The Traitors: Aubrey is the first participant to be KILLED before a surprise banishment leaves the group reeling

The first two hopefuls to be eliminated from The Traitors 2023 have been revealed after a murder and banishment in quick succession left the remaining contestants reeling.

Aubrey Emerson was the first victim claimed by the four traitors after they noticed he already “had suspicions” about who might be hiding in one of the sinister cloaks.

The second episode, which aired Thursday night, also revealed that Miles Asteri was chosen as the fourth traitor, joining forces with the group to decide which participant to kill.

While the group debated whether to choose Diane Carson or Sonja, they ultimately chose Aubre.

Miles noted, “Aubrey is watching from a distance, he's been in the game plan since day one,” and Harry agreed, “This is what we don't want, the separate groups.”

“The message we should try to send is that no one is safe. I don't think anyone would suspect us of saying Aubrey, which would take him out of our minds.”

When Aubrey received the letter informing him that he had been killed, he said, “I think I was killed because I was too observant, I was a threat to The Traitors and they could see it. If I say what I see, they have made a big mistake.'

Some viewers admitted they were disappointed that Aubrey had been eliminated from the competition at such an early stage, although it was quickly predicted that he could make a sensational return.

One tweeted: “Absolutely groaning at Aubrey who repeatedly told everyone how observant he is and The Traitors promptly sent him home straight away #TheTraitors.”

Another added: 'Aubrey's final words, 'They've made a big mistake' make me think he'll be back somehow, just like the first two shock evictions at the start of the first series. You heard it here first!'

While the group agreed that the murder made things feel a lot more “real,” it was the first roundtable of the series that really shocked the group.

From the start, several loyalists shared their suspicions that Sonja was a traitor, with Ross accusing her of “stirring” while Miles admitted her recent comments seemed like a “distraction.”

Traitor Ash recalled a conversation over breakfast when Sonja abruptly asked if she was a traitor.

When he received the letter he said: 'I think I was killed because I was too observant, I was a threat to The Traitors and they could see it. I say what I see, they made a big mistake'

Some viewers admitted they were disappointed that Aubrey was eliminated at such an early stage, although it was quickly predicted that he could make a sensational return.

After arousing suspicion with her confrontational behavior, Sonja was the first to be banned from the game after a tense round table.

While Diane and Anthony caught the group's attention with their own tactical behavior, Sonja received an overwhelming majority with 15 votes, meaning she was banished from the game.

On her way out, gasps filled the room as Sonja confirmed that she was a Faithful and said, “Well, guys, facts are important to me, just like they are to you, so here's a fact I'd like to confirm to you , and that is: that I am a believer.'

It comes after the opening episode attracted a whopping 3.1 million viewers when it returned to the BBC on Wednesday evening.

The show, which aired from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., peaked with about 3.1 million viewers, according to data from overnights.tv.

The numbers are likely to rise further on iPlayer in the coming days as many who watched live could have instead tuned in to watch the PDC World Darts Championship featuring phenom Luke Littler.

It's a significant increase on viewership of last year's opening episode, which attracted 2.9 million viewers.

The opening episode of series two also received the second highest rating to date for the show overall – only slightly behind the series one finale.

That finale was watched by 3.3 million people as the show came to a dramatic conclusion.

The highly anticipated series returned to screens on Wednesday evening with Claudia Winkleman as presenter for a second series.

Fans were already in an uproar after having to choose what to watch between The Traitors and the World Darts Championship final.

The Traitors continues on Friday at 9pm on BBC One. The third episode can already be viewed on BBC iPlayer.