Maya Jama could be about to exit The Celebrity Traitors after making a plan for the latest murder game and viewers of the BBC show think she has been ‘too obvious’ with her tactics
Fans think Maya Jama could be about to be banished from the castle(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative)
Maya Jama could be about to exit The Celebrity Traitors after being “too obvious” in front of a Faithful.
The Love Island host, 30, is currently taking part in the hit BBC game show as a Traitor fronted by Claudia Winkleman and in Friday night’s episode, she had to join in with a yawning game. The challenge, which left all three of the Traitors feeling the pressure, was to get either of Faithfuls, Jerry Hall or Ross Kemp, to yawn in a specific room after spraying some “deadly sleeping powder” from a perfume bottle, which would be breathed in.
Reading out the instructions in disbelief, comedian James Acaster said: “To seal the murder you must then say, ’Am I boring you?’ – followed by the victim’s name. I can’t believe this.”
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Viewers will have to wait until next Thursday to find out who will be leaving the castle for good, but fans think that Maya could be up for the chop after making the apparent mistake of inviting EastEnders legend Ross into the mix, having decided that the only way to instigate the murder was to start up some contagious yawning.
But many viewers think this strategy will backfire on Maya, as her pretend yawning was deemed “too obvious” and think she could be rumbled as a Traitor immediately if not careful.
One person wrote on X: “Ross Kemp was the last person the Traitors should have encouraged into the room. He will be all over this ‘murder in plain sight’. Captain’s hat anyone?” A third wrote: “Ross clocking Maya’s GCSE drama yawning.” A fourth said: “So you’re telling me Ross was freaking out about every possible evidence of murder at the beginning and now he’s sitting in a room full of yawning traitors, possibly not suspecting a thing.”
A fifth added: “This yawning task is too obvious in front of Ross Kemp.” Another wrote: “Maya Jama’s yawning was more obvious than Richard E Grant saying he was a traitor.”
Meanwhile, Clare Balding, who competed on the first series, said she thinks the best thing for the Traitors is if Ross yawns. Believe me, if Jerry yawns and Jerry goes, Ross will notice,” she said on Uncloaked.
However, other fans had just taken umbrage with the fact they will now have to wait to find out what happens next. One fan said: “NOOOOOOOOOOOO You cant leave on that cliffhanger, the producers are just geniuses. I think the Traitors FAILED to Get them to yawn in the Time…. AND they will be punished in some way IMO!!”
Another wrote: “10 million people are now going to have a tense wait of 6 days to find out whether Ross Kemp or Jerry Hall yawn first. Now thats a TV cliffhanger.”
There is now a six day wait to find out if Ross Kemp or Jerry Hall has been murdered – or if the Traitors failed.
21:03, 16 Oct 2026Updated 21:17, 16 Oct 2026
Maya was yawning like crazy in a bid to make a Faithful join in
Celebrity Traitors fans now have a tense wait to discover whether Ross Kemp or Jerry Hall will seal their own fate by yawning in the castle – or if the turret trio will fail their challenge to kill in plain sight.
In the UK game, the Traitors have never faltered at this before, but it has happened in international versions including in Denmark and Canada, when it was felt too many people were present to carry out the task – set by producers – without being caught.
If Maya Jama, James Acaster and Kenny Ojuederie do fail, their punishment would come in the form of a missed murder, meaning everyone arrives at breakfast the following morning and wonders what happened.
Jerry, 70, did say she was feeling tired during last night’s programme but did not respond to the many yawns made by Maya and James, which normally prompt a copycat response.
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If Ross succumbs, it could be seen as a fitting end to his time in the castle after he spent the whole of the first day convinced he’d been murdered in plain sight by first Bella Ramsey and then Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
Jerry – voted as the player whose head was most in the clouds during the latest mission – would be greatly missed for her eccentric ways, while Ross’s huge contribution to the missions would also be a sad loss for the whole team.
In last night’s show the ex-EastEnder, 62, said he felt angry with the Traitors for repeatedly setting him up and making the other Faithful feel suspicious of him.
But this time he and Jerry have been selected entirely at random, in the same way that Paloma Faith became Alan Carr’s first kill last year, even though she was one of his best pals.
The challenge, which left all three of the Traitors feeling the pressure, was to get any of the Faithful to yawn in a specific room after spraying some “deadly sleeping powder” from a perfume bottle, which would be breathed in.
Reading out the instructions in disbelief, comedian James said: “To seal the murder you must then say, ’Am I boring you?’ – followed by the victim’s name. I can’t believe this.” Viewers won’t discover the outcome until next Thursday’s episode at 8pm on BBC1.
Joe Lycett was voted off after telling the Faithful he was desperate to become a Traitor, admitting afterwards ‘I’ve done this to myself’
21:07, 16 Oct 2026Updated 21:08, 16 Oct 2026
Joe was the architect of his own downfall – and he knows it
Banished Faithful Joe Lycett was so desperate for a green cloak that after being voted out of The Celebrity Traitors he called for a rule change allowing dumped players to return as baddies.
His exit last night came after he loudly proclaimed he wanted to be recruited into the turret – which didn’t happen – but nobody believed him when he truthfully announced his disappointment the next morning.
“I’d like to motivate the Traitors to find an unknown clause in the contract that can bring back a Faithful that’s been banished to recruit because I’m there if they want me,” he laughed.
The comedian, 38, received 11 of the 14 votes after what seemed like a big slip-up at the round table in which he said that if he went, the Traitors would need to recruit again. Afterwards he acknowledged that he only had himself to blame. “I sort of didn’t play being a Faithful or a Traitor right. I tried to straddle both, and I was being greedy and I was rightly punished for it.
“I’m a silly billy – it was a combination of me begging for recruitment and then the Faithful being thick as mince. I concede I’ve done this very much to myself, but I was too hungry to be recruited. And you know, if being passionate is a crime, then banish me from the castle.”
Joe, who was instrumental in exposing Richard E Grant as a Traitor by asking him what he was on the first day, said the experience of being kept separate from friends and family during filming had been enjoyable. Asked to explain what he’d learned about himself by taking part in the game, he said: “The word that comes to mind for this whole experience is gratitude. It’s made me really grateful for my life. I’m really grateful that I am in a position that I get to experience this, because I’m famous enough to be in the mix. I loved having my phone taken away from me, and I’m really grateful for the fact that I have a lovely life to miss.”
Admitting that the game was sometimes “infuriating”, but also “joyous and thrilling”, Joe said he thinks the most likely winner is Romesh Ranganathan. “I think Romesh is a front runner,” he said. “I think he’s kind of unreadable but may get heat just on that basis. Then I think there could be a real curve ball, like Jerry or Joanne, someone who’s playing it in a way that’s out there.”
But he said it was hard to stick to strategies when you were inside the castle. “I’ve gone to Round Tables not knowing who I was going to vote for, and I don’t know who’s a Traitor – any of them could win at this stage.”
Miranda Hart formed such a close bond with Joe during their time filming together that she wept when he left – having refused to put his name on her slate and writing Ross instead. During the programme she explained: “Three or four years ago, due to illness, I thought that I might not ever have a gentle walk around a park again. Now I find myself on a Scottish Highland wheelbarrowing along a very large head. It’s really exciting.”
Miranda, 53, has been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome for many years, which she believes was caused by having Lyme disease as a teenager. Having recently recovered enough to sign up for the programme, she has joined in with the missions wholeheartedly. In last night’s effort she grew tired carrying the statue parts at one point so swapped to transport a giant head in a wheelbarrow towards the plinth where it could be erected on top of its body, earning money for the prize pot. The current fund stands at £46,000, after the players successfully constructed five out of the six statues.
The comedy star tearfully told James Acaster that having fun outside with Joe had made her feel the happiest she’d felt in a long time. “I can’t believe how emotional I’m getting,” she said, as the floodgates opened. “Connection and laughter and joy are bigger than this game and to meet someone and to just play and laugh, it’s all us humans need.”
The good news is that she is proving so popular in the castle that many fans are calling for a return of her BBC sitcom Miranda, which last aired with a Christmas special in 2015. Another suggestion is that she stars in a different show. “A Miranda detective series like Jonathan Creek would be… such fun!” one fan said.
Joe felt that he would miss her too. “Miranda is someone that I’ve met briefly in the past and I’ve always loved. I’m really pleased that I got a chance to play with her, do some sort of an improv, essentially, and kind of mess about. I got very close with her.”
He said that – against his expectations – he’d got on well with everyone. “I really, really liked them all – and didn’t expect to when I saw the lineup. I thought, well, there’s going to be some people I’m going to find difficult, or are divas or whatever. And the reality was completely different.”
Joe’s high point came right at the start when he asked the question that sparked Richard E Grant’s astonishing outburst. The comic said he was glad he hadn’t been persuaded to ignore it. “I know lots of people tried to steer me away from it, but I was like, there’s no game around that, he absolutely meant it when he said it to me. God knows what was going through his head. It was an absolutely superb, classic, Richard E. Grant way of responding to this game. It’s one of the most iconic performances I’ve ever seen.”
Miranda Hart broke down in tears on the latest episode of Celebrity Traitors following the exit of Joe Lycett and spoke candidly of the connection they had struck up following her illness
21:27, 16 Oct 2026Updated 21:27, 16 Oct 2026
Miranda Hart broke down in tears on the latest episode of Celebrity Traitors(Image: BBC)
The comedienne, 53, had a hugely successful career in the 2010s with her eponymous sitcom but had to take time out of the spotlight after struggling with chronic fatigue. She had struck up such a close bond with fellow Faithful Joe that when he was banished from the castle, she was visibly moved.
She said: “I can’t believe how emotional I’m getting. Wow. Connection and laughter and joy are bigger than this game and to meet someone and just play and laugh – it’s all us humans need.
“I’ve had times in my life when I haven’t had that through illness and it’s brought up that in a silly sensitive soul.”
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Speaking to Traitor James Acaster, who comforted her with a hug, she said: “I haven’t played like that in so long. The floodgates just opened i guess, it suddenly wasn’t about a silly Faithful or Traitor.”
The TV star previously told how she had suffered a “tick-borne illness” while living in the USA as a teenager. At one point, she was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, before eventually being diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2020.
She said: “My decision making in life generally, and certainly work, is follow the joy. I haven’t done much TV work for a long time, having only recently come out of long-term ill health issues and when I was offered this, my whole body sort of relaxed, I smiled, and I just wanted to jump about like a schoolgirl with joy.
“It’s just fun. It’s outdoors, it’s games. All the stuff I love. It’s play basically. And I’m passionate about encouraging people to play more generally, and this game is that in spades.
“It’s a brilliant television show – the only flaw in taking part is that as a fan of the show it will be less fun to watch it with myself in it!”
Despite her new lease of life, the former Call the Midwife star, who secretly got married in late 2024, is still living with elements of her illness and is struggling to a point but has been able to manage her symptoms and insisted she felt well enough to join Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC game show.
She added: “I’m still living with elements of ME, and that brings fatigue and pain to manage, but I have come to a point where I feel well enough to step out, and that’s also partly why I’m doing this.
“The joy of mucking about on television again will hopefully outweigh some of the challenges. And I think it will be challenging on my body, so it’ll be interesting, and it’ll take some courage as this is a big next step.
“When you live with a chronic illness, it’s invisible, so people don’t know that you’re sitting there in pain. But then it reminds you that everybody’s got their thing. So, I’m also really looking forward to making friends and looking after each other and hopefully they can carry me up a hill or whatever we’re going to have to do!”
Banished Traitors star Hannah Fry revealed she is actually related to one of her co-stars and shared her true opinions of them after leaving Ardross Castle
Hannah Fry was banished from the Traitors castle(Image: BBC)
The aim of the game is for faithfuls to hunt out the Traitors, but for one contestant, they discovered more than they bargained for in the latest series of Celebrity Traitors.
Recently ousted traitor Hannah Fry was part of the group of famous faces battling it out to bag a big lump sum for charity in the second celeb offering of the BBC show.
Thursday’s episode of the saw Hannah feel the force as fellow Traitors Maya Jama and James Acaster turned on her in a bid to save themselves. The mathematician and author, 42, discovered she is related to one of her co-stars.
When she was asked who she was closest to in the Ardross Castle, Hannah said: “I really like Joanne. We actually discovered that we’re cousins, by marriage. So her cousin is married to my cousin.”
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She then joked: “We’re basically sisters. I really loved her so much. She described herself as how she came out of the womb as a show pony.
“That’s the perfect description of that woman. She is phenomenal. She knows exactly who she is, and she is totally unapologetic about it. I cannot tell you how much I admire her. She’s phenomenal.”
In the same episode as Hannah being banished, comedian Rob Beckett was also murdered. He admitted he found being murdered funny. but Hannah she’d cried more during her five days of playing the game than at any other point in her life.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of her leaving the castle, she said she found the whole experience a rollercoaster of emotions. Hannah said: “I laughed more, cried more and got more excited than I ever have in the entirety of the rest of my life combined.
“I really preferred being Faithful. I think it’s just a much more authentic experience.” She went on to say hat one of the lessons learned was that she hated “lying to people’s faces”.
She continued: “I think there’s actually some pride in being a rubbish Traitor.” And she admitted she knew she wasn’t destined to last long in the game.
“On the first day, I asked Michael Sheen who he would murder, and he said, ‘You’. At that point I knew I was really in trouble,” she said.
Rob’s murder left all the Faithful confused while banished Hannah admitted her spreadsheets hadn’t helped her as a Traitor
Beckett’s kicked the bucket – as Claudia described his murder
While comedian Rob Beckett found being murdered funny in The Celebrity Traitors, Professor Hannah Fry said she’d cried more during her five days of playing the game than at any other point in her life.
Hannah was banished at the round table last night with 12 of the 15 remaining players writing her name on the slate – giving them a landslide 80% victory. Speaking straight after leaving the castle, she admitted that she’d found her time there to be a rollercoaster of emotions. “I laughed more, cried more and got more excited than I ever have in the entirety of the rest of my life combined,” she explained.
“I really preferred being Faithful. I think it’s just a much more authentic experience,” she added, saying that one of the lessons learned was that she hated “lying to people’s faces”. “I think there’s actually some pride in being a rubbish Traitor.”
The maths guru, who has two daughters aged eight and six with her ex-husband, said that being a Traitor had been far harder than playing as a Faithful – which is what she’d gone into the game to do. “One of the reasons why I didn’t want to be a Traitor is because the only way your game ends is by being banished or winning – having people vote for you and having heat on you is part of the role of being a Traitor.”
Hannah confessed she’d avoided voting for Julie Hesmondhalgh out of guilt because the actress was “lovely” and had instead gone for Jerry Hall as “the one person on that whole table who could handle being voted for”.
The 42-year-old said she always knew she might not last long in the game. “On the first day, I asked Michael Sheen who he would murder, and he said, ‘You’. At that point I knew I was really in trouble.”
And the BBC presenter also confessed that getting the roman numerals right in her final mission – to help with the group £8,000 – had been far tougher than it looked. “I knew that everyone was going to expect me to be the one to solve it, but I think people have this image in their heads that mathematicians just sit around thinking of big numbers all day – it couldn’t be further from the truth. I haven’t used a number since I was about 16, I’m all about the x’s and y’s.”
Along with the trickier moments, there was also some highs. “Killing Rob Beckett was one of the best evenings I’ve had in my entire life,” she laughed. “I was running through the woods in the middle of the night, opening the door to Rob’s face. It was delightful.”
Speaking after being killed face-to-face with the traitors, dad-of-two Rob said that he cared less about the game and more about the juicy stories the other celebs were sharing in the castle. “What I loved most was meeting everyone and talking to them,” he explained. “When you have Michael Sheen, Richard E . Grant, Jerry Hall, James Blunt, I don’t care who’s a Traitor. Give me the anecdotes, I want the gossip. So everyone was going back to the hotel writing ideas of who it might be in their notepad, and I’ve got a notepad full of anecdotes that they told me that can only get wheeled out when I’m drunk at a party.”
When The Traitors arrived as his crypt to tell him he’d been murdered, he responded jovially: “Thank you very much James Acaster!” But he did say he expected comedy sidekick Romesh Ranganathan to “avenge my death”.
Rob, 40, reckoned the only Traitor he’d potentially identified at the start was Richard E Grant – so was “gutted” when the actor blurted it out. But the funnyman realised too late how James Acaster had been giving him a wide berth. “I gave James the benefit of the doubt because he desperately wanted to be a Faithful, but then that’s the oldest trick in the book, saying that. He had been really quiet, and on reflection, he’d avoided me a lot which makes sense, because I know him quite well. And then Maya Jama does not change her personality, whatever’s happening. So she’s going to be a great Traitor, I think she could win it.”
Confessing he was happy to go home because he’d been missing his kids, aged eight and 10, Rob said his highlight in the castle has been hitting it off with Jerry Hall. “I love her. She’s got such an amazing energy. She’s just so chilled. We just floated on together. She tells me her life motto probably every eight minutes, and that is ‘what will be, will be’.”
He now wants Jerry, 70, to win – along with his close pal Romesh. “Jerry Hall’s my pick, a rank outsider, but she’s my pick. The ultimate finale would be Leigh-Anne, Jerry and Romesh staring down Acaster. Three on one and they take his sorry ass to the cleaners.”
He believes his relaxed way of playing the game far outweighs the high-pressure path that Hannah had been forced down. ”I’d say, don’t stress yourself about it. All the money goes to charity. Have a good time for a long time.”
One of the surprising things Hannah discovered in The Celebrity Traitors was that she is actually related to Irish comedian Joanne McNally because their cousins are married. “We’re basically sisters,” she laughed. “I really loved her so much. She described herself as coming out of the womb as a show pony – that’s the perfect description of that woman. She is phenomenal. She knows exactly who she is, and she is totally unapologetic about it. I cannot tell you how much I admire her.”
While she’d like to see Joanne win, Hannah now thinks that fellow Traitor Maya or Faithful Leigh-Anne are the most likely to reach the final. “I think Maya is playing the most amazing game. When someone looks like that, I think that you expect her to have a bit of a chip on her shoulder because she’s one of the most beautiful women alive, but she’s also just so much fun. No airs and graces, totally delightful to be around.”
She also believes that Leigh-Anne has a great chance in the game, because she’s been woefully underestimated. “My God, that woman hasn’t got a single thing wrong. She’s the most perceptive person I’ve ever come across in my entire life. Is she psychic?
“Leigh-Anne needs to keep quiet about how good she is because I don’t think people have necessarily noticed. As soon as Maya notices that Leigh-Anne is that good, she’s going to kill her.”
Last night’s episode ended with boxer turned YouTube star King Kenny being recruited into the turret – much to his enormous surprise. “Being a Faithful was fun, but being a Traitor is going to be better,” he declared.
Urging Maya Jama and James Acaster not to double-cross him, he admitted he had concerns about joining them halfway through the game. “I worry the Traitors can switch on me at any time.”
REVIEW: The recruited comedian has bragged that he hasn’t told one lie during his time in the game but surely he’ll come unstuck soon?
21:06, 15 Oct 2026Updated 21:07, 15 Oct 2026
James never wanted to be a Traitor and so it’s fair enough that he is struggling to behave like one
James Acaster is playing Celebrity Traitors in a brand new way, having been recruited to the dark side very much against his will. But against all expectation, he’s acing it.
The comedian, who told host Claudia Winkleman that he had no desire to be a Traitor at the start of the show, was picked to be one anyway, by Maya Jama and short-lived eejit Richard E Grant.
And while it was almost annoying when he simply refused to join in with Maya’s murderous glee as they pulled the plug on Bella Ramsey, I’ve come around to the idea so much that I’m finding his gameplay quite admirable.
Somehow James is managing to succeed as a Traitor while playing as a Faithful. Yes, it’s quite weird, but against the odds he’s making it work. And watching him try to justify every little thing he does – presumably so he can sleep at night and also so he can point this out to everyone afterwards – is fascinating.
In tonight’s episode he told King Kenny, the latest Faithful to make it through the turret’s revolving door: “I’m basically playing the game as a Faithful – I haven’t told a single lie yet, but I’m protecting Maya.”
He seemed almost happy, presumeably on the back of the previous night’s murder having gone so well. Because while Ross Kemp would have been FURIOUS to get murdered, and Romesh Ranganathan might have been a bit miffed too, Rob Beckett just laughed at them.
Afterwards James said he wished ALL the murders could be done face to face, because it had helped to ease his conscience when he saw that Rob, at least, was very much remembering it was all just a game.
Because he’s more Faithful than Traitor James has had no qualms about voting out two fellow baddies so far – Richard E Grant and Hannah Fry. So Kenny is right to be worried about being double crossed by him or Maya Jama, but for now James is genuinely delighted to have the fellow avid Faithful on board. “I’m feeling much more relaxed now that Kenny’s on the case,” he said. “You know when you get someone who comes in at work who you know will actually do all the jobs – and you can just hold a broom and look like you’re doing something.” Yup, James is going to hide behind Kenny for all he’s worth.
Meanwhile Maya is having a tough time of it because the Traitors are dropping like flies. I mean yes, she does keep voting for them too. But still, she must be feeling a bit lonely.
Now the Faithful are all pumped up again and Bash (Sebastian Croft) keeps mentioning James Acaster as a potential Trator so it might not be long before he’s forced to defend himself.
I wish someone would just ask him: “Are you a Traitor?” because if he can’t lie, it’ll be Richard E Grant all over again. Roll on tomorrow’s episode…
Celebrity Traitors fans think that comedienne Joanne McNally will be banished from the castle next after she made something of a huge mistake during the roundtable
21:38, 15 Oct 2026Updated 21:38, 15 Oct 2026
Celebrity Traitors fans think Joanne McNally will be banished from the castle next(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative)
Celebrity Traitors fans think Joanne McNally will be banished from the castle next.
The Irish comedienne, 43, is currently playing as a Faithful on Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC game show but one tactic she seems to have employed at the roundtable has seemingly sealed her fate. During Thursday’s episode of the programme, she voted for actor Sebastian Croft to be banished, thereby claiming she believed he was a Traitor.
But the majority of the players had correctly guessed that scientist Dr Hannah Fry was in fact a Traitor, and this was not the first time Joanne had gone against the status quo. She said: “I feel like we’re getting into the habit of punishing vocal Faithfuls, and, at the roundtable, you cannot.”
In the turret, Maya told fellow Traitor James Acaster: “She could blow the whole thing up but no one is expecting her because she’s so all over the place.”
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Earlier in the episode, Joanne seemed to raise suspicion that she was a Traitor, accidentally claming that she had been the Hide & Seek game when Ross Kemp said: “I looked at everybody when we got out of those cars and I thought I was going home, and it was honestly, an awful experience.”
It was then that Joanne bizarrely chimed in with: “It was horrible…it was…I wasn’t there I mean but I was watching.”
At the roundtable, Hannah had claimed that Traitors tend to deflect attention from themselves by voting against the grain.
Reacting to the apparent tactic, one fan wrote on X: “Hannah bringing up traitors voting for random people followed by Joanne voting for Bash… babes.”
Another said: “i do fear joanne is absolutely f***** at the next round table though, especially after throwing out a random vote for bash when almost everyone else had gone for hannah, even the actual traitors. it’s not looking good for her.”
A thrid wrote: “Joanne on another planet because her logic is nonexistent lmao,” and another said: “One of the traitors could wear their traitors cloak to the roundtable and Joanne would somehow vote Claudia.”
A fifth said: “Hannah’s point about traitors not voting for who everyone else seems to vote for is a good point, but why is Joanne not being questioned when she keeps doing exactly that.”
James Acaster has revealed the real reason Julie Hesmondhalgh was banished from the Celebrity Traitors castle and claimed it was edited out of the final broadcast.
James Acaster has opened up about an unseen moment on Celebrity Traitors
James Acaster has revealed the real reason Julie Hesmondhalgh was banished from Celebrity Traitors – and said it was not shown in the final edit of the show.
The actress, best known for previously starring as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, was the latest victim of the round table in the hit BBC series, after a campaign led by singer James Blunt, and revealed she had been a Faithful the whole time.
He told The Times: “In the edit James Blunt’s reason was that Julie was given the first shield. What actually happened is that when they did the shoulder tap for the Traitors ’ pick at the beginning, James told Julie who he thought was acting suspiciously around the table.”
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James spoke to Julie soon afterwards and told her that at that stage in the game, before the traitors knew who each other were, they would not be sharing theories because they might inadvertently incriminate an ally. He suggested that they should take note of who was not being forthcoming.
He continued: “Then Julie went into the room where James [Blunt] was, puts this to everyone, and says, ‘Like you, James. You’re not sharing your theories with anyone’, and James is thinking, ‘Well that’s not true, because I just shared mine with you at the table’.”
James said that when Julie was voted out, the You’re Beautiful singer presented this as evidence of lying. He added: “That’s why Julie got voted off. Which isn’t in the edit. If I was him, I’d be pretty gutted.”
Comedian James also revealed some behind-the-scenes detail about the filming of the hit show, saying contestants stay in a “Travelodge-level hotel about an hour from the castle in the Scottish Highlands, which is a bit of a trek each morning and night”.
They cannot leave the hotel without being chaperoned and have ten minutes each morning to FaceTime a friend or family member. He added: “A member of the production team is there with you, so you can’t have an authentic conversation because you can’t tell them anything that’s happening.
“At one point my partner said, ‘Have you caught the sun?’ I was saying, ‘Oh yeah, we were outside for one of the missions’. I was told I couldn’t even tell her that.”
A spokesperson for The Celebrity Traitors said: “Everyone experiences their own game in their individual way with many differing theories, opinions and multiple discussions throughout the day.
“Naturally, we could never include every minute of a day’s filming in any one episode where we need to focus on the key story moments.
“The round table offers an open forum for all of those theories to be presented and it is there that we see the most salient points come to the fore that succinctly convey how players reach the decision on who to banish in that moment.”
Celebrity Traitors continues on BBC One on Thursday at 8pm.
BBC sitcom Daddy Issues will come to an end after the third series has aired but not before a star-studded lineup of guest stars has joined the cast for its final outing
22:21, 14 Oct 2026Updated 22:58, 14 Oct 2026
Daddy Issues will come to an end after the third and final series has aired(Image: BBC/Fudge Park Productions/James Stack)
Daddy Issues will come to an end after the third and final series has aired, the broadcaster has confirmed. The BBC Three sitcom stars Aimee Lou Wood as Gemma and David Morrissey as Malcolm, following a pregnant party girl who moves into a flat share with her recently-divorced father.
But the programme, which is Danielle Ward and co-written with David Reed has confirmed a string of guest stars for its final outing. Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey will be amongst those joining the cast, taking on the role of as Malcolm’s new friend Ellis.
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Shobna Gulati, best known as Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street and Anita in dinnerladies, will play new neighbour Odette whilst former Peep Show star Sophie Winkleman will play campsite owner Mary.
Sarah Hadland, best known for her role as Stevie Sutton in Miranda and for her Strictly Come Dancing stint, will be back as Rita, joining fellow returning cast members David Fynn as Derek, Taj Atwal as Cherry and Celebrity Traitors star Sharon Rooney as Catherine.
The new run of six episodes will focus on Gemma’s newfound set of calamities as she tries to settle into her new promotion at the salon whilst daughter Sadie thrives at nursery. Chaos ensues when the flat she still shares with her dad floods, and a new romance leaves her stuck in a web of lies.
Over the last few years, actress Aimee, who the BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance after making her screen debut in Netflix hit Sex Education, has enjoyed global success with US comedy drama The White Lotus.
Through her role as Chelsea, she earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Aimee has also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live UK, starred as Sally Bowles in the West End production of Cabaret and is due to appear in a string of Hollywood films including The Beatles, Anxious People, and The Idiots.
Speaking about the series coming back, Aimee shared nothing but excitement as she expressed her joy at being part of the comedy series.
She said: “I’m so happy to be back with David and the brilliant Daddy Issues cast for one final time. Gemma and Malcolm are one of the funniest and sweetest comedy double acts on TV, and I’ve loved being a part of it.”
Meanwhile, David Morrissey added: “I love doing Daddy Issues so much, such a great cast and crew! So I’m delighted to be coming back to have more adventures with Gemma, Malcolm and the gang!”
A source has claimed that even though the line-up of The Celebrity Traitors signed NDAs while filming the show, the finalists have become ‘a hot topic’ at showbiz events
22:50, 10 Oct 2026Updated 23:00, 10 Oct 2026
Claudia Winkleman hosts the popular BBC show(Image: BBC )
The Celebrity Traitors has been thrown into chaos with the finalists being “leaked”. The leaks have reportedly become “a hot topic at showbiz parties”, as bosses scramble to protect the identities.
On Friday, October 9, the BBC released record-breaking audience figures for the popular show, revealing that the third episode achieved a peak audience of 10.3 million viewers. Then, on Friday night, an estimated 9.6 million fans watched the fourth episode of the show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, 54 – but this could all be in jeopardy if the names get out.
While the all-star line-up signed non-disclosure agreements pledging to keep the game’s results secret until the episodes air, a source claimed that news of the final has leaked. Because of this, executives at the BBC are said to be on edge as the finalists are discussed at various celebrity events, with bosses hoping the names don’t become public knowledge.
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“Because of the leak, who makes the final is now a hot topic at showbiz parties,” the insider told The Sun. “It’s also spread how certain players get on, not helped by the fact that another source has been suggesting who’s been placed for interviews around the final.
“It’s vital the leaks don’t make it to gossip forums online and on social media, where fans can find the information. The BBC is hoping that anyone happening upon the info or hearing it from friends will help keep the secrets of the castle and stay quiet.”
The source added: “The problem is a small group will be aware of The Celebrity Traitors’ secrets, including those who work on the show, the celebrities who ran the course and possibly their close family and friends.”
The BBC show is so popular that even Prince William and Kate Middleton are said to be obsessed with it. Speaking on Palace Confidential on YouTube, Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales are huge fans of The Celebrity Traitors, which has an IMDb rating of 8.7.
“Now, William and Catherine are massive Traitors fans. I can tell you that now. They love the programme. Absolutely glued to it,” Rebecca said.
The 2026 celebrity spin-off of the psychological reality game show takes place at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, where a star-studded cast plays for a £100,000 charity prize pot. The show is currently in the middle of its broadcast run, following the massive success of Series 1 in late 2025, which was won by Traitor Alan Carr.
Currently, there are three Traitors – comedian James Acaster, 41, TV presenter Maya Jama, 32, and mathematician Hannah Fry, 42 – on the show. Actor Richard E. Grant, 69, was banished by the Faithful during the first roundtable.
Episodes air weekly on BBC One and are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Claudia Winkleman is known for her bold fringe and dark eyeliner
Claudia Winkleman(Image: Darren Gerrish/WireImage for The Royal Academy of Arts)
Recognised almost as much for her bronzed complexion, striking fringe and dramatic eyeliner as for her razor-sharp humour, Claudia Winkleman is adored by millions of television viewers. Claudia, 54, made her comeback to screens earlier this month for the second series of Celebrity Traitors on the BBC.
Claudia, who stepped down from her position as Strictly Come Dancing co-host last year, alongside Tess Daly, has previously joked that her distinctive look is what secures her work. She said: “I think it’s the only reason I get work. I’m sure TV producers go, ‘Who’s the one with the fringe? We’ll have her’.”
Claudia inherited her passion for a sun-kissed appearance from her mum, journalist and editor Eve Pollard, previously revealing: “Like me, my mum loves an orange glow, so I remember her swirling huge brushes of orange over her face and thinking it was the most glamorous thing ever.”
Looking like a ‘real-life’ pirate
She also told Closer Magazine: “I think my fringe starts at the back of my head, it’s got more weight to it than a tonne of bricks. They gave it to me and I knew that was that.
“You have to make much less effort when you have a really heavy fringe. I love eyeliner, but you don’t even need makeup really. If you’ve got a very heavy fringe, you’re wearing some old, battered, buckled-up boots and you’re holding a book then you’re done. You look like a real-life pirate”.
And while she undoubtedly possesses a distinctive style, a rediscovered photograph reveals Claudia sporting a more understated look.
In the image, captured for Red Nose Day in 2003, Claudia holds a giant cheque and appears without the heavily tanned complexion she’s recognised for, alongside lighter hair styled to one side.
While Claudia is currently most recognised for presenting The Traitors and Strictly, she launched her career conducting celebrity interviews on ITV’s This Morning. She also fronted several gameshows throughout the 90s.
Like many buff-bodied Traitors hunks before him… Tom Daley… Freddie Fraser… James Blunt stepped up to take on the pensive shower cutaway scene in this year’s series.
Viewers were left in hysterics by James’ take – nipples out, thoughtfully scrubbing himself in a very awkward manner and donning a shower cap – all while puzzling over whether he’d be next for murder.
Fans took to X to share their excitement at the scenes.
“Not James Blunt in the shower!!!” cried one.
Others soon chimed in:
“James Blunt with a shower cap and huge brush was just not on my 2026 bingo card.”
“Can only assume that James Blunt is taking his first ever shower and is more of a bath man.”
“All of these shower scenes from previous seasons have nothing on James Blunt and his haircap and scrubber.”
Fans are hoping it doesn’t mean the end for the British Army Captain. In last year’s Celebrity edition, poor Tom Daley was murdered hours after he stripped off.
If we’ve learned anything it’s that you can be too squeaky clean when it comes to the Traitors.
As viewers tuned into tonight’s episode of The Celebrity Traitors, the Mirror takes a look at some of the strong ties that bind this year’s batch of stars, which could take them all the way to the end
19:36, 08 Oct 2026Updated 19:56, 08 Oct 2026
There are plenty of friendships on the show already(Image: BBC)
The Celebrity Traitors is well underway and it’s already brimming with wild twists and turns – including a self-confessing traitor and a weird adversion to physical touch.
We’re only two episodes in, but fans will have already spotted that a number of stars seem chummy even before getting themselves settled in the iconic Scottish Highlands castle.
Friendliness isn’t always a superpower on the show – the sneakiest often prevail once it really gets going – but loyalty can go a long, long way.
As we’ve seen in previous seasons (Hello Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby), forging an alliance can make all the difference when all eyes are on you at the Round Table. And it sometimes takes just one strong ally to sway the opinion of the group.
Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the strongest bonds in Celebrity Traitors this year, and how they might shake things up…
Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan
Starting off with possibly the best-known connection in the show, comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan already feel like a package deal, with their friendship dating back to their early days on the 2010 comedy circuit.
Rob first learned of Romesh’s comedic talents through a friend and headed out to see his set at his dad’s pub. His initial feeling was that of annoyance, having “wanted to be the only good one at comedy”. But this irritation quickly blossomed into a friendship that would see them right to the top of their profession.
Both feeling like “outsiders” in a middle-class industry, Rob and Romesh secured a solid bond before hitting the big time. Reminiscing in a 2021 address to the Royal Television Society, Rob, now 40, shared: “Coming up through comedy and telly, which is quite a middle-class world, we bonded because we both felt we didn’t belong. We really did get on…Having a mate that you can share the madness with was great.”
Having built impressive careers independently, becoming familiar faces on the likes of A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, and Taskmaster, it soon became clear that viewers loved the pair’s natural on-screen dynamic.
In 2019, Rob and Romesh were snapped up by Sky Television for Rob and Romesh Vs…, a series which sees the two funnymen plunged into unfamiliar territory together.
One episode saw the pals perform a country song in Nashville after meeting Shania Twain, while another followed them as they performed Hollywood-style stunts for Hollyoaks.
Summing up their relationship as the Traitors’ games began, Rob quipped: “I know Rob very, very well. I mean, I’ve sat next to him as he’s had a colonic.”
It’s clear nothing much fazes the duo, who are able to adapt to pretty much any situation imaginable – from dancing in Swan Lake to training with the NFL. Will their bond and shared chameleon abilities prove to be one of this season’s greatest weapons? We’ll have to wait and see.
Richard E. Grant and Jerry Hall
Another friendship that has also come under the spotlight is that of Richard E. Grant and Jerry Hall. Neighbours over in swanky Richmond and friends for 30 years, Richard was a guest at Jerry’s 2016 wedding to media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, whom she divorced in 2022.
Jerry has spoken fondly of the fun she shared with the Withnail & I thespian on the set of the 2004 kids’ fantasy film, Tooth, which delves into the lives of tooth fairies living in ‘Fairytopia’.
Describing the critically reviled movie as “ridiculous” ahead of their Traitors reunion, Jerry chuckled: “We had such a laugh, and I went on holiday with him earlier this year, just after Christmas, to Africa with some friends. And we danced all night. We had so much fun! Little did we know back then that we’d both be here!”
Richard, 69, had viewers’ jaws firmly on their living room floors after proudly outing himself as a traitor in the very first episode, followed by plenty of backtracking. While many faithfuls were less than convinced by the Academy Award winner’s subsequent performance, supermodel Jerry stood firmly by her pal.
Jerry, 70, insisted: “I just don’t believe Richard’s a Traitor. I know Richard, I’ve known him 30 years and he’s my neighbour. He says and does eccentric things. He’s an amazing guy, but I think he’s acting out because he’s not been chosen.”
While en route to their shipwreck challenge, Jerry was quick to agree with Industry actress Myha’la, who said, “I really, really genuinely do not think he’s a traitor,” declaring, “I don’t either.”
This show of loyalty may prove very useful to Richard when it comes to quashing some very understandable doubts over his faithfulness.
Of course, fans of a more cynical bent could also argue that Richard and Jerry could have discussed tactics beforehand in one of their neighbourly chats, and that a long game could well be afoot to see them both splitting the prize…
Bella Ramsey and Sebastian Croft
Having braved the tangled feudal webs of Westeros together, Bella Ramsey and Sebastian Croft will likely feel prepared for the cloak-and-dagger world of the Traitor’s Castle. And their established friendship could prove to be a powerful alliance.
Bella, now 23, was just 11 years old when they astonished Game of Thrones fans with their portrayal of the pint-sized yet formidable head of House Mormont, Lyanna Mormont.
Sebastatian, known as ‘Bash’ to pals, made his Thrones debut in 2016 – the same year as Bella – giving a brief but memorable performance as a young Ned Stark.
While the pair never got to share a scene, Sebastian, 24, could barely contain his excitement as he pictured the two of them plotting together. The star, who is known to be a huge Traitors buff, enthused: “I love Bella! Imagine us in the turret together. That would be the dream.”
Being well-used to sticky endings in their former shared set, you can guarantee that these two won’t be too horrified by increasingly frequent dispatches of their castlemates. But they also know that sometimes it’s the ones you care for the most who can leave you with a Valyrian steel sword in the back.
In a private castle exchange in episode two, Bella admitted, “I go back and forth on you, Bash”, making their suspicions clear. Bash was quick to refute this, signalling their closeness as he argued, “I genuinely think you’d know if I was.” Bella considered this and noted that they thought Sebastian would know too, if it were the other way around.
Both actors pledged to have each other’s backs, but it was evident that neither one of them left the conversation feeling 100 per cent at ease. During a piece to camera segment, Bella shared: “I know Sebastian, who I know as Bash. We met quite a few years ago, I think at an awards thing we were both at. I mostly trust Bash, but there’s something just a little bit unsettling that I just have to keep in the back of my [mind].” They added, “I can’t trust everybody. This is a game. Nothing is personal”
Sebastian, too, is erring on the side of caution, telling the camera: “I love Bella, and I’ve tried to make myself as little of a threat to them, but as much of an asset, because Bella is a formidable player. That’s someone I’m definitely keeping an eye on.”
Joe Lycett and James Acaster
Joe Lycett and James Acaster are also good pals, with their friendship dating back to their days on the pub circuit nearly 20 years ago. The comedic pair, who have appeared on numerous panel shows together, have a running joke about people frequently getting them mixed up.
Back in 2021, Joe, 38, cheekily riffed on this by putting James’ face on posters for his tour, causing some confusion amongst comedy fans. Clarifying that this wasn’t an awkward error on the part of the printers, Joe issued the following statement via X: “I would like to publicly apologise to Mr Acaster and his team for this.
“The posters were an experiment to see if my face was a deterrent to the British public and if his face would sell more tickets for my show.”
He proceeded to jest: “It is with great disappointment that I have discovered sales have shot up. Mr Acaster’s legal team contacted my representatives, and after talks we have agreed on an out-of-court settlement.”
Will the similarities between the duo prove to be a help or a hindrance this season? We shall certainly see.
Maya Jama and… half the castle
A natural leader, fans were no doubt thrilled to see Maya Jama don that infamous green cloak and make it look like a fashion moment. And it’s likely the presenter’s natural people skills will prove to be a real asset here.
Maya, 32, has crossed paths with a number of fellow Traitors celebs in the course of her work. In 2020, she competed against James Acaster on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
Memorably, James dislodged a safety partition screen in an humorously chaotic attempt to stop Maya’s team from seeing his written answer. It’s likely she won’t have forgotten the comedian’s competitive streak.
In March 2021, Maya appeared on Romesh’s podcast Hip Hop Saved My Life, where she discussed developing her early love of hip hop through her mum’s Eminem CDs. She also offered Romesh some tips on his makeup techniques.
Then, in February 2024, Maya was seated in the front row at Italy’s Milan Fashion Week, right next to Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock. More recently, Maya co-presented the Artist of the Year award at the BRIT Awards 2026 with none other than You’re Beautiful singer, James Blunt.
While there will be few unfamiliar faces here for Maya, she has played down any significant connections, asserting: “I’ve met a few people in the cast, but nobody really knows me, so we’re all starting from scratch.”
Nevertheless, these various brushes over the years will surely come in useful when it comes to keeping a careful eye out at the round table.
The Celebrity Traitors returns tonight at 8 pm on BBC One.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com.
Welcome Faithfuls, come on in Traitors, and a special hello to anyone who claims to be both (Richard E Grant, we see you there in your Burberry scarf).
Celebrity Traitors is back on screens tonight for episode 3 and we dive straight back into the first banishment with the Faithfuls hoping they’ve caught a Traitor.
But it’s a battle between people taking Richard E ‘I’m a Traitor’ Grant at his word and the others that think he’s a Faithful on a wind-up, which is proving an increasingly tricky position to take.
Will he survive? Can’t see how, but this is Celebrity Traitors and Alan Carr, who couldn’t even say “I am a Faithful” without cracking up, won it! Anything could happen.
Celebrity Traitors star James Blunt made a major move at the Round Table in the latest episode of the BBC show, which left Hannah Fry and Jerry Hall vulnerable for murder
10:38, 08 Oct 2026Updated 10:38, 08 Oct 2026
James Blunt has admitted to some serious skulduggery in Celebrity Traitors(Image: BBC)
James Blunt has admitted to some serious skulduggery on Celebrity Traitors that only fan managed to rumble.
The You’re Beautiful crooner, 52, is among a slew of stars who have signed up for the second series of the BBC show, which kicked off this month.
Last week, James made a very subtle move at the Round Table, while his co-stars, Hannah Fry and Jerry Hall were vulnerable for murder to save the one he wanted to stay in the game.
After the rest of the Faithfuls received a shield to keep them safe, the singer claimed in front of the cast that he was suspicious of maths whizz, Hannah, while dramatically declaring that the ‘most obvious solution is often truest’.
Musing over the likelihood of one murder and a recruitment, James proposed the perfect plan would be to murder one threat to the Traitors – Amol Rajan – and recruit an even bigger threat – Hannah.
The nail-biting episode ended on a cliffhanger. However, James has now taken to Instagram admitting that mentioning Hannah was actually a ruse to stop her from being murdered as he needed her on side.
One eagled-eyed viewer posted: “I’d like to think it’s a tactic to keep her in the game. If her name is brought up the Traitors are less likely to murder her.”
Confirming that this was his game plan all along, James replied: “Bingo!”
We don’t know if Hannah, stays or not, however some fans reckon she must have survived another night on the show after James appeared to let the cat out of the bag online.
Fans are also wondering if thespian Richard E. Grant has been given the chop after the tense Round Table ended without any votes.
Richard was in journalist Amol’s bad books after being the first murder of the actor last week.
Speaking on Radio 4 today, Amol said that Richard, 69, apologised to him and admitted that he went “completely mad” filming the BBC show.
“Absolutely [I played it all wrong],” he said. “There is generally a tactic that is applicable and effective – you’ve got to try and stay schtum. And the one or two things I might say in my defence are: you know how these things work—it’s all in the edit.
“Also, lots of people were having a go at Richard, we all had a go at him because he said he was a traitor, which has never happened before and is a completely ludicrous thing to do.”
Revealing the pair had lunch together to clear the air, Amol concluded: “So it wasn’t just me doing it. I actually had a lunch with him (it was all filmed in Spring) a few weeks ago, and I did ask him and he said, ‘I’m so sorry, I went completely mad and thought you were a threat.'”
An ‘epic moment’ has reportedly caught Celebrity Traitors bosses off guard and forced them to scrap huge plans they had for the series. The change will reportedly “make great TV”
Bosses have been forced to scrap a cliffhanger but what has replaces it “will make great TV”
The Celebrity Traitors bosses have been forced to scrap a cliffhanger but what has replaces it “will make great TV” according to sources.
The show sees twenty-one famous faces head to The Traitors castle, ready to play the ultimate game of deception and betrayal in the hope of winning a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.
Fans quickly become invested in the show and to keep viewers hooked it has become known for it’s cliffhangers.
Tonight, viewers will tune in to watch the result of last Friday’s cliffhanger. The all-star line-up will be casting their votes on who to banish from Ardross Castle after the Withnail and I actor battled to convince them he was a faithful.
Actor Richard E. Grant was chosen by host Claudia Winkleman to be a Traitor alongside presenter Maya Jama. However, just minutes into the game, comedian Joe Lycett casually asked him what role he had been given, to which Grant immediately replied, “Traitor!”
He then spent the rest of the premiere manically back-pedaling to convince his fellow contestants that he was actually a Faithful who had simply made a bad joke.
A source told The Sun: “Cliffhangers on The Traitors have become legendary so bosses never want to disappoint and hope to have the nation on tenterhooks all week, waiting for Thursdays to come around – that’s part of the reason the format being fed out twice a week works.
“So they plot out likely moments in gameplay that will be the Friday cliffs. But during filming, something so unbelievable happened even execs didn’t see it coming.
“It forced them to throw plans out the window to accommodate the epic moment – which should make great TV.”
Production firm Studio Lambert decide what elements of the show would make good teasers during pre-production.
Speaking at the launch of the series, executive producer Sarah Fay said: “We always have an idea before going into pre-production what might be cliffhangers but we have to be so reactive because who knows what the story is going to be.
“Last year we went to deadlock [at the Round Table] when it was down to David [Olusoga] and Mark [Bonner] where it was a tie. We never knew that that was going to happen until obviously, it was happening right before our eyes.
“I think the beauty of this game as well is every episode we’ve probably got about three options of what the cliffhanger could be because it’s so nail-biting.”
The Mirror has contacted the BBC press office for comment.
The Celebrity Traitors returns tonight at 8pm on BBC One.
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.
Paige Ingram and Lauren Del Fabbro Press Association Entertainment Reporter
03:04, 06 Oct 2026
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.
The Celebrity Traitors got under way in dramatic fashion this week and traitor Richard E Grant admitted he ‘just went mad’ with one of his decisions.
Richard E Grant has spoke about his Traitors experience
Celebrity Traitors star Amol Rajan has said Richard E Grant told him that he “just went mad” when he decided to remove him from the game.
Writing in his newsletter Amol said he asked Richard why he chose to eliminate him and the actor replied: “To protect myself. And that’s a compliment!”
Amol replied: “But if you really wanted protection, you should have recruited me. That would have been a compliment!” He says Richard told him: “Ah yes, that makes sense. But I think I just went mad.”
Traitor Richard gave away the game almost immediately in the show’s second series when the actor admitted he was a traitor, despite the aim of the game being to hide the fact.
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Richard was picked by Claudia Winkleman to be one of two contestants picked to be a traitor – a player who attempts to “murder” others on the show while pretending to be an ordinary participant.
But rather than go under the radar, Richard announced his role as a traitor. And he has now admitted to Amol Rajan that he doesn’t know what came over him.
Richard and fellow traitor, Love Island host Maya Jama, chose to murder the former BBC presenter in episode two.
Amol explained: “He said: “I was so thrilled to be chosen as a traitor that, in my unguarded excitement, I said, ‘Of course I’m a traitor.’ I clearly need to diffuse all the heat that’s coming in my direction.”
Richard added: ““Well, the game had actually started, I was so relieved that it started because I had been so blatant about saying I came into this thing and it’s called Traitors, because I wanted to be a traitor.
“So when I walked into the bar, somebody said, ‘so you’re a faithful or a traitor?’, and I said, ‘I’m a traitor’, of course.”
While Amol admitted he would have liked to have been recruited to be a traitor, that accolade fell to comedian James Acaster.
The decision left Amol being murdered from the game and speaking on The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked on Friday, he said: “It’s hard not to watch it and think I, obviously, with 20/20 hindsight, I played the wrong game. That was a crazy, crazy once-in-a-lifetime [opportunity].”
He went on: “I think I would have been quite a good traitor because I’d actually known what it was like to be a faithful.”
And in advice to Richard he said maybe the star should have tried to stay off the radar a bit more rather than confess so blatantly. Amol said: “I think the one tactic that you should try to abide by is to keep a little bit, you know, fly under the radar a little bit for the first few days. Just shut up for the first few shows.”
After the second episode left fans wondering what was to come in a tense cliffhanger, viewers have to wait until Thursday to find out. Celebrity Traitors isn’t on again until Thursday (October 8, at 8pm), with the show once again doing a Thursday-Friday double.
The Celebrity Traitors airs on Thursdays and Fridays on BBC1 at 8pm.
Celebrity Traitors fans are convinced they have ‘worked out’ who was murdered after spotting a clue earlier in the first episode of the series
07:19, 02 Oct 2026Updated 07:29, 02 Oct 2026
Celebrity Traitors fans have worked it out!
Celebrity Traitors fans will have to wait until this evening to find out who was recruited and who was murdered – but some think a huge clue in the first episode has already revealed who stays.
The BBC show ended on a cliffhanger last night when it was revealed that James Acaster and Amol Rajan had been hauled in front of the two Traitors – Maya Jama and Richard E Grant – to be given their fate.
And with them face to face with the two ‘murderers’, there was only one way it would end. They had to plead their case to be saved and recruited or face instant ‘death’ and become the first person to leave the show.
Following the huge cliffhanger, there has been much discussion on who might go and who might become a Traitor and fight to save another day – with a big twist expected.
However, fans of the BBC show are convinced they’ve worked out who is off – with them claiming BBC bosses left a rather large clue in the first episode on who would be waving goodbye.
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“Amol’s diary room bits scream ‘I’m not seeing any more of this,'” one said of who might be chosen. As another replied: “He got a lot of screen time, think he’s a goner.” A third shared: “Definitely Amol got murdered.”
Fans are also convinced the reports that James had a panic attack on set ‘proves’ he will stay.
“Too much in the news about James being so stressed the others in there had to calm him down. So far he hasn’t had time in there for all that. (I guess),” one wrote.
Another added: “The fact that we’ve already heard that Acaster has a panic attack at a round table at some point in the show surely spoils that it’s Amol who goes – unless Acaster had the panic attack while the traitors were being chosen?”
“If it’s true (I remember reading that he had a panic attack but don’t remember if it was specified it was a roundtable) that’s a massive ball to have dropped for the first cliffhanger,” a third shared.
Model Jerry Hall will tonight find herself in some uncomfortable situations on Celebrity Traitors – but she should be used to navigating awkward social situations after her string of controversial romances
Jerry will make her debut on Celebrity Traitors tonight(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative)
Model Jerry Hall will need to put her acting skills to the test on Celebrity Traitors tonight if she’s cloaked up and hoping to deceive her co-stars.
But the 70-year-old is no stranger to navigating awkward social situations after her numerous high-profile and controversial relationships. The Texas-born star was a long-term partner of Rolling Stones icon, Sir Mick Jagger, with whom she shares four children.
She was also married to American businessman Rupert Murdoch, who owns numerous newspapers worldwide and previously owned Sky. But why did she split from arguably two of the most powerful men in the public eye? Here, we look at Jerry’s relationships and the reasons they broke down.
Sir Mick Jagger
Jerry and Sir Mick first met in 1976 at a dinner party. At the time, she was engaged to British singer and Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry. Sir Mick was also married to Bianca Jagger at the time.
Just a year later, the couple began an affair, and Jerry eventually left Bryan. Later that year, Jerry seemed to be a positive influence on Sir Mick, encouraging him to quit both heroin and LSD. By 1990, they had tied the knot in a traditional Hindu wedding in Bali; however, they were not legally married.
Just two years later, though, their relationship was plagued by allegations of infidelity on Mick’s side. Despite working through their differences, things came to a dramatic end in 1999.
It emerged that Mick was expecting a child with Luciana Gimenez Morad, who later welcomed a son Lucas Maurice Morad Jagger. Jerry subsequently filed for divorce, with British courts declaring their 1990 marriage void due to a lack of legal registration.
The pair later came to a “mutually acceptable legal and financial settlement”. She later said that she found annulling their relationship rude, but remained on good terms with Mick. These days, the pair have a very close blended family.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2010, Jerry said: “Getting a divorce is always horrible, because you feel you’ve failed. Everyone hates to give up on a marriage. You think your family’s broken up.
“But we managed to keep the family quite strong and to still be friendly. Divorce is not the end of the world. It’s worse to stay in an unhealthy marriage. That’s a worse example for the children.”
Rupert Murdoch
In 2015, Jerry started dating Rupert after his sister and niece introduced them. By October of that year, the pair went public and were seen attending the Rugby World Cup final together in London.
Their relationship went full speed and they got engaged in January 2016. Rupert announced their news in the Births, Marriages and Deaths page of The Times newspaper, which he owns. He popped the question with a staggering 19-carat marquise diamond ring.
Just three months later, the pair tied the knot at Spencer House, followed by a bigger celebration at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street, with Rupert saying he felt like “the luckiest and happiest man in the world” as their friends and family gathered to witness their big day.
But despite their relationship going from strength to strength, including the purchase of a sprawling $200 million cattle ranch in Montana in December 2021, things soon came to an end.
Fast forward to June 2022, and their marriage was over. Rupert emailed Jerry, informing her that the marriage was over and that she should now contact him only through his lawyers. The divorce was later leaked to The New York Times.
Just a few days later, Jerry officially filed for divorce in Los Angeles, citing “irreconcilable differences”. The divorce was finalised just a few weeks later, with legal representatives for both parties saying that they ” remain good friends and wish each other the best for the future”.
While details about their settlement haven’t been disclosed, it was reported that Jerry received tens of millions, as well as an £ 11 million Oxfordshire mansion, as part of the settlement.
The opening episode ended with two players fighting for their lives but before that – what on earth was Richard E Grant thinking?
21:15, 01 Oct 2026Updated 21:15, 01 Oct 2026
Richard is having a shocking time in The Celebrity Traitors
Richard E Grant’s outrageous act of self-sabotage on The Celebrity Traitors last night left producers and fellow players reeling.
Claudia Winkleman said she believed the huge gaffe, in which he openly revealed his role as a Traitor just minutes after she’d selected him, was not because he was nervous, but because he was giddy with excitement after achieving the role he’d always dreamed of.
Now viewers will have to wait until tomorrow’s episode to see if the actor can survive the first roundtable banishment – while also discovering whether it was comedian James Acaster or TV journalist Amol Rajan who met their grisly end in a coffin.
Claudia said that Richard, 69, was so desperate to be a Traitor, she had no choice but to tap him on the shoulder. “You just couldn’t not give it to him, because he wanted it so much,” she laughed at a screening last week. “I couldn’t believe he was literally in the castle. And yeah, he was giddy. The genius of the game is that everyone plays it completely differently, and he took that to the next level.
“I think it was excitement. I think he was genuinely so happy. He came into the church. He loved the game. He had to eat. He wanted to be a Traitor. He got picked for a Traitor. He just wanted to tell everyone.”
Producer Sarah Fay agreed: “Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we’d have a Traitor admit they were a Traitor five minutes on from the round table. We’ve never had anything like that happen before. I think it was just static delirium. I don’t know what he was thinking. I still can’t believe it now, but yeah, Richard E Grant, how iconic.” She confessed that the star’s astonishing faux pas had left her feeling conflicted in the moment: “It was a mixture of a little bit of sick coming up in my mouth and a punch at the same time.”
Ahead of being picked, Richard told Claudia: “If I was lucky enough to be a Traitor, that would be one of my dreams come true – it’s the only way to have some control. Friendships means diddly squit!” And he won over the audience by speaking about his late wife Joan Washington, who told him four days before she died, in 2021, that he was to find “a pocketful of happiness” each day. “I feel like I’ve got a wheelbarrowful, and then some,” he marvelled.
But it wasn’t long before he boldly told Joe Lycett that he was “a Traitor” – leaving the group stunned. Luckily for him, Jerry Hall – who claimed in the show that she’d make a good Faithful because her uncle was one of the Texas Rangers who’d caught Bonnie and Clyde – quickly dismissed his outburst. “Oh, that’s just Richard, he wanted to be a Traitor so bad,” she said. “I’ve known him for 30 years and he says and does eccentric things.”
Many of the group appeared to follow her lead, with actress Myha’la insisting he must have been joking because “he’s too smart for that”. But viewers saw Richard sigh on camera: “That might be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life.”
Finding out her fellow Traitor was like “an unhinged uncle” left Love Island host Maya Jama, 32, realising they’d have to work hard to keep him in the game. Despite this, she wholeheartedly accepted the challenge of getting him off the hook. “Me and Richard are in it together,” she said in a solo chat. “It’s like heaving an unhinged uncle running wild in the castle – that is my partner in crime.”
Told they had to choose a new recruit to join them in the turret, the duo picked the pair who had expressed the loudest views about Richard being a Traitor – Amol, who called Richard the “lord of chaos” and James Acaster. Whoever joins the Traitors after pleading for their life and ending up in a coffin cliffhanger will now have to change their argument – or throw Richard under the bus. But what is certain is that either James, 41, or Amol, 43, will tonight follow in the footsteps of Paloma Faith by becoming the first celebrity to exit the series.
Sarah said the idea for this twist was sparked by the pop star’s swift death last year. “We thought wouldn’t it have been interesting if Paloma had had the chance to plead for her life?” she explained. “Going home first is a massive thing, but if you can slightly put the power back in their hands, how interesting would that be?”
The idea of having Claudia pop out of a coffin at the start came after the celebrities had to dig their own graves in last year’s opener. “We were racking our brains: how can we make this feel different” Sarah said. “We landed on starting in the church and ending in the church, bookmarking episode one. So opening with Claudia popping out of a coffin, and then our first murder being someone getting slammed into one.” Claudia’s own ideas, that she got into the suit of armour or emerged from the grandfather clock, were both dismissed.
Almost all of the 21 celebrities wanted to have the green cloak, with only a handful determined to be Faithful, including singer James Blunt, mathematician Hannah Fry and comedians Miranda Hart and James Acaster – who will have failed in that quest if he remains in the game.
Ross Kemp said in his entrance interview that he wanted to show people he had a good sense of humour – and he certainly provided plenty of laughs last night. But, sadly for him, the comedy he brought was mostly at his own expense after he went into a tailspin first during the mission, and then later over drinks in the castle.
The TV tough man had prepared so thoroughly by going through previous episodes that he interpreted any gesture towards him as an attempt to kill him in plain sight. First Bella Ramsay was under suspicion after placing the Captain’s hat on his head as an mark of respect because he’d excelled in the mission. Then it was Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s turn after she touched him in the bar because she felt chilly. “I’ve just had my arm rubbed – she rubbed me on the arm,” he spluttered to the group. Accusing her outright of murder, she could only insist: “Oh my gosh – calm down! Stop.”
Admitting he was caught in a spiral of doom, the 62-year-old sighed: “My guard is very much up. Anyone touching me, offering me a drink or talking to me in a slightly odd way – that could be me gone. I’m feeling pretty paranoid.” Uncloaked host Ed Gamble branded his reactions as “one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen”. He laughed: “He’s a big hard man running that mission and then immediately terrified of a member of Little Mix touching him on the arm.”
The Celebrity Traitors returns tomorrow on BBC1 at 8pm.
