The Traitors finale review – unbelievably stressful and bloodthirsty … till the last second

Fri, 23 Jan 2026

Though the cracks are starting to show, the endgame was undeniably nail-biting. And honestly, thank God for Rachel – the terrifyingly ruthless saviour of this series

Bit of a damp squib, this year’s Traitors. At its best, it was still able to skim the preposterously giddy heights of previous series, but I spent a lot of the run living with the growing realisation that the cracks in the format are starting to show.

One major culprit, as always, has been the mid-episode challenge; a slab of filler designed to kill any trace of intrigue, like a version of 12 Angry Men where the jurors get up halfway through to spend 20 minutes swanning around in a park. Nor did the new raft of tweaks amount to much, with the reveal of the Secret Traitor coming far too early, and the secret connections (Judy and Roxy, Ellie and Ross) fizzling out without resolution.