It was a very big night on BBC One.
The BBC started 2026 with a bang, as its New Year's Day line-up featured two big returning shows - The Traitors and The Night Manager.
Now, the overnight ratings are in, with The Traitors seeing a particularly strong viewership. As reported by Deadline, an average of 6.4 million overnight viewers tuned in, with a peak audience of nearly 7 million watching the season 4 premiere.
This means that the episode was watched by substantially more viewers than the season 3 premiere, and around the same number that tuned into the debut episode of The Celebrity Traitors.
Meanwhile, The Night Manager season 2 premiere was watched by an average of 3.3 million viewers and a peak of 3.8 million viewers, a steep decline in comparison to the season 1 premiere, which aired back in 2016 and was watched by 6 million overnight viewers.
However, it should be noted that none of these figures include viewers catching up with the series on iPlayer. The first two episodes of The Night Manager were made available on the platform earlier in the day. It is also a show viewers are perhaps likely to be less worried about getting spoiled than The Traitors, so there is less incentive to watch it immediately as it goes out.
We will get a better sense of how both series are faring in the ratings as weeks progress and consolidated figures are confirmed.
The first episode of The Traitors season 4 saw a big new twist being introduced to the show's format, in the form of a secret traitor, unknown to anyone, even the viewers.
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Meanwhile, the first episode of The Night Manager season 2 reintroduced viewers to Tom Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine, while new characters including Camila Morrone's Roxana Bolaños and Diego Calva's Teddy Dos Santos made their debuts.
The Traitors season 4 continues on Friday 2nd January at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The Night Manager season 2 continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Sundays at 9pm.
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James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
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