Celebrity Traitors smashes viewing figures as 9million fans tune in to watch record-breaking launch show - beating champion Alan Carr's series by almost 3million viewers

Its mix of treachery and detective work has made The Traitors a standout hit for the BBC.

Now, the celebrity version is more popular than ever, as the second series launch episode attracted over 9 million viewers on Thursday, the biggest-ever launch for The Traitors in the UK.

Overnight figures show the first episode peaked at just over 9 million and averaged 8.9 million viewers.

The number surpasses all previous premieres, including the first celebrity version, which attracted 6.5 million peak viewers, averaging 6.1 million across the episode.

The last civilian series opener in January garnered 6.9 million peak viewers and averaged 6.4 million views.

The total audience is expected to soar even higher in the coming days, with viewers who streamed the show on iPlayer yet to be counted.

The BBC hit sees players secretly divided into Faithfuls and Traitors.

The Faithfuls have to try to root out the Traitors before they're murdered one by one, while the Traitors attempt to manipulate their way to the end without being caught.

Millions tuned in to watch Claudia Winkleman, 54, choose this year’s traitors. The presenter selected Love Island host Maya Jama and actor Richard E. Grant.

Producers introduced a new twist to shake up the programme’s format by telling the duo to choose a third Traitor.

Only it wasn’t that simple; Richard and Maya were instead told to select two of their co-stars at Ardross Castle and make them plead to join their trio.

Only the other would be banished. So, former Radio 4 host Amol Rajan and comedian James Acaster were forced to lie in coffins. And in what will surely be one of the show’s most memorable cliffhangers, viewers – along with Amol and James – were forced to wait for host Claudia to reveal who would stay.

‘It is you, me, and two coffins. That’s not great, is it?’ James quipped.

Richard and Maya were then given the power to choose either Amol or James to join them as the third Traitor, while the other will be murdered.

Claudia explained: ‘To survive, you will have to convince them that you are the best recruit.

‘It is literally a decision of life and death.’

James, 41, who wanted to be a Faithful, said with a shaky voice: ‘I think currently everyone is convinced I’m a Faithful. I’ve been pushing your name [points to Grant]. I’m pretty confident I’m the right decision.’

Amol, 43, then confidently said: ‘I have no heat on me whatsoever, and that is going to be useful. The second thing is I have established some good relationships. I know they’ll believe what I say.

‘And that is why the third pillar, which is relevant to you, Richard, I do think I am uniquely placed to take the heat off you. I’m here because I sniff out lies for a living.’

The tense scene then saw the actor, 69, and Love Island host, 32, deliberate in the chapel, with the two coffins in front of them.

Claudia asked for their decision on who would be shut in the coffin and out of the game.

But it was a huge cliffhanger, something viewers have become accustomed to, and the reveal will take place in Friday’s episode.

Earlier in the episode, Claudia sprang into action, and at the first roundtable chose Maya and Richard as her treacherous Traitors – but quickly announced that ‘the course of the game is not totally set, as the Traitors line-up is not complete’.

Instead of the presenter picking a third Traitor, she left that decision in the hands of Maya and Richard in a show first.

And it couldn’t have worked out better for the pair, as Richard landed himself in hot water when he hilariously got overexcited and declared to his fellow celebrities that he is a Traitor.

Speaking in the Traitors' turret, Maya said: ‘We’ve basically got to work out how to save you… because you’ve dug yourself a humongous hole.’

‘The time I have left is entirely dependent on choosing who the best person is to recruit and deflect,’ Richard added.

The 75-minute episode began in the church where Claudia made her grand entrance carried by cloaked and masked figures inside a coffin.

She then asked the 21 celebrity contestants to pick the most trustworthy player – and it was Coronation Street legend Julie Hesmondhalgh who won the vote, after hilariously becoming ‘starstruck’ over her fellow celebrities.

It meant she won a shield, and a second for a fellow player, which she gave to comedian Joe Lycett, meaning they are safe from the first murder.

They were then chauffeured through the picturesque Scottish Highlands to Ardross Castle in six black Land Rover Defenders.

Elsewhere in the episode, the players took part in their first mission.

Set against a picturesque backdrop, contestants had to get in freezing water and find gold treasure chests in a shipwreck that blew up when the time ran out.

Ross Kemp and James Blunt took charge and led them to victory – bagging £15,000 for the prize fund.

The celebrities can win up to £100,000 for their chosen charity.

Faithful Ross was a standout star not only for his leadership skills, but for his comical paranoia throughout the game.

When Bella Ramsay put a sailor’s cap on Ross's head at the end of the mission, he thought he had been ‘murdered in plain sight’.

Back at Ardross Castle, the celebrities unwound and enjoyed drinks, but Ross was still suspicious, and in another hilarious moment he accused Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock of also ‘murdering in plain sight’ when she rubbed his shoulder.

He quipped, ‘I’m so paranoid, can you not get it!’

The games will continue tonight, as Maya and Richard will claim their first victim, and the Traitors will be complete.

And as Claudia pointed out: ‘They may be celebrities, but they have absolutely no power here.’