It’s finally time: The definitive ranking of all three seasons of The Traitors

The Traitors UK is the closest we get these days to event television. I would define event television as a show you could bring up in the staff room, the barbers, a dinner party or a smoking area and know that realistically the majority of people there care about it and will be eager to discuss. We used to have this in days of yore with The X Factor – and whilst TV changes this is the kind of show that has united the nation. Year after year, it hasn’t let us down – and deciding which season of The Traitors is the best is no easy feat. With the final of season three looming tonight and it all coming down to absolute chaos, here is my considered ranked rundown of all the seasons of The Traitors UK, from worst to best.

3. Season three (2025)

Via BBC

Coming in last is unfortunately this year’s season of The Traitors UK – ranked at the bottom of the seasons just before the final episode tonight. I don’t think that anything that goes down tonight would majorly switch up my decision. Whilst I have still absolutely romped my way through this year as ever, there have been significant problems that have held it back from the great heights of others.

I would say it’s been the least likeable and least united cast yet – with a lot of dead weight and people going far who you’d much rather have seen off the show way earlier. The show has lacked a truly great twist or a gameplay reveal like the ones that had everyone talking in the first two seasons.

Most Read

Oh! This is the missing context to Elma and Ekin-Su’s heated dinner clash we all needed

Body language expert reveals this All Stars couple is FAKE and playing a massive game

Love Island’s Curtis has addressed whether he would be open to dating a man

But the biggest issue is that the more this show goes on, the more suspicious players are of literally anything that happens. There is more distrust which means less logic, and everyone is trying to double guess everything. The constant recruiting of Traitors and the Seer twist feels more heavy handed in producer meddling as the production tries to even the playing field and spin narratives.

But there have been some joyous moments. Linda is an all-time great for content. Minah played the best Traitors game ever in my opinion. Charlotte has been a wonderful dark horse and Alexander has literally become the people’s princess. Might be the worst of all The Traitors UK seasons ranked here – still unmissable TV.

2. Season two (2024)

Via BBC

You could ask me on a different day and I’d perhaps rank this at the top, such are the closeness in quality of seasons one and two. But I think with such a divisive ending and a bit of an early game peak, it feels correct that season two takes second place. All eyes were on it to see if season one and its insane success was going to be a fluke, or if the show would continue to ascend. Nobody can say anything otherwise than BBC managed to clearly achieve the former.

The casting producers struck gold with Diane and Ross, the mother and son duo who kept their relationship secret from the players the whole time and the audience for a few episodes – and when it got revealed to us their dynamic the whole nation gasped. I don’t think the show could pull off something like that again without it feeling like a pale imitation.

We also had the incredibly villainous Paul – who played the whole thing with panto evil glee. Harry usurped him and played a brutal game after being underestimated. Jazatha Christie was the nation’s sweetheart.

The funeral, the wine chalice, the murde of Diane and the returning breakfast face of Traitor Miles when he saw she’d survived for now was so priceless.

1. Season one (2022)

Via BBC

In first place, it has to be the one that started it all. What really makes this season the best – and in a sense, it can never be beaten – is the fact that nobody had a fucking clue what was going on. Not one person in that game, Traitor or Faithful, really knew what they were doing. And we as viewers didn’t really know either. Slowly and steadily, the show spread via word of mouth and everyone knew they had to start watching it. By the time the season one finale came around it had become a cultural phenomenon.

We will never be able to replicate the glory of watching these people figure out their game and the plans they were going to use, or lack of. Every single person was a character. Everyone took it so personally and emotionally you’d think Claudia was taking the banished and the murdered outside the castle for a swift beheading. It was perfection – specifically the breakfast that time where Alex and her magician fella just revealed to everyone they were a couple and the pandemonium it caused for no reason.

This perfect naivety was a recipe for everything that works about this show – and no other seasons of The Traitors UK will ever be able to be ranked higher in my opinion. In the words of the iconic meme, “Meryl being completely wrong about everything and still winning the prize fund”. The energy we should all embrace for the year ahead, methinks.

For more like this and for the latest memes, quizzes, updates and general pop culture – like The Tab on Facebook.