It’s already shaping up to be a classic series of The Traitors, and two episodes into the inaugural celebrity edition we have seen our first murder, a pantomime funeral in the rain and three quarters of a round table.

With poor Paloma Faith dead and buried at the hands of the dastardly Alan Carr (he even gave her eulogy at the graveside), we left the castlemates as they attempted to banish a traitor at the first round table. Despite a characteristically cerebral introduction to the affair from Stephen Fry in full judge mode, the faithful are barking up the wrong tree, with Kate, Niko and Tameka in the firing line and barely a mention of a real traitor.

We’ll have to wait until Wednesday to find out who gets banished, but as it stands we have still got 18 players to assess, so we better get on with ranking them after two shows.

Rating: 9.4

The less well-known of the treacherous three is playing a blinder. While in the first episode we learnt she has a sinister side and may be prepared to turn on her traitor pals if they underestimate her, in the second episode she’s kept her head down. She’s happy to stir the pot when there’s an obvious opportunity and has managed to misdirect at the round table, but not in a way that’s brought any heat on herself. She’s definitely one to watch as the bigger personalities of Alan and Jonathan inevitably end up under more scrutiny.

Rating: 9.2

What just happened, Alan? He had the chance to kill Ruth or his self-proclaimed best friend Paloma in the kitchen, and he chose Paloma to rub with pollen. A moment of panic? Did he feel it was easier to touch the face of someone he already knows? Or is he a calculating genius who thinks that no one would suspect him of killing his pal? It was his choice and he acted alone, even surprising his fellow traitors with his pick. Alan is still sweating and drinking, which is not only providing endless entertainment for the audience, but good cover with the players. But there is suspicion. “It was a stretch for my acting ability, I don’t know how Meryl Streep does it,” Alan said of his performance round the Paloma killing. He needs to be careful not to overact — and to not wink at his fellow traitors after committing a murder. There are some who are becoming suspicious (in fact, several people got within a whisker of connecting Alan to the murder), but he can see that off if he keeps being himself. We want Alan to go far because he’s such fun to watch.

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Rating: 9.1

He’s clearly the smartest person in the room, and his calm and sensible approach to problem-solving and bringing the group together rather than dividing them is making Stephen the father of the castle. His speech about data at the beginning of the round table solidified his position as an honest broker and team player whom no one should fear, but everyone should respect. As a faithful, he is clearly a great asset to the “side of the angels’ that he wanted to serve, but at some point surely his intellect might be seen as a platform for game-playing? At the moment, however, that change in sentiment seems far away, and Stephen looks to be in a strong position.

Rating: 9.1

After a second episode there’s no reason to change my view that Imrie will prosper in this contest. She has the respect of the faithful and, despite clearly being clever and capable of plotting, doesn’t seem to be under any sort of suspicion. Throughout the opening episodes, the actress appeared out of a puff of smoke whenever there was a need for punctuation in proceedings, often to prick pomposity or point the finger of blame. “But you could all be lying,” she said in the lounge as Jonathan tried to misdirect the audience, and “Blah, blah, blah,” she exclaimed when she was described as a world-class actor. A one woman lie-detecting machine with eyes in the back of her head, she is the faithful that every traitor should fear — and she’s got the one-liners to back up her suspicions.

Rating: 8.5

Jonathan needs to watch himself with the overacting. He’s a big character and a lot of eyes will be on him (not least because of his out-there wardrobe choices). In the breakfast room when everyone survived, he was very vocal — his proclamation to “avenge Paloma’s death” and asking Alan to say a few words at the funeral could come back to bite him. As the de facto leader of the traitors, he didn’t manage to take control of the pollen plot, leaving poor Alan to kill indiscriminately. Could this lack of leadership leave cracks in their partnership that could lead to mistakes — or revolts? He’s not really in the frame as a traitor, but that could change if he keeps being so loud at the big moments.

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Rating: 8.3

Tom is shaping up to be a big character in this series. He’s cast off the smiling, knitting diver persona to take on the part of arch traitor-hunter. He spends almost every moment of his screen time trying to work out who the traitors are and making accusations. While we know he’s a team player after the Trojan horse challenge, this could go one of two ways. Either he starts to win the trust of his castlemates as an uber-faithful, or his accusations could end up making him look suspicious in the eyes of the remaining players. He has the trust of the group, but could that pendulum shift?

Rating: 8.2

We saw a bit more of Joe in episode two, but we’re still looking forward to expanded screen time from the funnyman. His matter-of-fact style and self-proclaimed status of “sheep” make him non-threatening to faithful and the traitors alike. He’s got all the credentials required to make it through week after week of the programme, which we all hope he does since he’s going to be great value.

Rating: 7.8

The EastEnders actress was prominent in episode two, especially in the round table when Mark Bonnar accused her of treachery. Her reaction was characteristically big and bold, which is consistent with her behaviour so far in the game, but could also make her look like she has something to hide. There’s not a groundswell of suspicion round her at this stage, so if she can see off this first wave of accusations, she could become a very important player as the game develops.

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Rating: 7.7

While Lucy didn’t see much action in episode one, her starring role as one of the coffin folk at Paloma’s funeral in episode two allowed her a bit more screen time. She is disarmingly funny and plays dumb, which also means she’s not under suspicion. Clearly Lucy knows exactly how to progress in this game, and if she keeps up her performance, we could be seeing her make the final stages.

Rating: 7.6

The former rugby star has been a fun and amiable member of the castle community, and no one wishes him ill at this stage. He showed his brawn in the Trojan horse task and has done a good job of bedding in as a reliable faithful in episode two. No one suspects Joe … well, apart from Celia, but she suspects everyone.

Rating: 6.9

After digging Celia’s grave and puzzle-solving in the first episode, Nick took more of a back seat in episode two. Although he briefly ended up in a coffin by accident, he wasn’t hugely vocal in the run-up to the first roundtable. He’s learning, which will work to his advantage. We know he needs to keep Celia off his back (don’t they all?) so maybe a bit of quiet time will help the attack dogs move elsewhere.

Rating: 6.8

After a first episode of not doing or saying too much (that’s a great strategy), Mark raised his head above the parapet at the round table in episode two, admitting that he had been watching everyone’s body language at Paloma’s funeral. His conclusion was that Tameka had been acting strangely, but in saying what he said, he has made himself look like more of a player. Not only has he annoyed Tameka, others will have noticed him — and when people notice you they start to see suspicious activity that isn’t there. Beware, Mark.

Rating: 6.7

Ruth was part of the most tense and exciting moment of the show so far, but she didn’t know how close to being murdered she came. As the only person in the room as Alan killed Paloma, she is potentially a key witness who could place the blame at Alan’s door — but did she notice anything suspicious? Ruth remains a relatively low-profile character at this stage, which will serve her well as the group establishes an order. But could she be in danger if the traitors realise the information she has about the murder of Paloma?

Rating: 6.5

David has remained relatively quiet during the first two episodes, theorising a little more in the second show and aligning himself with the side of reason and calm rather than chaotic accusation. He’s definitely sussing people out, but will he break cover and make accusations at the right time to catch a traitor, or end up looking guilty himself?

Rating: 6.3

Charlotte began the show by digging her own grave in a white dress (everyone knows you do that in black), but this wasn’t the big mistake — that was to come later when she gave her shield away to unlock the gate. Clare’s combination catastrophe meant that someone had to give up a shield to continue the challenge. While some thought this might make Charlotte a traitor, the act of kindness so far hasn’t been punished at the round table, so perhaps all will be well in Charlotte’s world?

Rating: 5.4

Clare bounced back a little from her disastrous combination-lock cock-up in the Trojan horse task. She’s taken a breath and composed herself, and allowed the witch hunt round Kate and Niko to rage on while the heat moves away from her. Luckily, the arch traitor-hunter Tom has a new agenda in Kate, so for now Clare can keep calm and carry on and try to rebuild some trust in the castle.

Rating: 3.6

Niko is in real strife and he knows it. This has led him to publicly plead his case in advance of the round table. Although he has seemingly convinced Celia that it would be madness to put himself in the spotlight in a coffin during the funeral, not everyone agrees. Stephen has had his suspicions about Niko from early on and, since he is the respected elder statesman of the group, some seem to be following his lead. Niko may survive this first round table, but it’s unclear what his strategy is to win back the trust of the group and not end up back in the firing line — and the traitors will do all they can to make him look guilty.

Rating: 3.4

She’s in all sorts of trouble despite being a faithful. Behaviour that Kate puts down to being “an old ham” has been interpreted by many of the eagle-eyed players as overacting to disguise her real traitor status. Tom has been leading the charge for a while in the anti-Kate movement and he’s joined by Tameka at the round table. Kate’s reaction to the interrogation made her look more guilty even though she’s not. The Traitors is a cruel game, and it’s hard to see how she’ll survive to see another night in the castle.

• Paloma Faith

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