the end.
Armani was branded the 'worst Traitor of all time' as viewers watched the first episode of the new series on Wednesday night.
The Traitors' smashed ratings as the hit BBC series returned to screens on New Year's Day, with Claudia Winkleman (pictured) back at the helm
An impressive 5.4million viewers tuned in to watch the hotly-anticipated series, beating last year's 3.1million
The financial Investigator, 27, was chosen by host Claudia Winkleman as one of the first Traitors along with Minah and Linda.
But as the episode went on many fans were left convinced she would be found out early on as she was 'talking too much'.
Viewers said of Armani on Twitter: 'Armani has got to be the worst Traitor of all time. STOP talking! #Traitors.',
'If Armani isn't clocked in 0.05 seconds I'll be damned #traitors #TraitorsUK.',
'Armani is doing too much I fear. If you keep going group to group and throwing names out, people will get suspicious #TheTraitors.',
'Armani being the most obvious traitor is killing me off, hold it together girly #TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK.',
'Armani and Linda are terrible game players and terribly obvious traitors. #TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK.',
It came as The Traitors fans hailed a brutal twist minutes into the first episode before host Claudia revealed another major change to the game.
The series was even met with a technical fault as fans rushed to watch episode two on BBC iPlayer, minutes after the opening episode aired
The show sees several Traitors be picked at the start of the series while the other contestants are Faithfuls
Over the course of the game the Traitors have to convince the rest of the players that they are Faithful in order to try and steal the whole prize pot for themselves at the end
Armani was branded the 'worst Traitor of all time' as viewers watched the first episode of the new series on Wednesday night
The financial Investigator, 27, was chosen by host Claudia Winkleman as one of the first Traitors along with Minah and Linda
But as the episode went on many fans were left convinced she would be found out early on as she was 'talking too much'
Viewers said of Armani on Twitter : 'Armani has got to be the worst Traitor of all time. STOP talking! #Traitors'
On Wednesday night the third series kicked off in the Scottish Highlands as the first three Traitors were picked.
But the drama began before they even arrived when they were heading to the castle on the train.
The 25 players were split into three carriages and each carriage were met with a huge shock when the train stopped suddenly.
The train then started moving backwards as Claudia told them each carriage had to pick one person to leave the train and the show.
Jack, Alexander and Fozia eventually volunteered to leave but it remains to be seen if they will later return to the show or if they are actually gone for good.
Later in the show Claudia revealed another huge change to the show as she told the contestants that when people are eliminated they will no longer reveal if they are a Traitor or Faithful.
At the first round table Armani, Minah and Linda were selected as the first three Traitors. On the first night they murdered Yin who was then eliminated from the show.
Reacting to the first twist fans wrote on X: 'three folk eliminated before they’d even set foot on the castle grounds, crying within the first five mins, someone pretending to be welsh for NO reason… we are so back #TheTraitors.',
The first round table kicked off at the end of the episode as the contestants had to vote for one person they think is a Traitor
'This series is going to be absolute chaos, 3 gone before they even reached the castle (or have they), tears in the first 5 minutes, someone trying to keep up a fake Welsh accent as it sounds trustworthy plus one Traitor already throwing another under the bus.',
'It'd be a great twist if the 3 who got off were actually made the traitors! #TheTraitors.'
It comes after Claudia dropped a huge new clue over how The Traitors are chosen as the fan favourite show returned.
Claudia said this week of how The Traitors come about: 'I'm not a goddess and I don't choose them by myself.'
Claudia added her chats with each player on the first episode - which viewers see on screen - are only the beginning of picking.
Afterwards, she and a group of five to six others deliberate who to pick - which Claudia has described as 'very stressful'.
When asked if she believed the correct Traitors were chosen for series three, Claudia replied: 'I have faith and whether I was correct or wrong, we will find out.
'They're always the right three.
Meet the cast of The Traitors 2025
Elen
Age: 24
Occupation: Translator
Location: Cardiff
Lisa
Age: 62
Occupation: Anglican Priest
Location: Cornwall
Jack
Age: 24 (at time of filming, 25 now)
Occupation: Market trader and landscaper
Location: Yorkshire
Alex
Age: 29
Occupation: Care Manager
Location: Whitby
Alexander
Age: 38
Occupation: Former British Diplomat
Location: London
Anna
Age: 28
Occupation: Swimming Teacher
Location: County Wicklow, Ireland
Armani
Age: 27
Occupation: Financial Investigator
Location: London
Charlotte
Age: 32 (33 now)
Occupation: Business Director
Location: London, recently moved to Hampshire
Dan
Age: 33
Occupation: Bank Risk Manager
Location: Liverpool
Fozia
Age: 50
Occupation: Community Development Manager
Location: Birmingham
Francesca
Age: 44
Occupation: Interior Designer
Location: East Sussex
Freddie
Age: 20
Occupation: Politics Student
Location: Peterborough
Jake
Age: 28
Occupation: Project manager
Location: Barrow-in-Furness
Joe
Age: 37
Occupation: English Teacher
Location: Southampton (Originally Yorkshire)
Kasim
Age: 33
Occupation: Doctor
Location: Cambridge
Keith
Age: 65
Occupation: Window cleaner
Location: Bournemouth
Leanne
Age: 28
Occupation: Veteran
Location: Holywell, North Wales
Leon
Age: 40
Occupation: Retail store manager
Location: East Midlands
Linda
Age: 70
Occupation: Retired opera singer
Location: Hertfordshire
Olivia (Livi)
Age: 26
Occupation: Beautician and Model
Location: Horsham
Maia
Age: 25
Occupation: Full-time Mum
Location: Essex
Minah
Age: 29
Occupation: Call Centre Manager
Location: Liverpool
Nathan
Age: 39
Occupation: Property Consultant
Location: London
Tyler
Age: 29
Occupation: Barber
Location: Leicester
Yin
Age: 34
Occupation: Doctor of communication
Location: Berkshire
