Celebrity Traitors fans 'work out' first banishment result after cliffhanger - is THIS a big clue?

Celebrity Traitors viewers are reeling from the second episode of the new season tonight - and the name on everybody's lips is Richard E Grant. After boldly declaring himself to be a Traitor within moments of being chosen by Claudia Winkleman in yesterday's series opener, the latest instalment ended with his place in the game hanging precariously in the balance.

The actor came under heavy scrutiny at the first Round Table, with many Faithful contestants grilling him on his bizarre admission.

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He tried to explain it away as wishful thinking, leaving his co-stars divided between those who think he slipped up, and those who believe he's a Faithful.

The end credits rolled just as Claudia instructed them all to vote - and fans on X think that in itself is a big clue as to what the result is.

"Well that means Richard is going to be banished. They would have ended the episode during the vote if it was close. They ended it there because it was a landslide," one person theorised.

"They want Richard in Week Two with that cliffhanger," said someone else, while a third wrote bluntly: "Richard might just be cooked #celebritytraitors".

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Yet another fan posted: "WHAT was that cliffhanger... Another episode to get their money's worth from Richard before he's banished huh."

Whoever is banished next, talk will turn to the second murder. Following the latest mission, it's only Hannah Fry and Jerry Hall who are on the chopping block.

A succinct speech by Hannah at the Round Table, in which she posited that the Traitors' choice to murder Amol Rajan indicates they are anything but confident, has come in for heavy praise.

One person said: "Brilliant analysis by Hannah at the round table. When the traitors choose between her and Jerry, picking her would make it obvious that she was right. So goodbye Jerry."

Conversely, someone else predicted: "Hannah nailing exactly what the traitors have done so that’s her toast now #celebritytraitors."

It's going to be a very long six days before we get some answers.

In any case, the show is off to a massive start in the ratings, with episode one reported to have peaked at over nine million viewers during its live broadcast - more than three million more than last year's equivalent episode.

The Celebrity Traitors airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.