The Celebrity Traitors winner has spoken out on his tearful reaction to winning the BBC show, after he was unmasked as a Traitor in the final episode of the series
Alan Carr has opened up about his emotional reaction to winning Celebrity Traitors, confessing why he broke down after winning the show.
Despite nearly blowing his cover in the penultimate episode, the funnyman managed a surprise victory in Thursday night’s finale, swiping the prize money from Faithfuls Nick Mohammed and David Olusoga.
After the unanimous vote to end the game, Carr was moved to tears as he confessed he was a Traitor, with his fellow finalists rushing to comfort him – even though he’d just nicked the entire £87,500 prize pot from them.
The Celebrity Traitors final had an average audience of 11.1 million, with a peak of 12 million, the BBC said, adding that it was the biggest overnight audience since the episode of Gavin & Stacey on Christmas Day last year.
Reflecting on the tearful moment, Carr told the BBC: “I think all the deceit, the lying, the murdering of Paloma [Faith] and Celia [Imrie] had all taken its toll and then I think it dawned on me that I had won such a huge amount for my charity, Neuroblastoma UK.
“The charity is so close to my heart that it all became a bit too much. Hopefully when people see how upset I was they won’t feel so bad that I killed all those national treasures.”
Singer Faith was the first ‘victim’ of the Traitors and it was Carr, one of her good mates, who committed the act in broad daylight. The comic later ousted actor Imrie from the game after toasting her at a dinner party. Carr shared that staff at his chosen charity were also moved to tears upon learning he had won the cash for them.”
“I told one person at the charity and they started crying, so that gives you some idea of how important this money will be to them,” he said. “Neuroblastoma is such a cruel disease, and this money will literally save lives. It’s a charity and disease that no one has really heard of so with the viewing figures being what they are it’s going to be so good for the charity.”
Before the grand final aired, The Celebrity Traitors had already become the year’s most-watched programme, with the opening four episodes pulling in an average of 12.6 million viewers, based on official seven-day consolidated Barb figures.
The finale witnessed the remaining five players reduce their numbers to three by eliminating Traitor Cat Burns and targeting Faithful Joe Marler, before deciding to conclude the game. A fresh civilian series is scheduled to broadcast in 2026.
It was also revealed that Alan is tipped to become one of the new presenters of Strictly Come Dancing after his The Celebrity Traitors triumph. An insider has said Alan is being considered for Strictly, as Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are set to leave. They added: “He has got to be up there with the BBC to get a huge new role… Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, Strictly.”
And a BBC source said: “Alan has always been a star – but it’s amazing what a month in a Scottish castle can do to elevate your career. He’s ours now.”
The Mirror had reported how chatter linked Alan to one of the Strictly vacancies, but now his triumph in the Scottish castle is said to have firmed his bid to take the Saturday night gig. The presenter had been praised for “super competitive streak” and charisma during his time on The Celebrity Traitors, which began at the start of October.
