‘Dame’ Claudia Winkleman: The Traitors fans want an OBE for presenter after season finale

‘The real winner of the show is Claudia Winkleman,’ fan wrote

The Traitors fans are heaping praise on the show’s presenter after the first season reached its shocking conclusion on Thursday (22 December).

The BBC game show saw 22 strangers play “the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust” at a Scottish Highlands castle in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

The programme was fronted by Claudia Winkleman, one of the safest hands in the TV presenting business.

The veteran host had the key role of selecting the show’s “traitors” – those tasked with selecting which of the “faithful” participants must leave the show, while trying to stay above suspicion themselves.

Since then, she has followed along like the rest of us as chaos unfolded among the group. She even cried over one revelation in the finale.

“Can I also just say I adore Claudia Winkleman,” writer Mollie Goodfellow wrote on Twitter after the finale.

TV blogger Elliot Gonzales added: “I love presenters who genuinely love the show they’re presenting. Like Caroline, Davina, Rylan and Emma loved theirs, Claudia Winkleman lived and breathed #TheTraitors and the show was all the better for it. From start to finish, I can’t fault the show. Best reality TV in YEARS.”

Another fan called for the presenter’s OBE while listing things that worked about the show: “DAME Claudia Winkleman.”

“The real winner of #TheTraitors is Claudia Winkleman. Icon. Legend. Beautiful sheepdog. My fave,” added producer Jamie Lambert.

The Traitors is available to watch in full on BBC iPlayer.