Some eight million people watched the final of this year’s series of The Traitors, a jump of more than three million on the finale of the original series in 2022, 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 final episode on January 26, in which 22-year-old “traitor” Harry Clark outwitted his fellow contestants to win £95,150, enjoyed an average audience of 8.03 million people, according to official ratings published by the research organisation Barb.
They are consolidated ratings, meaning they include people who recorded and watched the programme up to seven days later – the industry standard for measuring TV audiences.
They also include people who watched on tablets, PCs and smartphones.
The figure should be high enough to guarantee The Traitors a place in the top 10 biggest TV audiences of 2024.
It is currently the third most-watched programme of the year, just behind the revival of 1990s action game show Gladiators, which had an average audience of 8.37 million for its launch on BBC One on January 13.
In first place is ITV real-life drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which had an audience of 10.32 million for its final episode on January 4.
Ratings for The Traitors grew steadily over its four-week run, with audiences averaging 5.84 million in week one, 6.45 million in week two, 7.08 million in week three and 7.68 million in week four.
The audience for the final episode, 8.03 million, is more than three million up on the 4.73 million who saw the conclusion of the first series in December 2022.