The Celebrity Traitors has triumphed at the Edinburgh TV Festival awards, taking home two prizes. The reality TV show is the celebrity spin-off of the original civilian version, both of which are hosted by Claudia Winkleman and have become major hits for the BBC.
Winkleman and series take top honours
Former Strictly Come Dancing host Winkleman took home a prize for best TV presenter, with the series also picking up the gong for best entertainment or reality series. Set in a Scottish castle in the Highlands, the game follows the celebrity contestants – the majority of whom are known as faithfuls – as they try to seek out the murderous traitors among them, who kill off players in the middle of the night.
The celebrity series has received a slew of award nods this year, including five Bafta TV nominations.
BBC named broadcaster of the year
The Edinburgh TV Festival awards, held at the city’s International Conference Centre and hosted by comedy duo Suzi Ruffell and Maisie Adam, also saw the BBC named broadcaster of the year. The corporation also picked up the prize for public service broadcaster of the year, at a ceremony where many of its programmes were honoured, including What It Feels Like For A Girl.
The acclaimed BBC series is based on an autobiographical memoir by Paris Lees, detailing her experience growing up queer in the working class town of Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. It was named best drama while its star, Ellis Howard, won the prize for breakthrough performance.
Other winners at the ceremony
ITV Studios won production group of the year, and to add to its success, The Assembly, which is known for its raw and moving exchanges with neurodivergent individuals and celebrities, won best popular factual series. Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War (Exposure), its investigation into the war in Gaza, received the gong for best documentary.
Among the other award winners was actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, who won best TV actor in the drama category for her role as Alison Brooks, a deaf woman who uses her lip-reading skills to help the police investigate a dangerous gang, in Code Of Silence. Elsewhere, teenage star Oliver Savell was named best TV actor in the comedy category for his lead role in Changing Ends, a semi-autobiographical series detailing comedian Alan Carr’s life growing up in the 1980s. Saturday Night Live UK, which is based on the long-running US sketch show, secured the prize for best comedy.
Its cast member Jack Shep took home the TV moment of the year award for “Princess Di serves face at The Last Supper”, a sketch from the show’s inaugural episode where he stole the show. The viral moment saw Shep dressed as the late Diana, Princess of Wales during a recreation of the Last Supper among cultural and historical British figures including Sir David Attenborough, Winston Churchill and Freddie Mercury at a philosophical dinner which descended into absurdity.
HBO Max medical drama The Pitt was crowned best international drama and the climate storytelling award was given to documentary Dirty Business, while broadcaster Oobah Butler was recognised as the best TV presenter in the factual category for How I Made £1 Million In 90 Days. Davina McCall, who has been a familiar face on TV for more than 30 years hosting shows including Streetmate and Big Brother, was awarded the outstanding achievement award in honour of her extraordinary contribution to British broadcasting.
The Edinburgh TV Festival’s head of awards Bianca Newby said: “Celebrating the extraordinary talent and creativity behind the British TV industry is always a highlight of our year. Congratulations to all this year’s winners and nominees, and huge thanks to Maisie and Suzi for making it such a fun night.”
