Amol Rajan told The One Show his Celebrity Traitors exit was ‘absolutely horrible’ and said he would give Richard E. Grant less of a hard time if he could play again.
Rajan branded it a “moment of utter madness”, admitting that if he had his time again he would “definitely” handle things differently(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Broadcaster Amol Rajan has described it as “absolutely horrible” to become the first faithful booted off the new series of Celebrity Traitors, after giving “lord of chaos” actor Richard E Grant a tough ride.
The 43 year old journalist was eliminated by the traitors — Grant and TV presenter Maya Jama — during Friday’s episode of the popular BBC spin-off reality game show.
It followed his impassioned plea alongside fellow contestant and comedian James Acaster, who had secretly been recruited as the series’ third traitor.
Appearing on The One Show to discuss his departure from the Scottish castle, he said: “It’s absolutely horrible. It was horrible at the time. Just so people know when you are on The Traitors, it is your world. It’s not like a game, you are hundreds of miles from your family, you don’t have your phone, it’s so intense, it’s a little bubble.
“So as you walk into that chapel you are absolutely terrified.”
During the opening episode, which aired on Thursday, Grant sensationally revealed to his fellow contestants that he was a traitor just minutes into the competition.
The bombshell declaration left many faithfuls, Rajan included, deeply suspicious of the actor and debating whether he was bluffing or had genuinely exposed himself.
Rajan branded it a “moment of utter madness”, admitting that if he had his time again he would “definitely” handle things differently — including going easier on the “lord of chaos” himself. He said: “The one thing I would say is lots of people were giving him a hard time and I did get quite close to being recruited as a traitor.”
He also revealed that, as a journalist, he believes he was targeted due to expectations that he would ask probing questions. Rajan added: “The thing about the celebrity version, and it’s amazing TV, it’s just fantastic television, but on the celeb version people’s reputation walk in before they do.
“So I should have known I was going to be a target but I didn’t realise Richard would go quite that mad that quickly.”
Thursday’s episode made history as the most watched debut of any series of the programme in the UK, drawing an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and peaking at 9.1 million at one point.
In the smash-hit series, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, 21 celebrity contestants compete with those assigned as faithfuls attempting to root out those who have been designated as traitors, who “kill off” fellow players in the dead of night.
The celebrities are battling it out at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, with a charity cash prize of up to £100,000 up for grabs.
The Celebrity Traitors returns on BBC One and iPlayer on Thursday at 8pm.