Don't miss the nail-biting final of The Traitors

Not since the early days of Big Brother, and subsequently Love Island, has a reality show caught the public’s attention like The Traitors.

And given its huge viewership, it came as no surprise that another run of the word-of-mouth hit was commissioned last year.

But with the novelty factor naturally wearing off, would the second season live up to the substantial hype and be as good as the first?

The answer to that is a resounding “yes”, as over the past few weeks, millions of us have again been gripped by dramatic events at the spooky castle in the Scottish Highlands.

However, host Claudia Winkleman said she was so taken aback by the success of the first series that she was initially apprehensive about donning her tweed, roll-neck jumpers and fingerless gloves again for the show, which is based on Dutch series De Verraders.

“The success of the first series literally winded us,” she says.

“I said to lovely Studio Lambert (the production company) and the BBC ‘Let’s just leave it. This thing happened, this magical thing happened. Enough!’

“The head of the BBC said she wanted to take my temperature.

“What happened never happens. It was overwhelming for all of us. When Kathy Burke, who is a hero of mine, and Russell T Davies, when they tweeted, I was amazed with the whole experience.

“It felt like some sort of magical dust and I just don’t want people’s expectations to be so high.”

Assessing what makes the show so popular, she says: “The people who make it are extraordinary and the game is compelling.

“And I also think it taps into… I don’t know about you, but I’ve been told that all my life – trust your gut.

“When you meet somebody and you fall in love, or you think you’ve fallen in love, or you get asked to do a job, trust your gut.

“But it turns out you can’t. Your gut can tell you absolutely nothing, you have no idea what you’re doing and other people are lying to us.”

It’s been three and a bit weeks since the first episode introduced us to a new batch of 22 contestants, with Claudia reminding them “you are sharing marmalade… with murderers” over breakfast.

Now, after 11 hours of strategy, suspicion and shocks, the series draws to a close.

In tonight’s final, the players contest the biggest mission yet in an attempt to give the prize fund one last boost, while the Faithfuls attempt to identify the Traitors before they nab all the cash.

After this evening’s nail-biting events, Ed Gamble presents his podcast show The Traitors: Uncloaked (BBC Two, 10.10pm), as the Faithfuls and Traitors who have been banished or murdered have their say.

Life isn’t going to be the same for Traitors fans when the show ends tonight.

But the good news is that a third run, complete with Claudia and the highly trained owl Barry, has already been announced, with applications for aspiring contestants now open.

The poster for the second season teased that ‘betrayal is back in season’, and it seems like the smash-hit show could be everyone’s winter treat for years.