Strictly Come Dancing opened last month to an average of 4.8 million viewers across its two-and-a-half hour broadcast. Celebrity Traitors returned on Thursday October 1 with 8.9 million, a far larger audience and a sharper ratings contest than the launch show wanted.
The launch peaked at five million, but that still sat well below the 6.2 million who tuned in for the first episode in 2025. For a show built around a large launch audience, the year-on-year drop is 1.4 million on the average figure.
Claudia Winkleman has now resumed her presenting duties on Celebrity Traitors after stepping down from Strictly Come Dancing, while Tess Daly left the main show after the pair's 11-year stint. That shift leaves entertainment with two visible formats, but only one is currently drawing the bigger crowd.
Richard E. Grant and Joe Lycett
Richard E. Grant and Maya Jama were unveiled as Traitors on Celebrity Traitors, and Grant quickly gave the show its most quoted line of the night. In his confessional, he said, "Well, that may be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life," after blurting out, "Of course, I'm a Traitor."
Joe Lycett then added another layer of pressure when he questioned whether Richard E. Grant was a Traitor shortly after the roundtable. He also wrote, "I expect #Traitors to wipe floor with #Strictly in terms of viewing figures," which now looks less like a joke and more like an early read on the audience split.
Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe
Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe took over as the new presenters of Strictly Come Dancing, but the launch numbers suggest the handover did not produce an immediate audience lift. The show still peaked at five million, yet the average held at 4.8 million through the full broadcast.
Celebrity Traitors returned with 8.9 million viewers on Thursday October 1 evening, almost doubling Strictly Come Dancing's average and leaving the with a clear ratings winner for the moment. The next episodes of both shows will show whether that gap is a one-night swing or the shape of the run.
One note worth keeping an eye on is whether Strictly can hold near the 4.8 million level once the new presenting team settles in, because a launch that starts below 2025 gives little room to absorb any further drop. For now, the numbers favor Celebrity Traitors, and Grant has already turned a confession into the night's sharpest ratings hook.
