The BBC presenter celebrated with Rachel and Stephen as they won the 2026 series
The Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman admitted that she found Rachel and Stephen’s win “moving” as they shared the prize pot between them.
As 2026 arrived it was time for Claudia to welcome 22 new contestants to Ardross Castle in the hopes that at least one of them would be taking home the jackpot.
Rachel, Stephen and Hugo were chosen as her traitors, with Fiona being a secret traitor in a new twist for the series. Week after week, roundtable after roundtable, the final arrived as Rachel and Stephen were the only traitors left in the game.
The final was intense as James and Rachel lifted the chests at the same time to see who was banished. It was James who was banished from the game. As he stood in front of everyone, he revealed he had been a faithful this whole time, adding he “has learned a lot about himself”.
Jade was the next to leave as they tried to whittle down the contestants, but due to the rules she wasn’t allowed to announce her position in the game.
At the firepit, after deciding to banish again, it was Faraaz who was voted away from the castle and lost out on the big win by just mere moments. It was then down to a second banishment, and Jack left following a tearful banishment from Stephen.
As the final three stood around the firepit, Rachel and Stephen were officially declared the winners of The Traitors 2026. It’s official, the traitors won this year with just under £48,000 each as Claudia emotionally congratulated them.
Speaking on the spin-off show, The Traitors: Uncloaked, Claudia praised their alliance to one another and said: “I found their end and their love for each other incredibly moving.
“What I loved about Rachel and Stephen, from the very beginning, knowing what you know now, they just looked after each other without being obvious.”
She continued: “They made that alliance. We’ve never seen that before. Lots of people make alliances and they last, you know, an episode or five minutes, but they decided, and not Romeo and Juliet, because that ended badly, but Bonnie and Clyde. They were lovers in the turret and they stuck together.”
Discussing the pact on spin-off show Uncloaked, Rachel said: “I knew from the minute it came out of my mouth I wouldn’t break it.”
Stephen added: “That is not what I was thinking. It’s so hard to trust someone in there whose job it is to lie. I was really struggling to see how Rachel could hold onto that pact for the whole game, which is why at the end I was wobbling big time. I’m just so glad she’s a woman of her word.”
