Comic James Acaster is said to feel ‘destabilised’ after he revealed to his co-stars that he was in fact a Traitor, as he narrowly missed out on a place in the Celebrity Traitors final
22:46, 03 Nov 2026Updated 22:48, 03 Nov 2026
James Acaster outed himself as a Traitor
Celebrity Traitors star James Acaster is said to be feeling “destabilised” after he revealed his bombshell. The comedian started the BBC programme as a Faithful but was eventually recruited as a Traitor, despite making it clear that he was unhappy about it.
Throughout his time on the show, Acaster, 41, said he didn’t want to lie and that he played the game “as honestly as he possibly could.” But during last Thursday’s roundtable, James dramatically revealed to his co-stars that he was, in fact, a Traitor – leaving everybody stunned by the bombshell.
But while James had cleared his conscience, his decision didn’t go down too well with viewers at home. Following his revelation, he was subsequently banished from the castle by his co-stars.
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The Rest Is Entertainment podcast hosts Richard Osman and Marina Hyde have also discussed the backlash James faced after sharing his news on the show. Discussing any regrets that the cast may feel now, Richard said: “If you’re in it, like if you’re James [Acaster] at the moment, I bet you think, ‘Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that because everyone can have one opinion about this today.’
“James then has to listen to 56 million opinions, you know, and like nobody needs that. And the thing with him, he’s so brilliant and so talented that whatever he does next will, you know, supersede this in a heartbeat.”
He added: “But you know, it’s just annoying to have to spend a couple of weeks sort of in a position where you feel slightly destabilised. James, if you’re listening, or people who know and love James are listening, James, we love you. I’m very excited for what he does next.”
Meanwhile, James’ co-star, singer James Blunt, has claimed that a lot of the roundtable discussion was edited out of the final version of the episode. Speaking to the BBC, Blunt said: “He didn’t fall on his sword. That’s what you saw, that’s what you feel, but he didn’t. You didn’t see the full extent of the interrogation. It was heavy in there, and it was clear-cut. He was pinned to a post. We got him. We really, really got him.
“I think how that played out hasn’t really been revealed to you, but he didn’t just say, ‘Oh, guys, you got me’.” He went on to say of the editing of the show: “There are elements [of the show] where I was screaming at the screen for a different reason than you.
“No matter what really went on in that castle, you’re a victim to the edit.” James also revealed that he only went on the show to promote his new material and wasn’t too bothered about going along with the game.
He disclosed: “We all get paid the same, whether you’re there for day one or day 23. So for most of the time, I was trying to… Get the hell out of dodge. But no one was killing me, and no one was banishing me.”
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft have won the 2026 series of The Celebrity Traitors following a very dramatic final episode, which saw James Blunt sabotage himself
22:47, 30 Oct 2026Updated 22:48, 30 Oct 2026
Romesh and Bash win Celebrity Traitors
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft have won the 2026 series of The Celebrity Traitors as faithfuls.
The pair were the last two remaining at the firepit at the end of the BBC show with the players having voted out traitor and TV presenter Maya Jama during the final roundtable.
It had been quite the dramatic turn of events, with it ending with both players revealing their true identity. Sebastian – also known as Bash – said: “I began this game as a faithful, but I’m ending this game as a faithful.”
Romesh, who paused for dramatic effect, told his co-star: “Bash, I began this game as a faithful, and I’m ending this game as a faithful.” Both were thrilled to be faithfuls and secure the huge prize fund for their charities.
In an emotional scene, Sebastian said: “That was just incredible, this might actually be the best day of my life,” with Romesh adding: “I just really hope my mum’s proud, and also my youngest son Charlie, who wanted me to come on the show. Dad won, please show me some respect.”
It was a dramatic firepit – as all the players originally decided to banish again. Former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock received the most votes and was booted out of the castle. It was then things took a turn.
Traitor Kenny opted to end the game but the other players chose to banish again, with Romesh gunning for James Blunt. It seemed like it was all going to end with an exit for James, but Bash’s decision to split the vote meant Kenny was booted out next.
Players were then given the option to banish again, with James choosing to banish again despite Romesh saying his conversation with Sebastian had changed his mind on whether he was a faithful or a traitor. Both Romesh and Sebastian voted James out.
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Sebastian said of his decision: “I believe you’re both faithful, and I’m sad to be in this predicament, and I’m sorry James because I truly believe that you’re a faithful, but I’m a man of my word, and so I’ve had to go for you.”
Earlier in the show, the final mission saw the teams tasked with finding two underground bunkers in the Scottish Highlands filled with gold, with one team boarding a helicopter and others getting into buggies. Once they found the bunkers they had to blow them up with dynamite.
To find the bunkers, the team in the buggies had to answer questions, before waving in the helicopter team to drop off the dynamite and detonator, with Jama, Croft and Pinnock hanging off the side of the helicopter to deliver the equipment. The group successfully found and detonated both bunkers, adding £18,500 to the prize pot, bringing it to £83,000.
After being voted out at the final roundtable, Maya did not reveal her identity as a traitor as per the rules for the last episode, but told her fellow players: “Thank you, alright, love you all, good luck, you’re going to need it.”
Actor Michael Sheen was murdered at the beginning of the final. After discovering his fate , he said: “The time has come, can’t say I’m surprised, but I am incredibly disappointed, gutted that I got so close to the end. It’s been absolutely unforgettable, and I’ve loved every minute.”
Heartstopper actor Sebastian said he would be donating his £41,500 half of the prize pot to the charity Choose Love, while Romesh said he would be giving his money to the Refugee Council.
The Celebrity Traitors have crowned their winners – as Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan took home the prize money for charity after last minute drama from James Blunt
Fans of BBC’s The Traitors might want to add the underrated town onto their list as it’s right by plenty of the beautiful locations you see on the hit show – and the castle itself
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It’s right by plenty of The Traitors filming locations
BBC’s The Traitors has us gripped with the tense roundtables, secret turret meetings, murders in plain sight and tense missions. However, it’s not just the drama that catches our attention; those beautiful backdrops make it very tempting to open up your laptop and book a Highlands getaway immediately.
Filmed in the Scottish Highlands, the series offers sneak peeks of lochs with sparkling waters, dense forests, and breathtaking scenery that is the stuff of storybooks. For fans who want a taste, the good news is that there are budget-friendly places to stay in the area, a stone’s throw from plenty of the filming locations.
In fact, one town has recently been crowned as the ‘best for fans’ in the area. Dingwall may not be famed for being particularly beautiful or full of places to visit, but the underrated town is worth having on your radar whether you’re a Faithful or Traitor. A study from SMC Coach Hire named it the ‘best place for fans’ of the hit show, thanks to its location less than half an hour’s drive to plenty of The Traitors’ filming locations, not to mention the town boasts around 32 places to eat and drink as well as 11 places to stay.
There are also a few main attractions in the town including the Dingwall Museum, or the GlenWyvis Distillery which is approximately a 10-minute drive away. Meanwhile the Tulloch Castle Hotel is a firm favourite with visitors, while Lastminute.com offers stays at Dingwall hotels from £41 a night.
For Traitors fans, Dingwall is actually just a 24-minute drive from the actual Traitors Castle where the series takes place. Its real name is Ardross Castle but sadly it’s not a real hotel, nor is it a castle that’s open to the public. The 19th century castle boasts beautiful formal gardens and 100 acres of parkland you will no doubt recognise from the show, but if you want to visit there are only a few options; either you need to be filming a TV show or film and have permission there, or you can book out the entire venue for a wedding (although it’s worth noting that it will look very different when it’s not decked out with its Traitors decor).
Still, the missions in the show are filmed on the estate as well as around Alness, Inverness and local spots such as Loch Glass, Cairngorms National Park, and the Rothiemurchus Estate, all of which are open to the public, and less than a half hour’s drive from Dingwall.
If you do want to experience a hint of where the Faithfuls and Traitors stay, then you may want to consider a trip to the Courtyard by Marriott Inverness Airport. Despite the show offering scenes of the cast staying in lavish rooms in the castle, they actually stay at this airport hotel during filming! (If you’re in Inverness and want a budget stay, there are other options too including Travelodge and Premier Inn hotels in the city centre).
“The idea of doing that got me through the whole experience because you feel as a Traitor sometimes, when you see people have real life reactions that are bigger than the game, you feel bad, and I would have to remind myself they don’t have a game without you, literally, if no one’s doing this stuff, they can’t play, and they all want to play,” he said. “So you are doing an important job here, so they all have something to do, and when they catch you, they’ll be really happy and they’ll like it, and it will feel good to just tell them and see that reaction.”
The latest series of Celebrity Traitors has been nothing short of chaos with fiery roundtables and a traitor who simply couldn’t resist revealing his fate in the opening episode
The trio of traitors were deemed the most trustworthy in the game(Image: BBC)
Celebrity Traitors is back on tonight as BBC viewers learn who is set to be banished, will it be Joanne McNally or Sharon Rooney? But with both faithfuls in the firing line, we can only imagine it’ll be sheer disappoint in Thursday’s show.
Of course the three Traitors also appear to be stronger than ever – with Maya Jama, King Kenny and James Acaster all voted the most trustworthy in their latest mission. As a result, Celebrity Traitors host Claudia Winkleman handed Kenny the all-important double vote to use at the roundtable. But while the faithfuls are yet to suspect either of them as a traitor, some fans believe a decision Claudia made at the beginning instantly killed off the game.
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In a post on Reddit, one person labelled this season as “great TV” while someone else claimed choosing Maya as a traitor wasn’t a good choice.
They added: “This series was doomed when they cast Maya Jama as a traitor.” Claiming to be a “huge Traitors fan”, they also said they’re not fussed about this year’s winner.
Someone else claimed the presenter has made “terrible traitor choices”, with the exception of Kenny. They continued: “I get that she’s a traitor and thus obviously wants to sabotage and weaken the faithfuls, and she should!
“But at the same time, from a viewership perspective, if there’s not a single competent faithful and it seems too easy for the traitors, it’s not an interesting watch.
“She couldn’t have predicted just how bad this series’ faithfuls are, but still, I mourn for the alternate season we could’ve had if potentially competent faithfuls like Hannah and James A weren’t recruited.”
But in the main post, the viewer wondered why this season is “getting so much stick”. They added: “It’s great TV. People getting upset because it’s not turning out the way they wanted it… it’s reality TV. It could have 100s of different outcomes. That’s life.”
Another agreed: “Yeah I’ve loved it so far, it’s been really fun.” A third commented: “The show is fine. The viewers are the problem,” while a fourth chimed in: “I’ve enjoyed it. It’s not as funny as last year’s but I’m into it and I care about the result. I really want a 3-traitor win!”
Later tonight we’ll see who will be banished from the castle – will it be Joanne or Sharon?
Celebrity Traitors will be back on at 8pm tonight on BBC One and again tomorrow at the same time.
EXCLUSIVE: The Celebrity Traitors is heating up with the semi-final airing tonight, but a former star believes that one of the Traitors will have to turn on another, in a huge twist
A former star of The Traitors has questioned whether Maya and King Kenny could hang James Acaster ‘out to dry’(Image: BBC)
A former star of The Traitors has predicted a major twist. Tonight’s episode will see at least one Faithful banished from the castle, in yet another devastating blow for the Faithful.
So far, only two Traitors have been banished from Ardross Castle, leaving the team of Faithful shrinking by the day. In yet another twist, the Faithful unknowingly branded the three Traitors – Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny the most trustworthy stars.
But what they didn’t know was that Kenny was later given a chilling double vote for the roundtable, after he and his fellow Traitors worked out who their next victims would be. This series has seen Maya come out on top, with many of her banished and murdered co-stars believing that she could potentially win the programme.
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Former contestant Andrew Jenkins, who appeared on series two of the BBC show, also believes that Maya could go all the way. “Maya Jama has 100 per cent got what it takes, and all of them, to be honest,” he said. He went on to add: “The three traitors have all got a good case because they’ve all been voted the most trustworthy, so they’re all doing really well.”
However, Andrew believes the Traitors will turn on one another before tomorrow night’s final. He commented: “I think the biggest obstacle is going to be that they turn against each other. I think one of them will have to turn against the other one. But they’ve got no heat on them from any of the faithful. So I think Maya Jama is playing a really good game.”
But after James A refused to take part in a task which would benefit the Traitors last week, Andrew says he empathises with the comedian. Both James and Andrew started off on the show as Faithful, before being recruited by The Traitors. “You’re trying to play so many games,” he said.
Speaking in connection with Buzz Bingo, Andrew went on to add: “You’re trying to take the heat off you, you’re trying to be part of a team, and it’s hard trying to juggle it all. So I do understand. I can see it from both sides of the fence. And yeah, he probably has put a bit of a target on his back now. Do Maya and King Kenny trust him now? So he could be hung out to dry now.”
This year has also seen increased paranoia in the castle, with EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp initially fearing he’d been murdered after a co-star merely touched him. However, he was later murdered in plain sight by James A and Maya, who bored him so much he yawned.
“It’s hard,” Andrew said of the paranoia inside the castle, adding: “It is really hard. You get paranoid because you’ve seen previous series. You know how other people have been murdered, so you’re going to suspect things. Nobody wants to drink from any cups; nobody wants to do anything. You get really paranoid.”
Tonight will disclose whether the brutal roundtable voted in favour of Joanne McNally or Sharon Rooney being banished from the castle, as the Faithful and Traitors once again go head to head ahead of tomorrow’s final.
The Traitors airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm.
Celebrity Traitors fans are sure bosses were forced to make a huge change to the BBC show after a ‘chaotic’ twist during last week’s mission
The Celebrity Traitors has been absolute chaos so far – and fans are sure bosses had to make a change(Image: BBC)
The Celebrity Traitors has been pure chaos so far – but not as much as it was in the last episode.
During the daily mission, the celebrities had to come together to find money for the prize fund, with one person handed a special power. Ironically, some of the Faithfuls chose the three Traitors – Maya Jama, King Kenny and James Acaster – as the most trustworthy and they were given a special power.
However, fans are now convinced that the chosen power had to be changed after the Faithfuls put their trust in all the Traitors. Kenny, Maya and James were asked who they wanted to give the power of a double vote to – known as the Dagger – and they ultimately decided Kenny should have the power.
It caused quite the chaos in the roundtable as the double vote from Kenny meant there was a tie. The celebrities had to vote again and we are still waiting to find out if Faithfuls Sharon or Joanne will be next to leave.
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Fans are sure the show had to be changed after the Faithfuls selected all three Traitors to go for the power. One fan theorised on Reddit: “I think the faithful picking the three traitors sparked both immediate chaos as they had to scramble to change the power to something that made sense.”
“If it was intended to be the Seer power I’d have preferred them to roll with it to be honest. It would’ve been interesting to hear the traitors strategise about how to use it,” another shared, adding: “Between themselves to ‘confirm’ one of the traitors as a definite faithful to the rest of the group? Would be fireworks if they (or the seer) were later revealed as a traitor.”
Another fan theorised that it could have been a power used in the North American series, which was called the “power of pardon”. The fan explained: “This power allows one player to save a player from banishment if they think they’re not a traitor.
“But then all three traitors got voted so they pivoted to the dagger. The pardon wouldn’t work because no traitor would use it so no suspense.”
Other fans were convinced it could have originally been the power to ask the Traitors a question like Faithfuls Harriet and Matt (and Traitor Rachel) were allowed to do in the fourth civilian series.
The Traitors will return tomorrow night, where we will find out who gets banished at the roundtable – and if all three Traitors can make it all the way to the final.
Celebrity Traitors finalist Nick Mohammed has shared how isolating it was to film the show amid monitored phone calls with his children and limited downtime
Nick Mohammed on Celebrity Traitors(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Speaking with Jessie and Lennie Ware on their Table Manners podcast, the actor described the isolation of filming, sharing that he was only permitted to have one call with his children a day and that those chats had to be monitored.
Nick, 46, said: “I was allowed once a day to FaceTime them, but only with the producers listening into the phone calls.” He added that this was “because if anything gets out, the game was over”.
“So that was the most difficult thing, and not being able to tell them exactly when I would be going because I didn’t know, and I could be back in 48 hours. I could be gone in three weeks, which turned out I was.”
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He continued to say that the celebs “downtime” was limited: “You didn’t get that much downtime, really. […] It looks in the programme like you get in those cars and go off, but it’s a more elaborate way out of the castle because they don’t want you to see who’s going in what direction. You’re actually in a holding area and dismissed at random, so you have no way of knowing whether someone’s been dismissed early and what that might mean.”
The Ted Lasso star was a Faithful on the show and made it all the way to the final. Though fellow Faithful Joe Marler was suspicious of Traitor Alan, Nick and David Olusoga both thought it was Joe who was the final Traitor and voted him off. As such, Alan won the game, stealing the prize pot for his chosen charity. Alan’s win won a BAFTA for most Memorable Moment.
Nick shared that he almost felt as though it had “never happened”. He explained: “It’s such a strange thing because we filmed it over April and May of last year, and then it didn’t come out till October of that year. So there is a good sort of four or five months where you can’t talk about it. You can’t give anything away, and you are not doing press for it because everything’s embargoed. So to a degree, it almost feels like it never happened. […] And you’ve got no access to the outside world, or you don’t have your phone on you, or anything like that during it.”
This year’s cohort have faced similar conditions concerning contact with the outside world. In a recent interview with The Times, current Traitor James Acaster shared that he was told off by the production team after a conversation with his partner. He said: “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.”
He added that it was “just a game” and that the production team should remember that. His words were criticised by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde on their podcast. The former Pointless star said: “When James says it’s just a game and the production team would do well to remember that, the thing is it’s not just a game, it’s a television show about a game.
“And I am absolutely certain that they would have overstepped lines which the talent would rather they hadn’t overstepped because their job is incredibly difficult and you need to keep things as tight as you possibly can.”
Marina agreed: “You can’t call your family because you’ve been told in the rubric of the show before you go on it and before you sign the contract that that’s part of the game….You’ve got to toughen up.
“You’re being paid 40 grand for like 10 days work or something and you’re doing it for disadvantaged people so try and remember your chosen charity and just push it down.”
Comedian and TV star Miranda Hart had years of illness but became a fan favourite on Celebrity Traitors with her hilarious TV comeback, before being murdered by the Traitors
Miranda Hart says Celebrity Traitors has got her life back on track with joy
Miranda Hart fought back tears of sadness and joy when she left the Celebrity Traitors – as she explained the show was genuinely life changing for her. The 53-year-old fan’s favourite was murdered by the Traitors on the show tonight, and reacted by jokingly screwing up the piece of paper with her name on and saying “Bottoms! I knew it.”
But getting more serious, Miranda went on to explain how competing on the programme, her first major TV appearance for several years, meant a lot, having been bed-bound and housebound with chronic fatigue after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Getting emotional, she said: “Ultimately, in my little personal story, this has been quite extraordinary that I’ve been able to get back and do the thing that I love professionally and do the things that I love personally, like wandering around a Scottish highland and being in nature and laughing and connecting. There were times that I didn’t think that would be possible again.”
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And in an interview after the cameras had finished rolling, the actor and comedian went on to say she was fulfilled and satisfied after getting herself back to work and competing.
Asked for her proudest achievement, she explained: “I think just getting there and being part of it full stop. I have missed doing television so much and it has been a very hard road to get to a place after restricting long term illness to be fit enough to do something again.”
She added: “I think it’s a good thing that I wasn’t banished because my speech would have ended up being emotional and mushy. I would have told them how precious the connection and the joy and playfulness had meant after years of not being able to experience that, knowing that they are the most important things in life. And then no doubt the floodgates would have opened.
“I also would have tried to extend the reveal of what I was an absurdly long time. Anything for some more airtime!” Miranda has been an amusing presence throughout the series, including one memorable scene where she was recreating a Little Mix dance with former band member Leigh-Anne Pinnock. It was so dramatic and funny that it led actor Michael Sheen to wrongly believe it could be some kind of smokescreen for a murder plot. But it was just Miranda having the time of her life.
She recalled: “I love Leigh-Anne so much for making my Big Mix wish come true. Though I would like to apologise to all viewers for the dance – bosoms as menopausally wobbly as mine should not have been doing those moves.
“However, I would like to say to Little Mix that I am available and will go into training. When Michael[Sheen] suggested it could have been the way I had been murdered in plain sight I did in part want that to be true – what a way to go!”
Miranda said she loved the game but admitted it was intense and during filming she thought of nothing else, even dreaming one night she was married to Michael Sheen.
She said: “The actual game was much harder than I thought it would be. And much more all-consuming. I am sure for many the idea of doing it is a hard no for a number of reasons – it’s an intense experience and being idiotic and vulnerable on international television isn’t for everyone! – but for me it combined so much of what I love.
“The landscape, games, playing, being part of a team, deep and fun connection with people, being able to look down a camera and have a chat from time to time. I could go on. But when I say it was intense, it REALLY was – way more than I expected. I understand now why you become close to people on shows like it.”
She said she felt closest to Michael, Joe Lycett and James Blunt, but was also wrongly certain that King Kenny was a faithful. Looking back, she concluded: “I think you will always go away from something as intense and unusual an experience as this learning something.
“I learnt many things, or rather relearnt. One being never judge a book by its cover and be open to being wrong about your first judgement about someone. Secondly, that however assured people come across we are all vulnerable, have needs, and ultimately desire to be kind, so look for the good in people and treat them how you want to be treated. Make time for people rather than always looking after your own interests socially – that’s a big one.
“And finally, it has cemented my hatred of the smart phone because the joy of being with people without their phones – we talked and connected in a way I remember when I was younger. We need to put those darn things away.”
Elsewhere in last night’s episode, the remaining Faithfuls continued to struggle to spot the three Traitors – Maya Jama, King Kenny and James Acaster. In fact, they were so bad that they picked to save the trio at the end of the mission called Field Of Screams, as the players who could be eligible for a “game-changing power”.
Grinning Maya joked: “I had to hold in my laughter. Of all people, you saved us. I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, have we completed this game already? We are trusting, we are unsuspecting, we are killing you all.’”
Kenny added: “Can’t believe we’ve been chosen as the most trustworthy. What on earth? Feels too good to be true.” And James said: “None of this comes back to us because they keep on doing it themselves.”
After he was picked to have the new power by the Traitors, host Claudia Winkleman gave Kenny a dagger, which meant he had two votes instead of one in the latest Round Table. As the show ended, Sharon Rooney and Joanne McNally tied on four votes each, and so they had to make a final plea to survive being banished before a second vote took place.
Kenny will have the deciding vote at the start of next week’s episodes, but whoever leaves, they are both part of team Faithful. It means the three Traitors will have all survived until the final week of the contest, and the struggling Faithfuls are up against it.
REVIEW: After one big yawn in the castle, the most disastrous mission ever was followed by the least productive Round Table. What’s going on?
21:05, 22 Oct 2026Updated 21:19, 22 Oct 2026
James Acaster knew he’d get a roasting in the turret – and he did
A disastrous Mission – in which the Traitors failed to bank any money at all – was tonight followed by a terrible Round Table, in which the Faithful simply clammed up. The producers must have been tearing their hair out.
It all started to go wrong when James Acaster decided he simply wasn’t going to do anything asked of him in the Mission, because he was “too scared”. And outraged Maya Jama and King Kenny could do nothing about it – because he did’t even raise his blindfold to look them in the eye.
Freaked out by his refusal, the pair of them crept about a bit but never looked close to building their shield, and – spooked by the creaking floorboards – in the end just aborted the mission entirely.
What is staggering is they didn’t even bother to sabotage the shields that had been built, leaving three of the Faithful fully protected from murder that night. So marks for effort to all three – zero.
Emboldened after winning the shields, some of the Faithful realised that the Traitors were on the ropes. “They’ve been absolutely rubbish,” James Blunt said, as Michael Sheen agreed: “They’ve got scared.”
They were absolutely right. But as though their inertia was catching, the Faithful then decided they’d respond by giving up speaking at the Round Table. Theories? Nah, they decided, collectively. Miranda Hart had one, but then withdrew it.
Jerry was asked for her thoughts directly, but having banged on repeatedly about James Blunt since the start, refused to say his name. And that’s after she’d earlier made the astonishing claim that he must be a Traitor because: “His face is redder than a fox’s ass at gooseberry time.” Well, if you say so Jerry.
In the end it was the former model who got her marching orders, not because the others really thought she was a Traitor, but because Michael suggested the next best thing was to get rid of any unhelpful Faithful.
Hang on though, hadn’t they noticed that Jerry and Sharon Rooney were the last ones in to breakfast that morning? Which means – as EVERY self-respecting fan of the show knows – that they must have been the other two Faithful in contention for murder, along with Ross Kemp. Duh. Never even mentioned.
When night fell, James Acaster was fully braced for the backlash he knew he deserved in the turret, saying: “I know I’m going to get a dressing down, I’m aware of that.”
Sure enough Maya and Kenny were fuming that he’d hung them out to dry. “I was scared,” he argued, deflecting their anger by insisting he was getting better at being a Traitor, not worse.
“When I killed Ross Kemp in plain sight, I loved it,” he declared. “And I have enjoyed today more.” Maya said she was proud of him but loyalty-wise, he must be skating on thin ice.
Now Romesh Ranganathan is convinced he’s about to be bumped off and if it’s not him it will be Miranda or Sebastian Croft. (The other two will walk in last to breakfast, you mark my words.)
James picked Romesh saying that his popularity and authority with the other Faithful would make his exit a huge blow. Calling him the “deputy head” of the round table, James said: “Morale-wise, everybody loves having Rom around.”
His words were kind but was this his way of trying to get rid of the fellow comedian, who is said to have made his life tricky in the castle? As Romesh headed to bed, he was muttering: “I’m going to die tonight.” And he could be right.
But whoever goes might find they’ve have a lucky escape if tonight’s effort was anything to go by. If this was a school report it would contain just three words: Must. Try. Harder.
Ross Kemp has feared being killed in plain sight since the very first day – but when it finally happened, he didn’t have a clue
Gotcha! Ross Kemp finally succumbs to the yawn murder
Ross Kemp has admitted that “fear of failure” was what drove his intense paranoia in the Celebrity Traitors castle, which proved highly entertaining for viewers.
The actor and presenter was killed by the Traitors in plain sight last night, after he was the first to yawn in the library, breathing in a deadly perfume sprayed by King Kenny under orders.
But having been fearful of being bumped off in public since the very first day – after Bella Ramsey put a hat on his head and Leigh-Anne Pinnock touched his arm – when it actually happened he was none the wiser. Speaking just after he left the castle Ross, 62, said: “I lived every day thinking I was going to get killed, and now it’s actually happened.
“The fear of failure on this is not comparable to anything. Whether you’re an actor, or in a hostile environment where you could get killed, you don’t let people down. Yes, no one’s going to get killed here, but the wish of not wanting to let yourself down or the people around you, was quite the drive.
“I was under a considerable amount of pressure by my children to do this, and you can’t really say no to it. It’s so popular. I think it’s the cleverest show on British television.”
Ross bowed out on TV with some sinister words for those who had killed him. “Well played Traitors,” he said. “But you’re always going to bee Traitors. And I know where you live…”
Stressing that he had “enjoyed it immensely”, Ross explained: “The whole environment just makes you paranoid. If you’re a fan of the show, you know that murder in plain sight happens. So when someone puts a hat on you, or touches your arm, however innocently it might be, I don’t think I’m wrong in suspecting it.”
Tipping “very clever” Maya as a potential winner, along with fellow Traitor James Acaster, Ross insisted: “I don’t feel that bad that I’ve gone when I’ve gone.”
And having put his absolute all into the Missions, in which money is raised for the prize fund, he’s hoping that he’ll now be missed. “I think it’s just in my nature to take on a physical challenge and want to succeed at it. I hope the next three or four Missions involve really heavy lifting across water, hopefully with some poo involved. I’ll watch it with great glee,” he laughed.
Jerry Hall said that being banished because she was “an icon” had come as a surprise, with Miranda Hart wrongly suspecting that the producers and host Claudia Winkleman wouldn’t have been able to resist putting Jerry and Richard E Grant into the turret together.
But Jerry – who recognised that she’d “made mistakes” in her exit speech – said she hadn’t laughed so much in years. Insisting she’d given it her all, she said: “Oh, it’s so much harder than the catwalk – it’s a very competitive world, and there’s some ruthless people, I should have been better prepared. Apparently the reason I got voted off was because I was an icon, which didn’t sound like it was a very factual reason. I think they saw me as a threat.”
But the 70-year-old said she’d even enjoyed her banishment, declaring: “It was kind of fun, and they were all so sweet. It was a lovely ending.”
The model, originally from Texas but now living in London, has no idea who the real Traitors are. “I’ve suspected James Blunt for quite a while, and Joanne, and even Leigh-Anne, and Miranda too. And Romesh, so there you go.”
Nevertheless, she was proud of what they’d achieved. “We caught two Traitors and we’d made quite a bit of prize money, I thought we were on a roll.”
The Celebrity Traitors is back on BBC One tonight with a murder in plain sight taking place – but a Traitor, namely Love Island’s Maya Jama, could be in the frame too, it has been claimed.
Maya Jama has a ‘tell’ at the round table says a body language expert
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.
