Following weeks of suspense, plots and backstabbing, Celebrity Traitors has reached a thrilling finale

Warning: spoilers ahead - This piece discloses key moments from The Celebrity Traitors conclusion

Over the course of the show, audiences saw murders, double-crosses, serious side-eye, and a memorable moment that pierced all suspense.

However on Thursday night, the final winner of the inaugural celebrity edition was revealed.

From 19 contestants, just a handful remained: Deceivers and loyal players facing off for the winnings.

Soon, the field narrowed to only three contenders: the remaining contestants.

In the end, comedian Alan Carr emerged as the winner, in a shocking result that went viral 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 a traitor. "I'm an awful human being."

"You played amazingly," they comforted him. "It's all right."

Online platforms quickly erupted with this development. "Most awful traitor ever being the best traitor ever," commented a viewer.

"It couldn't have been a better conclusion," stated a different person, while a third called it "the television highlight of the year."

The organization he selected, a cancer charity, gets to keep the entire winnings, with the total amount amounting to eighty-seven thousand five hundred pounds.

Alan Carr's transformation from comic relief to strategic player was among the most memorable aspects of the series.

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

"The idea of Alan, of all people, pulling off an expert performance in deceit felt just as probable as him keeping a straight face through one of his own punchlines."

During follow-up conversations, fellow players explained why no one had ever really suspected him.

"Alan could have appeared to the morning meal in a green cloak and I still wouldn't have thought he was a traitor. His humor distracted me," one participant said.

"Most people didn't vote for him because how does one vote for someone who is so loveable?" questioned a different contestant.

Carr said he had "thoroughly enjoyed" his experience with the show.

"I want to do it again... I don't think it would work a second time!"

The final installment was extended to 70 minutes on the network. There was a different start than usual, as every celebrity were aware who'd make it at the morning gathering.

Viewers heard some very uplifting, and very un-Traitors-esque music, as the episode revisited key scenes from each of the finalists' experience in the game.

As ever, Alan Carr gave us some of the most memorable lines.

"Let's face it, I began the competition a bit of an anxious mess. I've betrayed close allies to save myself, I've murdered national treasures in plain sight. Apparently I'm more deceptive and traitor than I thought."

At the same time, another contestant commented that reaching the conclusion was "significantly more pressure than competing with England", while someone else said he was "completely amazed" to have made it so far.

In the beginning of the finale, several players seemed to be attempting to become the fashion standout of the competition, replacing the previously eliminated fashionable contestant.

The winner appeared at the morning meal resembling a vintage television personality in patterned burgundy attire, before changing into a bejewelled white suit.

However, he got out-jacketted by a fellow player's maroon velvet tuxedo. What a look.

Following this was the challenge, with the remaining contestants boarding a train named - naturally - The Traitors Express.

The challenge saw them ripping up images of eliminated players. Spare a thought for one participant who managed to get hit on the head multiple times by the lid of a heavy wooden box.

Before long, the moment arrived for the roundtable.

The deceivers did a pinky promise in advance, pledging to stick together. "We've come a long way, I won't betray him," stated one, while the other just giggled.

And one adhered to his promise. But, managing to stay under the radar for the majority of the competition, their partner still received the majority elimination votes.

The remaining traitor looked like to be experiencing significant distress to be the final deceiver remaining. "Being alone, I'm frightened," he said. "I'm unpredictable, a rudderless ship."

Social media and onlookers were similarly upset.

"I did NOT want that player to be banished. A truly loveable traitor," commented an observer.

"Your legacy will remain in Traitors history," wrote another user.

But there was little opportunity to focus on their elimination. Soon, they were at the endgame - which was the moment everyone anticipated.

The final four stood over the fire pit. And the alliance broke down, precisely when it was most crucial, in a truly WTF moment.

One contestant was eliminated in dramatic fashion - after a shock vote from their partner, who betrayed them.

"This pains me to be stabbed in the back at the final moment in that manner," said the eliminated player. Later, it was revealed that when they message, the betrayed player refers to the other by a betrayer's name.

Finally, just three players remained in the game: the last participants.

A contestant, appearing quite pleased, voted to end the game. So did a different player, and everything depended on the third, who made the identical choice - which meant that the traitor was the winner.

For observers, the scene where remaining contestants consoled the winner was "beautiful TV". "I predict it could be in the running for memorable moment at next year's awards," they said.

Fortunately, the champion soon recovered from his emotional outburst, and could finally appreciate his victory.

"What a rollercoaster. I thought I was terrible at deception, I had no poker face and here I am the champion," the winner said.

He also made light of that infamous murder - his close ally in an early episode - by leaning toward the host in the concluding moments and touching her cheek.

"There's something on your face," he said, with his characteristic laugh.

The last few weeks of famous people scheming, plotting and sometimes surprising incidents may seem like a bizarre fantasy. But it really did all happen. And we will miss it.