Strictly Come Dancing has suffered another major blow as Celebrity Traitors made its highly anticipated return to screens on Thursday (October 1) evening. The BBC dance competition has come under fire since its latest series launched last month.
New presenters and falling ratings
Claudia Winkleman returned as the show's presenter in one of her most notable roles alongside Strictly Come Dancing. However, after 11 years hosting the main show together, Claudia and Tess Daly announced they were stepping back from Strictly.
The hit BBC dance competition kicked off last month, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe stepping in as the show's new presenters. The launch show reached a peak of five million viewers, according to The Independent, while an average of 4.8 million viewers tuned in throughout the two-and-a-half hour broadcast. This was a decline from last year, with an average of 6.2 million viewers watching the first episode in 2025.
Celebrity Traitors dominates
The same can't be said for Celebrity Traitors, as a staggering 8.9 million viewers tuned in last night. As the new series kicked off, fans were quick to draw comparisons between the two shows, with many arguing that Celebrity Traitors has already stolen the spotlight.
"I expect #Traitors to wipe floor with #Strictly in terms of viewing figures," one person commented on X as another wrote: "Who cares about #Strictly. Here come #TheTraitors."
A third penned: "I wonder if, like me, anyone else absolutely doesn't give a s**t about strictly, and has never watched a second of either it or that dancing on ice when Traitors UK and Ireland is so much better for us intellectuals."
Fans criticise Strictly line-up
Hitting out at this year's Strictly line-up, another said: "Heard of 9 of them, more than I thought. Really is scraping the barrel though, and it's desperate to see them appealing to people on social media - as if they will watch Strictly! Think the Traitors has put the breaks on them getting bigger names. Better show, bigger audience."
In another swipe at Claudia's former show, a fifth echoed: "Respectfully who in the Strictly cast would be worthy to get in the Celebrity Traitors cast? The cast of Strictly now these days is for the people yet to 'make it' and people not actively working. Traitors celebrity is for the top stars."
Traitors' opening blunder
Celebrity Traitors kicked off with a bang, with actor Richard E. Grant and Love Island presenter Maya Jama revealed to be this year's Traitors. However, it took just a few minutes for Richard to make a jaw-dropping blunder.
Shortly after the roundtable, comedian Joe Lycett questioned whether Richard, 69, was a Traitor, and he immediately confirmed that he was. The Withnail and I star attempted to laugh off the blunder, but not everyone was convinced.
"Well, that may be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life," Richard said in his confessional. "I was so thrilled to have been chosen as a Traitor that, in my unguarded excitement, I said, 'Of course, I'm a Traitor.' I clearly need to defuse all the heat that's coming in my direction."
