The Traitors: Wilfred and Kieran are rooted out in BBC One finale

The BBC's hit reality series The Traitors concluded on Thursday, with faithfuls Aaron, Hannah and Meryl splitting the £101,050 prize money.

The trio rooted out the final traitor, Wilfred, after his fellow traitor Kieran planted suspicion about him.

As a "parting gift" for being banished from the castle, Kieran encouraged the remaining players to look towards Wilf.

For three weeks, over 12 episodes, "faithful" contestants tried to work out who were the chosen "traitors".

The traitors "murdered" one of their fellow competitors each night. If a secret traitor remained at the end of the game then they would have scooped the money.

"I'm so happy for you," a tearful Wilf told the winners, having kept his traitor identity hidden since episode one.

Aaron, Wilf, Hannah, Meryl and Kieran were the final five in the new reality show

"I've found it really hard and I've had to fight. The more I've got to know you guys... I've had to try and steal money from you... It's really hard."

The faithfuls were stunned, especially Hannah who was blindsided by any suggestion throughout the show (mainly from Maddy) that Wilf was a traitor.

Earlier, Wilf had convinced the group to banish (vote out) Kieran, who he'd converted from a faithful.

The Guardian described the final as "so thrilling your heart won't stop hammering in your chest", giving it five stars.

"And of course, there are tears - so many tears - this time even from Claudia," wrote Alim Kheraj.

• How The Traitors became a word-of-mouth sleeper hit

• What happens when the castle cameras stop rolling?

An average overnight audience of 3.3 million watched the finale, overnight ratings show.

That figure does not include catch-up viewing. A significant number of viewers have been watching the show on iPlayer.

Host Claudia Winkleman has been praised for her enthusiasm for the contestants as well as her one-liners throughout the series.

She announced the final five will appear on her Radio 2 show on Saturday morning.

As he explained in the Scottish Highlands castle, 24-year-old Aaron will be using some of his winning money towards a deposit for his Mum's house, while 25-year-old Meryl will use it to go travelling.

"I can't put into words... I can't quite believe what's happened," Hannah, 32, told the cameras after finding out she was part of the winning team.

On Tuesday's programme Will gave Kieran an ultimatum, which became his downfall, by asking him to come on-board as a traitor, as replacement for Alyssa and Amanda who'd been banished, or he would be murdered.

Hannah, Aaron, Meryl and Will tell Claudia (centre) if they'd like to end the game or banish one more player

The faithfuls worked out on Thursday's final there was at least one traitor still amongst them and Wilf had planted the seed it was Kieran, who was then banished. His vote went to Wilf as he hinted to Hannah, through facial expressions, there was still a traitor in the group.

"I would never do it again," Wilf laughed on Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James on Friday. "The best thing I did was lose. I don't think I could have lived with the guilt in the end."

He also explained he prefers Will and wasn't known as Wilf until the show - but it's the name of Hannah's dog so the name stuck.

The BBC hasn't confirmed if there will be a second series but Winkleman told Radio 4's Today programme she'd love to host it again.