“There’s a big problem”: The “bizarre” flaw in The Celebrity Traitors format that means the Faithful can’t win

The final episode of The Celebrity Traitors series 2 is (almost!) here and, in case you haven’t noticed, the Traitors – Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny – have had it rather easy. Have any of the players accused them of being Traitors? No. Were they selected as the three people the players trusted the most? Yes. And it seems things are only going to get easier for them as we’ve spotted a bizarre flaw in the Celebrity Traitors format that means there's a big problem: the Faithful can’t actually win.

While the Faithful have been busy spending copious amounts of time accusing, quite frankly, the wrong players and have subsequently had viewers accusing them of not "playing the game" – they are, in fact, at an unfair disadvantage that makes the whole thing significantly harder. And it all starts with the Round Table. Here’s why The Celebrity Traitors format makes it virtually impossible for a Faithful to win – and why we’re about to see the Traitors coast along to victory.

What is the flaw in The Celebrity Traitors format?

Fans of the show will be familiar with one of the most crucial parts of the game: the Round Table. At each "session", the players get the chance to discuss who they think is a Faithful or a Traitor and set out their arguments why, all before someone gets banished. Sometimes, it’s simple (ahem, Richard E. Grant), but it can also get a little complicated and we find ourselves with a tie and no idea who's going home– we’re looking at you, Sharon Rooney and Joanne McNally.

It’s exciting, yes, but there’s also a rather large flaw in it. To remind you, we’ve had two celebratory moments in series 2. Firstly, when the Faithful successfully identified Richard E. Grant as a Traitor. It wasn’t exactly hard, but they did it. He was subsequently banished. Then we had Hannah Fry – in episode 5, the recently recruited Traitor was caught red-handed and our Faithful were once again victorious – but were they really?

You see, the problem with the show’s format is that every time a Traitor is caught, the Faithful essentially have to start from the beginning. Why? Because as soon as the Traitor leaves, the Traitors who are left get the opportunity to recruit all over again – and, as we’ve seen in series 2, the Traitors have caught on to the fact that that’s exactly how you win the game. Recruitment = the Faithful having to start working out who they can trust... all over again. And so the cycle repeats itself.

Why can’t the Faithful win The Celebrity Traitors?

To put it simply, they’re out of time. Given that our Traitors, Maya Jama and James Acaster, have chosen to recruit twice – Hannah Fry first and then King Kenny, they’ve effectively confused the Faithful enough for them to have absolutely no idea who they can trust. Are there any Faithful "alliances" who are close to spotting any of the Traitors? None.

Never was that clearer than in the Field of Screams task (episode 8) when the celebrities had to choose their most trustworthy players. Who did they choose? The three Traitors: Maya, Kenny and James. It became apparent that our Traitors had successful confused the Faithful so much that none of them were even remotely suspected of being “unfaithful” – far from it.

Now, the next point is very important. In order to win the game, the three Traitors will need to make at least one more recruitment – and it’s safe to say they’re likely to do it. If they stir things up one final time (or twice even) , any potential Faithful alliances (Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft?) will be destroyed before they can do any damage.

Who will win The Celebrity Traitors series 2?

In case you haven’t already guessed, we’re confident a Traitors win is on the cards. Will the entire trio make it? Unlikely – but we do believe that there will be two: Maya Jama and King Kenny. Maya is seemingly untouchable. Call it what you like but she’s practically running the show and not a single Faithful has cast any suspicion on her. We don’t, however, believe she can do it alone. She’ll likely need a fellow Traitor to help her make it to the end and the second strongest player in the game? King Kenny. He’s quiet, calm and oh so trustworthy... right? We’ll be seeing them both at the fire pit.

When is the next episode of The Celebrity Traitors on TV?

The next episode of The Celebrity Traitors - episode 9 - will air at 8pm on Thursday 29^th October on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The final – episode 10 – will air at 8pm on Friday 30^th October.