Will it be victory for the faithful or the traitors? – Chiswick’s Angsty Aunt

Image: BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors. Photograph: BBC/Studio

 If you’ve got a dilemma, query or anything else for The Angsty Aunt to tackle, get in touch by clicking here.

How will the Celebrity Traitors end? (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

You know what, fair play. This season has been absolutely fantastic.

The Rest is Entertainment had it spot on when they said Alan Carr’s booking, and the decision to make him a traitor, was a stroke of genius. He’s been so unbelievably entertaining, it makes us all forget how flawed the game is.

Such as it is, the faithful have been so bad that they now find themselves in a brilliant position. No one has been recruited, which means no chance for some shock betrayals towards the end. The faithful will know this.

And, what we are seeing now, with Jonathan Ross’ departure, is an essence of inevitability. Wossy could not have done more to stay in the game as long as he did, consistently fending off accusations of being a “game player” in the process (ahem, it’s a game, that’s the point!). Nevertheless, his presence, his couture, it was all too nefarious. He was never going to make it to the end.

I do think, though, the traitors made two critical errors. Their names are Joe Marler, and Nick Mohammed.

Both have come across as obvious faithfuls throughout, and their presence in the final five could well be the traitors’ undoing. Which, when considering the alternative options, seems ludicrous.

Of course, it’s easy to make these statements with the benefit of edited hindsight. But, the moment the traitors caught wind of conspiring in the chess board activity, they should have acted. Two faithfuls working together to throw the game – in an effort to isolate the traitors – should have been a massive red flag. Ultimately, it’s been left unchecked.

Apart from that, they played it beautifully. But now, they enter the final with two players that have been forced to trust each other, putting Cat and Alan at a disadvantage.

There is a slight chance that Nick U-turns on Joe, but if it’s going to happen, it isn’t obvious. Nick just seems like a guy who keeps his cards close to his chest.

Of course, it doesn’t help that Alan Carr can’t even bring himself to keep a straight face. Cat also seems to be cracking. Her defence at the round table caught Joe’s attention for good reason. It was very unconvincing.

Her strategy – of being quiet and observant – works brilliantly, until the final, where there is nowhere to hide. If you’re trying to convince people, you have to be all guns blazing by that stage. David is under pressure for similar reasons.

Like Stephen Fry, he has suffered greatly, because he relies on logic in a game that is won on deception and instinct. He could go either way, but given that he is the only one yet to ally with another player, he will be critical to both sides.

Of course, all of this is assuming that Joe Marler’s ominous glare keeps its gaze on the two traitors. We’ve seen it change before. They cannot afford to get it wrong now though.

What impresses me so much about the show is that, unlike in the non-celebrity version, the motivations of the players are not for personal gain, other than pride. And yet the intensity has stayed right up there.

Bringing celebrities in has changed the dynamic completely, and it works so well. And it is risky for the celebs, putting themselves in a position where they are totally exposed and out of control, having come from industries predicated on having a controlled image. I actually like Jonathan Ross a lot more now.

My guess is that Nick and Joe will be the last players standing, having binned off David after Alan, and then Cat. If that happens, frankly, they haven’t deserved it. But that is how the game works. And to be honest, my mind is already working overtime to figure out who needs to be in season 2.

David Tennant feels like a shoo in. Rowan Atkinson, Dame Judi or Ben Kingsley would be perfect “big dogs”. Someone from Harry Potter should always make an appearance. An ex football manager, like big Sam Allardyce, would be phenomenal. Any of the cast of Last One Laughing. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant would be a hilarious, if not unrealistic, double act. The mind salivates at the prospect.

Whoever, whenever, whatever comes next, we will be there. The Traitors has proven once again that it’s the no. 1 show out there, and is a testament to the work and power cable TV can do and does still hold.

In an era of endlessly saturated drivel, churned out by the Netflix factory, why should we be surprised that some honest-to-God authenticity, punctuated by campy props and sassy backstabbing, is what has us all talking?

My money is on the faithful. My heart is with the traitors.