Now the dust from The Celebrity Traitor’s season finale has settled, many PR professionals are recapping their notes.

The finale, which aired on 6 November 2025, had an average of 11.1 million UK-based eyeballs on it, according to data from the BBC and has proved to be a juggernaut of PR power.

The celebrity cast, which was guided by the ever-fashionable Claudia Winkleman through Adross Castle, faced a heady mix of trained actors, deceptive intellectuals and unexpected strategists to the round table.

But, what is it about The Traitors that makes the nation such faithful fans?

Marketability

One major talking point is Claudia Winkleman’s outfits, which routinely cause quite a stir on socials.

Brands and small businesses flock to drape the dramatic host in their latest autumnal outfits, and Traitors-core has become a legitimate fashion trend.

One small business owner, Lauren Aston Designs, often credits the power of The Traitors PR machine on her Instagram. Dubbing it The Claudia Effect, she claims that Claudia linking her business has catapulted her into success.

Speaking on PRmoment's latest podcast, The News Review, Angie Moxham, founder of 3 Monkeys and Fourth Angel says: “I think [The Traitors] has done a marvellous job. Who can go wrong with Claudia Winkleman? “I love the fashion element and what Claudia wears. She has launched or supported businesses throughout all of the series.

“[And I love] the way it has taken all the different potential angles, from a PR perspective and spun it out . I think the latest celeb season has captured the imagination and hearts of the nation, and the PR around it has been amazing.”

The magic formula

The secret to the success of The Traitors lies in its format. When compared to other reality TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing or I’m A Celebrity, the contestants are praised in the media for being duplicitious and playing a good hand.

Mark Borkowski, founder of Borkowski PR and PR commentator explains: “TV formats that are good connect people and get everyone talking. And in an age of linear TV not being what it was with streaming, The Traitors has us all gripped episodically.

“Strictly is a wounded format, but if you think of things that have survived such as I’m A Celebrity or Big Brother, they are difficult to create so they are nurtured and protected, particularly by the BBC which doesn't have the same budgets to make it.

“The genius is always in the casting. When you are a publicist or an agent, you are looking for a reality show like this to turbocharge the good PR that comes from it. It's all good, you never see any bad PR, whereas Strictly had a lot of problems this year with some of the cast, on The Traitors you will look great. Nothing bad will spin on you if you turn on one of your camp mates.”

Borkowski added: “In a world where you’re a click away from knowing what's going on and the answer to any question, or potentially seeing who the winner of this is, they’ve locked down the media and play the game.

“Its about how you episodically control and feed the media; what can we generate now and get people talking, and then feed it through the gears so they don’t burst and blow it all at once.”

Listen to the full News Review podcast below