Just last month, Alan Carr donned his green cloak and met with his fellow Traitors in the turret for the first time. In the wake of such a momentous occasion, all hell broke loose upon the Faithfuls as they were eliminated from the game one-by-one.
In a final showdown, the comedian managed to convince remaining Faithfuls Nick Mohammed and David Olusoga that he too was a Faithful, forcing them to end the game before managing to take all of the money for his chosen charity.
But despite winning the show, it won’t just be Alan people think of when it comes to The Celebrity Traitors, and indeed he won’t be the only winner of the bunch despite holding the title.
In fact, they’re all winners, according to PR expert Mark Borkowski.
Aside from the handful of players that were either banished or murdered in the game quite early on, Borkowski sees particularly Cat Burns and Joe Marler truly excelling after the BBC One series.
“Joe Marler seems to be on everything and anything, anytime you see him on The Wheel, he’s sticking, so clearly he’s got a good agent to get him into that role,” Borkowski told RadioTimes.com. “He’s got a very strong personality.”
He continued: “But I think everybody’s a winner in this series. It’s about visibility. It’s no different from other reality shows like I’m a Celebrity, and even Big Brother in the day, the celebrity versions. I’m a Celebrity is the best example of that. The more exposure that you have, the more of your personality, or your perceived personality is pushed out.”
“So with the BBC, [it’s] the same love that is shown from Strictly or whatever, they know that they can actually develop programmes or put people in those programmes, that they know they’re going to get eyeballs on in an age where there isn’t a linear audience that once was.”
The Celebrity Traitors has proven to be its own cultural phenomenon, with 11.7 million viewers and counting having tuned in for the first episode alone, making it the biggest unscripted episode across the UK market since 2022.
With so many eyes on a programme with a variety of famous faces, Borkowski argues it has only “doubled down” on the importance of having some of these stars on television, including Claudia Winkleman.
“That’s why Claudia has left [Strictly], because she’s helming lots of statistics,” he explained. “I read one in four people are watching it across the country. So it’s doubled down on her importance, and why does she want to be shackled to a 20-year-old format where 1762517096 she can capitalise on the hot format at the moment and actually go into other things?”
Borkowski noted that the “biggest stars” from the series are ultimately the lesser known amongst some demographics, notably Cat Burns.
“Cat has got a recording career, I guess, but it’s all the other people who’ve come forward in a format that isn’t trivial, like suddenly things like eating bugs or dancing your way around a dance floor,” Borkowski told RadioTimes.com.
“It is something that actually shows intellect. David Olusoga, you know, all these Nick Mohammeds, they’re all going to be vital collateral, and it’s going to give, in an age where TV executives can’t make their decisions about something, it identifies that they have an audience.”
Amidst rumours of chat shows for cast members and revivals for others, Borkowski explained that speculation will undoubtedly happen.
He said: “All of us, publicists or agents or whatever, social media managers, they are creating content in the now. One of the biggest pieces that is going to generate a conversation is speculation. What will they do next? That speculation is no different from a politician testing out public opinion on a radical policy.
“It’s no different. It’s ‘let’s land this and see what people do’. So that’s a message, not just to the public, but it’s also message to the TV bosses to see the reaction, and of course, now the down page comments and social media reaction. You’ve got a research facility.”
The Celebrity Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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