The wind that could save television! Why is the topic of celebrity traitors all about Alan Carr vs. Celia Imrie | television

I broke the wind and I broke the Internet. Last week on The Celebrity Traitors, the gothic drama of a creepy cabin mission was audibly interrupted. “What just happened?” asked host Claudia Winkelmann, struggling to maintain her composure. “I just farted,” actress Celia Imrie said sweetly. “I’m so sorry. It’s nerves – but I always admit it.”

All around her, her fellow celebrities were bursting into fits of laughter. It was immediately hailed as a contender for TV moment of the year. Pay attention, BAFTA, if you’re not too busy holding your nose. Deadline magazine reported that the viral spectacle “put some wind in the show’s ratings sails.”

As doom-mongers sound the death knell for traditional channels, talk shows like The Celebrity Traitors may help save terrestrial television. Supported by Gaz Emery, viewing figures rose to nearly 7 million live viewers and 11.7 million overall, making the current competition the most successful of the three ‘civic’ series. Half the Brits who watch TV at 9pm on Wednesday and Thursday are glued to what’s going on at Ardros Castle. They are two residents in particular that everyone talks about.

Traitor Alan and Faithful Celia battle for the undisputed MVP of the reality game. Sure, there are more lethal traitors (see the quiet killer Kat Burns) and more effective loyalists (see the two Joes), but it’s Carr and Emery who truly represent the box office.

Comedian Carr came out of the gate first, stealing the spotlight in the early episodes. When he felt a tap on Winkelmann’s shoulder to brand him a traitor, the bespectacled cult hero panicked. “I have a sweating problem and I can’t keep a secret,” he sobbed, immediately calling himself “the new Linda.” Tasked with killing on sight, he was left disoriented.

“It’s an extension of my acting skills,” he said. “I don’t know how Meryl Streep does it.” As he babbled nervously, clutched the roses and gave not-so-subtle winks, it was quite relatable. Carr was acting exactly how many of us would act if asked to commit a televised stunt. As one social media post noted, it’s as if your favorite wine-time aunt has suddenly become a working for MI5.

Since Carr coldly betrayed his true friend Paloma Faith, he has turned to his treacherous role. He slyly covered his tracks with a heartfelt eulogy at Faith’s grave and a series of sensational lies. He now relishes writing Death Order manuscripts, laughing: “I’ve tasted it now.” When the believer bemoaned the “murder” of Tom Daley, he shrugged: “Deal with it.” “Alan has become a killing machine,” said co-conspirator Jonathan Ross approvingly.

That green velvet cloak becomes him. As Richard Osman said last week on The Rest Is Entertainment: “Alan is like an accountant who accidentally becomes the boss of a mafia family. Everyone says, ‘He won’t be able to handle violence,’ and within a year, he’s killed everyone.”

Even in the midst of his killing spree, the quick-witted Carr has funny value. When Daly threw shade at Kate Garraway for using the word “distraught”, Carr told him: “You can’t call someone a traitor just because they have a better vocabulary than you.” When Ross donned a leopard-print cardigan, Carr asked him if he’d come dressed as the Flintstones and muttered: “Yabba-dabba-don’t.” “If Kate didn’t come to breakfast, people would assume she went into the broom cupboard by mistake,” he said of the vulgar Garraway. During a wailing mission in the woods, he says of one of the throaty lusts: “She needs to suck the hunter’s friend.”

This one-man meme machine has already produced his own merch. After the start of the “Carr Incident” on his mission at the secret traitors’ meeting, the comedian narrowly escapes suspicion, using the main character’s wicked sense of humor and charisma to turn the tide in his favor. The laughing, talkative Alan simply couldn’t be guilty… could he? Carr saw his chances of winning dwindle. He is now among the bookmakers’ favorites to win.

Meanwhile, Emre wins hearts and minds as the grand stateswoman and eccentric of the castle. Aside from the impeccable comic timing of her flatulence, she’s a total hoot. When her team had to cry in a forest well for the final mission, Emery’s incoherent screams continued longer than was comfortable, sending her teammates into hysterics.

She dropped a vague reference to “pussy mode,” only to be met with blank stares all around. Emery somehow kept a straight face while explaining that she was quoting the children’s song Ding Dong Bell. Upon her return to the castle, she decided to do some amateur investigation, and proudly announced: “I will snoop and listen to other people’s conversations.” “Did you know you’re not supposed to tell people when you’re snooping?” Carr noted.

The pair have truly become soulmates and sparring partners. While playing badminton in the castle grounds, Carr shouted: “Celia, we need a little wind to get the shuttlecock over the net.” “Oh shut up,” she responded angrily. In the usually coy roundtable encounters, they keep laughing at each other, completely running the tension thin.

Unfiltered and mischievous, the 73-year-old makes for fascinating viewing. If Carr is ascending to national treasure status, Emery, a veteran of theater and film, is already there. On the same episode of The Rest Is Entertainment, Marina Hyde told Usman that Thursday’s Murder Club star Emery was a lesson in never undervaluing older people. “It’s a walking marketing campaign for the world you’ve created,” Hyde said.

The other players had their moments – Nick Muhammad with his mastery of puzzles, Daly with his graveside side eye, Ruth Codd with her anti-Ross rants (“Don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s raining”) – but Carr and Emery were always the most entertaining.

The unlikely spy duo of rugby player Joe Marler and comedian Joe Wilkinson recently formulated their ‘Big Dog Theory’, speculating that Ross and Stephen Fry are alpha stars. They assumed that one would be the de facto leader of the Faithful and the other of the Traitors, and they would compete against each other in a VIP death match. Combined with the growing doubts surrounding Ross, it means Carr could soon become the best player in the Tower. At this point all bets will be off.

Against all odds, Spexy Beast and Pooper Snooper are the comedic double act the nation never knew it needed. If Carr chooses to recruit Emery to the dark side, it would be pure TV gold. Total gas, you might say.