After multiple episodes of tension, plots and backstabbing, Celebrity Traitors concludes with a nail-biting finale

Warning: spoilers ahead - This piece reveals details from Celebrity Traitors finale

Throughout the season, audiences saw murders, double-crosses, intense glares, and a memorable moment that pierced the overwhelming suspense.

Yet on the final evening, the ultimate victor of the inaugural celebrity edition emerged triumphant.

From 19 contestants, just a handful were left standing: Deceivers and faithfuls facing off for the prize.

Soon, the competition tightened to just three: the remaining contestants.

Ultimately, comedian Alan Carr was crowned the winner, in a shocking outcome that broke the internet and made him tearful.

"It's been tearing me apart, I'm so sorry," he declared, admitting to the remaining faithfuls that he'd always been one of the deceivers. "I'm an awful human being."

"You played amazingly," they comforted him. "Everything's fine."

Online platforms immediately exploded with this development. "The worst deceiver being the most effective player," commented one user.

"There could not have been a better conclusion," wrote another, while a third called it "the TV moment of the year."

His chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK, will receive the entire winnings, with the total amount reaching £87,500.

Alan Carr's transformation from comic relief to strategic player was one of the standout highlights of the series.

But his win still left the nation in shock, as noted by entertainment reporters.

"The idea of Alan, among everyone, executing an expert performance in deceit felt about as likely as him keeping a straight face through his comedy routines."

During follow-up conversations, fellow players summed up why no one had truly doubted him.

"He might have come down to breakfast in a green cloak and I still wouldn't have thought he was deceiving us. I was too busy laughing," one participant said.

"The majority didn't target him because how can you vote for someone who is so charming?" asked a different contestant.

Carr said he had "absolutely loved" his time on the program.

"I'd like to do it again... I don't think it would be successful a second time!"

The final installment was extended to over an hour on television. There was a different start than typical episodes, as all the celebs were aware who would appear at the morning gathering.

There was particularly inspiring, and very un-Traitors-esque soundtrack, as the episode revisited some moments from each of the finalists' time in the castle.

True to form, Alan Carr gave us some of the most memorable lines.

"Let's face it, I began this game a bit of a nervous wreck. I've thrown some really good friends under the bus, I've murdered beloved figures openly. I'm clearly more deceptive and traitor than I believed."

Meanwhile, a different player commented that being in the final was "way more stressful than playing for England", while another said he was "totally surprised" to have lasted this long.

In the beginning of the finale, several players seemed to be attempting to become the new style icon of the castle, taking over from an earlier departed fashionable contestant.

Carr emerged at the morning meal looking like a 1950s US chat show host in patterned burgundy attire, later switching into a bejewelled white suit.

However, he got outstyled by a fellow player's maroon velvet tuxedo. Impressive style.

Next up was the challenge, with the remaining contestants boarding a train named - of course - The Traitors Express.

This task saw them ripping up portraits of former contestants. Spare a thought for one participant who was hit in the head multiple times by the lid of a substantial container.

Before long, the moment arrived for the roundtable.

The deceivers did a pinky promise in advance, vowing to support each other. "We've progressed significantly, I'm not going to betray him," said a player, while the other simply laughed.

And one adhered to their agreement. But, having slipped under the radar for the majority of the competition, the other still got the most votes.

The last deceiver looked like to be experiencing a world of pain to be the final deceiver remaining. "Being alone, I feel terrified," he said. "I'm a loose cannon, a rudderless ship."

Social media and viewers were similarly upset.

"I did NOT want this contestant to be banished. An endearing deceiver," commented a commentator.

"You will forever be remembered in Traitors history," wrote a different viewer.

But there was little opportunity to focus on their elimination. Soon, they were at the final stage - this being the moment everyone anticipated.

The last players gathered around the fire pit. Meanwhile, the partnership broke down, just when it was most crucial, in an absolutely shocking development.

A player was painfully banished - after a shock vote from their ally, who turned against them.

"This pains me to be stabbed in the back last minute in that manner," remarked the ousted contestant. Subsequently, it was revealed that if they ever communicate, the eliminated contestant calls the other as a traitor.

Ultimately, only three contestants were still competing: the last participants.

One player, looking incredibly smug, chose to conclude the competition. The same decision was made by a different player, and everything depended on the final participant, who made the identical choice - resulting in the deceiver emerged victorious.

For observers, the moment where the other players comforted the winner was "beautiful TV". "I anticipate it will be in the running for outstanding scene at next year's awards," they commented.

Happily, the champion soon recovered from his emotional outburst, and was able to enjoy his victory.

"Such an emotional journey. I thought I was terrible at deception, I had no poker face and now I stand a winner," the winner said.

And he even joked about the memorable elimination - his close ally during the initial stages - by leaning toward the presenter in the final scene and making contact.

"There's something on your face," he said, with his trademark giggle.

The last few weeks of famous people scheming, plotting and the occasional surprising incidents may feel like a bizarre fantasy. Yet it actually occur. And we will miss it.