The Celebrity Traitors 2026 winners crowned as Faithfuls in major twist 'nobody saw coming'
Warning: This story contains Celebrity Traitors spoilers.
The second series of the Celebrity Traitors ended with an unbelievable twist as faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft were crowned the winners of the hit BBC show following an explosive endgame moment.
After weeks on screens and a dramatic endgame, it was a rare win for the Faithfuls in a twist 'nobody saw coming'.
At the endgame, it all came down to solo Traitor Kenny against remaining Faithfuls Sebastian, James, Romesh and Leigh-Anne.
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During the tense showdown, Little Mix star Leigh-Anne was the first to be given the boot and banished from the castle.
But this still wasn't the end, as players voted to banish again which split the vote between King Kenny and James Blunt.
After a deadlock, Sebastian and Romesh conferred and instead banished Kenny, leaving just the final three Faithful at the roundtable in a shock final change up.
But after three banishments, it all came down to a final hurdle as James opted to vote for one another, giving Sebastian the final vote and equally banishing James in a shocking revelation.
As Sebastian and Romesh both trusted one another, the two faithful walked away splitting the prize fund of £83,000.
Charities Choose Love and Refugee Council were their organisations of choice.
But it was an ending nobody really expected, with many convinced Kenny had it in the bag.
"OMG THE FAITHFULS HAVE WON I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING," one person posted on X.
Another meanwhile said: "Wow the faithfuls actually won this time. I can't believe it."
Earlier in the final episode, Maya came under fire in the final last roundtable from all angles for her behaviour throughout the season and was unable to convince her fellow players she was faithful.
Fellow Traitor King Kenny was also forced to write her name on his chalkboard in a final bid to avoid suspicion.
She had faced fierce criticism from James Blunt over the 'perfume theory' and the plain-sight killing of Ross Kemp. However, she was unable to actually reveal her identity as she left the roundtable.
But it turned out a 'good luck' comment from Maya as she left the roundtable raised further suspicion ahead of the endgame.
Fans say Maya 'deserved' win
There’s no denying Maya Jama would’ve been a deserving winner.
The only original remaining Traitor of the series, she largely escaped suspicion until the last hurdle, and threw her teammates James, Richard and Hannah under the bus when necessary.
She also held court in the turret, hitting back at negative comments online after she dressed down James Acaster for his lack of involvement in the puzzles task, refusing to remove his blindfold and help out, telling him: "James, you did leave us out to dry. You did."
“I do feel for maya tho & hope she plays her way through this, she deserves that win!,” one user wrote on X ahead of the episode as another quipped: “Two out of the three traitors she has worked with have just openly admitted they’re a traitor.”
“I’ve outlasted every challenge that’s been thrown my way” she said at the opening of the finale episode.
She was awarded her wish of being a Traitor, admitting before the show aired: "I'd love to play someone who's the complete opposite of me, a proper villain or someone really evil. Maybe this is my chance to test that out."
After her banishment, fans rushed to social media as one user wrote: "Maya deserved to win, Kenny doesn’t."
Another posted: "Props to maya for making it so far considering the fact that the other traitors didnt really help."
The second series victory follows Alan Carr’s mammoth victory as a Traitor last year against David Olusoga, Nick Mohammed, and Joe Marler.
Before Friday’s final this year, it looked like remaining Traitors Maya and Kenny had potentially shot themselves in the foot and paved the way for a Faithful win after the murder of Sharon Rooney.
This came after Kenny, who had the two-vote dagger, decided to switch his vote and banish Joanne McNally at the eleventh hour.
Their decision to then banish Sharon, who equally had heat on her, baffled a lot of the Faithfuls the next day and as it went on, they suddenly all seemed to suspect the three Traitors.
It was one of the few times that Maya received any heat the entire season, after the discussion came around again about who was in the room when Ross Kemp was murdered in plain sight.
The semi-final had drawn in the highest peak audience of the series, with 10.7 million tuning in. The show has been a ratings winner for the broadcaster.
And at the beginning of Friday night’s final, eagle-eyed Faithful Michael Sheen was dramatically killed off in the last murder of the series, in a move fans called ‘obvious’ and ‘stupid’.
But that wasn’t the only shock twist, as original Traitor Maya was banished without revealing her true identity.
The end to a dramatic season
This latest season certainly hasn't been short of unexpected drama.
From Richard E Grant’s major blunder, when he appeared to accidentally reveal his identity as a Traitor in the first episode, to James Acaster being recruited into the secret group but calling himself the ‘reluctant Traitor’, the series has delivered plenty of tense TV moments.
The most recent of those came on Thursday night’s episode (29 October) when comedian James left both his fellow contestants and viewers at home stunned.
In a Traitors-first, he admitted his role as a Traitor during the roundtable while facing heat from Michael Sheen, cracking under the pressure and making a full confession before he was subsequently banished.
It meant he was out of the running, leaving original Traitor Maya Jama, and the recruited King Kenny left to fend for themselves against Faithfuls Michael Sheen, James Blunt, Romesh Ranganathan, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Sebastian Croft.
James had been recruited as a Traitor but seemed fundamentally uncomfortable with the job.
The penultimate episode also saw Maya, who had just an episode earlier been unbelievably voted one of the most trustworthy along with two fellow Traitors James and Kenny, make a slip of the tongue which viewers suggested could’ve seen her banished.
As she raised her glass to clink ‘cheers’, she accidentally toasted ‘to killing them’ before quickly realising her mistake and correcting herself by saying: "To banishing them, even."
Michael Sheen's risky exit
After a rocky season, with the likes of Michael Sheen and James Blunt repeatedly putting their money on the wrong Faithfuls resulting in their banishment, including actress Julie Hesmondalgh, Sheen then flipped the switch and was actually bang on the money when leading the charge to the final.
Maya Jama and James Acaster decided to murder Sharon Rooney – something viewers thought they would ultimately pay the price for.
The rogue decision confused a lot of the Faithfuls the next day and as it went on, they suddenly all seemed to suspect the three Traitors.
Of course, this then led to the baffling round table that saw Maya under incredible heat from a spot-on Michael Sheen before James decided to throw the towel in and confessed to being a Traitor.
Sharon’s murder was dubbed a mistake, due to the heat she had on her at the dead-locked roundtable with Joanne McNally.
However it allowed Michael Sheen to emerge as one of the season's most determined Traitor hunters, with his suspicions about Maya Jama and the others helping to set up the explosive endgame.
He was also able to suss out James Acaster before his bombshell admission before he was murdered at the last hurdle.
Topics: BBC, The Traitors, Maya Jama, TV
James Holt