But it might not be long before one of them gets their comeuppance, with Alan Carr and Cat Burns seeming to form an alliance against fellow Traitor Jonathan Ross because his name is being mentioned by other players. The pair were seen by viewers plotting to “throw him under the bus” if his streak of having heat on him continues.
As he became the second player to be murdered, Olympic diver Tom Daley admitted he was “so sad” to go. Speaking afterwards, he said he would have fared better as a Traitor because when he and his family play at home he never gets detected in the baddie role, but always gets wrongly accused when he’s a Faithful.
He realised too late that he was being overly forthright with his accusations, with were largely directed at Kate Garraway. “Every time I’ve played as a Faithful, people thought I was a Traitor because I was always trying to figure out who the Traitors were,” he said. “I can perhaps be a little too vocal with my ideas in pursuit of them, which is exactly what has happened here.”
Dad of two Tom, 31, said he felt both “confused” and “disappointed” to go out so early – but questioned the Traitors’ tactics in getting rid of him when there was already heat directed his way.
“It was so sad when I saw the letter on the chair and I instantly knew I’d been murdered,” he explained. “I was very confused about what The Traitors are doing because I clearly would be someone that would get banished at the Round Table. If any of the Traitors just planted that seed, I’m sure I would be banished.
“They could have murdered someone that they know would never have gotten banished at the Round Table. Maybe they thought of me as a threat. Maybe I was getting too close to the right answers.
“I just thought, if I notice something I’m going to say it. However, I must have said a few too many things in front of the wrong people!”
YouTuber and prankster Niko Omilana looked gutted as he became the second Faithful to be selected for banishment at the Round Table, in a plot carefully constructed by the Traitors. He summed up his short time in the castle with the three words: ”Betrayal. Set-up. And loser.”
But he said one positive he was taking away was that he’d overcome his long-held fear of public speaking. “At the table, I was quite nervous when I first started talking, but then as it went on, I felt more confident,” he said. “I’m quite chuffed with that, because I really don’t like public speaking.
“It’s one of my big fears. Seeing everyone staring at me, having to defend myself and really making sure I didn’t go down without a fight. I think I did that. That was something I learned about myself, which I’m happy about.”
And at the end of the show, EastEnders star Tameka Empson suffered the same fate, much to the agony of the remaining Faithfuls in the room. The actress, 48, admitted to finding it all quite tough after the accusations against her were led by actor Mark Bonnar. “I was very emotional,” she confessed once she had left the castle.
“In my mind, I thought, ‘I’m not going out’. I was sad to leave the game, because in this industry you get to know people to a certain point but in this environment, it was really lovely to spend this length of time and really get to know everyone.”
And despite him being a Traitor, she laughed: “Jonathan is a big teddy bear.”
But when he’s not in the public eye, he lives a quiet family life with his husband Dustin Lance Black and their two children.
The star, 31, has been married since 2017 and became a dad for the first time the following year, and has been open about what family life means to him.
“I used to define myself by diving,” the Mirror quoted Tom as saying in 2021. “If I dived well it reflected on me as a person. Now I’m first and foremost a father and husband.” So who is Tom’s husband?
Is Tom Daley married?
Tom first came out to his fans in a YouTube video in December 2013, in which he shared that his “whole world changed” when he fell in love with a man.
He started dating Dustin, who is a screenwriter, director and producer known for movies such as Milk and J Edgar.
Tom told The Guardian earlier this year that the pair met at a dinner in 2013 and that they “talked and talked until we both realised how similar our lives were”.
“He had just lost his brother; I’d lost my dad,” he said of Dustin, who is almost 20 years older than him. “He had just won his Oscar; I had just won an Olympic medal. It was the first time I could complain about success to somebody who knew I wasn’t really complaining about success.”
The couple revealed their engagement in October 2015 with a traditional wedding announcement in The Times.
They tied the knot in 2017 in Dartmoor National Park, with Tom telling fans on Instagram at the time: “On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life, @dlanceblack.”
Does Tom Daley have any children?
In 2018, the couple welcomed their son via a surrogate and named him Robert ‘Robbie’ Ray, a tribute to Tom’s dad Robert, who died in 2011.
Second son Phoenix was born in 2023, also via a surrogate.
The following year, Tom announced he was retiring from diving, revealing his decision after the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Tearing up in a moving interview with the BBC, he said: “It’s hard to talk about, it’s emotional… I want to be with my family.”
The Celebrity Traitors made its way to our screens after months of speculation and hype and, among the 6.5 million viewers to tune in this week, was Prince William
03:19, 11 Oct 2025Updated 03:29, 11 Oct 2025
The Celebrity Traitors features an all-star cast ready to play the ultimate game of deceit and betrayal(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/Artwork – BBC Creative)
Guards had to stop The Celebrity Traitors stars sneaking between bedrooms at the hotel at which they stayed, it has emerged.
But the personalities did not get the VIP treatment. During filming, the stars had to stay at a £80-per-night Courtyard by Marriott hotel near an airport, which remained open to the public. The celebrities, which also included Alan Carr and Clare Balding, were only allowed out at certain times for cigarette breaks and short walks, it has emerged.
The guards kept close eyes on the contestants at the hotel, the same one used in the non-celebrity version of the BBC programme, and they weren’t even allowed to go, alone, to visit other stars in their rooms.
The titular “Traitors” must work together to eliminate the other contestants to win a grand prize, while the remaining contestants become “Faithful” and are tasked to discover and banish the “Traitors” by voting them out to win the prize. Knowledge gathered only be succeeding in tasks during the show will help the teams achieve these goals.
And the production team ensured they maintained the same tough rules for the household names as they had done for the non-famous counterparts in the original show, much to the “shock” of some stars.
“They must have had a shock, some of them would never have stayed anywhere that s*** before, it was hardly salubrious,” one source told the Daily Mail today, days after the first episode of the series aired.
Celebrity Traitors: First look teaser trailer
The series was filmed over three weeks in May and, while tasks were often held in the famous castle, none of the contestants got to stay in the building – and had to make do with the hotel near Inverness Airport. Celebs were put on one floor and a lockdown-style curfew was imposed. Mobiles were confiscated and a “production phone” was issued for emergencies, it is reported today. The same source continued: “There was to be no social media, just old-fashioned phone calls.”
It is thought the BBC ensured transmission of the programme was quick – less than five months after filming – to avoid any leaks. The VIPs have been paid the same flat rate for their time – unlike the civilian version, for which contestants get a small stipend to subsidise time away from work.
Some friendships have already become strained. It has now emerged Alan Carr, for instance, “murdered” his good friend Paloma Faith in episode two by rubbing poison lily on her face. Faith said: “If the shoe was on the other foot, I would not have touched Alan’s face.”
The next episode of The Celebrity Traitors is on Wednesday on BBC One at 9pm.
Singer Paloma Faith was ‘fuming’ after finding out her close pal Alan Carr was responsible for sealing her fate, along with fellow Traitors Cat Burns and Jonathan Ross
Paloma had no idea she was being murdered when Alan brushed the hair from her face(Image: BBC)
Paloma Faith “threw a wobbly” over being the first in The Celebrity Traitors to be thrown out the castle, sources have revealed.
Last night viewers saw the singer, 44, have her fate sealed when the lid on her coffin was slammed shut during the mission and she was physically carried out of the game.
But off camera, Paloma was said to have been “fuming” over her murder, especially when she discovered that the three Traitors who’d killed her off were people she felt close to. One source said: “She threw a wobbly afterwards about being the first to go.
“Some players just shrug it off when they leave, but Paloma was fuming when she discovered who had betrayed her. She couldn’t work out what had actually happened, and when she found out the details it only made her feel worse. Paloma is loud and wears her heart on her sleeve – it’s fair to say that she wasn’t happy with going home first.”
As well as being close to comedian Alan Carr, the chart-topper also felt let down by Cat Burns, because she’s on the same record label, and Jonathan Ross, because she has known him for years and appeared on his chat show.
Speaking afterwards, Paloma described the experience as having been “up and down”. She explained: “I found it quite nerve wracking because I knew when I went in that I have a huge personality and that I’d be very visible.
“I knew that I couldn’t fade into the background. I’m the sort of person that lets my feelings about people be known by talking a lot, so it was never an option for me to be able to quietly just simmer under the surface.”
And she quipped: “I don’t think my technique was great in this game, but it works very well in real life.” Saying she’d have made a great Traitor, she added: “I feel like it was a big fashion mistake not to see me in the cloak.”
Asked who she’d like to see triumph in the game, Paloma snubbed the Traitors, saying: “I’d like to see someone kind and strategic win like Nick Mohammed. He’s proof you can be kind, considerate and clever to play the game well – you don’t have to be evil.”
On last night’s show, viewers saw Alan commit the murder in plain sight by brushing some hair from his pal’s cheek during a chat in the kitchen.
He went for Paloma in the poison pollen plot after she’d told him cosily: “I definitely trust you.” But after the killing, he admitted: “I feel awful. I didn’t know what else to do! I’ve gone and murdered one of my best friends.”
Alan, 49, also told the cameras that carrying out the murder had challenged him: “It was a stretch fo my acting ability – I don’t know how Meryl Streep does it.”
But when Alan spoke of his guilt to fellow Traitors Jonathan Ross and Cat Burns, he was told to “toughen up” after claiming that killing her off “broke my heart”. Wossy insisted: “You’re not a bad person – you’re a good Traitor. I don’t want to hear any more of this broken heart nonsense. We’ve got to start enjoying this.”
Later, there was confusion when all 19 of the group arrived for breakfast. Not realising she was a dead woman walking because of the slow-working poison, Paloma said she felt “happy and relieved” adding: “I thought thank goodness not to be the first one dead.”
And even after Claudia revealed that the Traitors had murdered in plain sight, she had no idea she was the victim, saying: “I had so few interactions yesterday that I don’t feel that I was got.”
During the mission, the group had to try and work out who had actually been murdered. When Paloma found herself lying in a coffin alongside comic Lucy Beaumont and online prankster Niko Omilana, she told the group: “I think it’s me.” Afterwards, Stephen Fry sighed sadly: “Oh Paloma, you were right.”
Weeping during her exit interview, she said: “I thought I wasn’t going to get emotional but I feel really sad. It’s been really a wonderful experience – I wish it had been longer.”
The BBC1 series kicked off with a huge audience of 6.1million and continues next Wednesday, with the result of the first banishment revealed.
Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed is one of the famous faces trying to track down swindling stars on Celebrity Traitors…
Nick Mohammed and wife Becka have three children(Image: WireImage)
Celebrity Traitors star Nick Mohammed made an instant impact on the BBC hit from the get-go, easily solving a fiendishly difficult puzzle in the manner of a man who does five Rubik’s Cubes before breakfast.
Fans of his character Mr Swallow might not be surprised – the comic character is able to memorise a pack of playing cards and Ted Lasso star Nick has said the maths and recall stunts he does are “real and legit” explaining that he learnt them himself.
“My eldest son has an eidetic memory, which is essentially photographic, but mine is good too,” he told the Sunday Post in 2023, speaking about the feats that have gone viral after appearances on the likes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown that left Rob Beckett and Jimmy Carr speechless.
Nick, 45, who was the scheming Nathan in Ted Lasso, studied Geophysics – essentially a study of the Earth – at Durham, having turned down the chance to attend the equally-prestigious University of Cambridge, and played violin in the orchestra. He paid his way through university doing magic at summer balls, parties and weddings.
The funnyman doesn’t say much about his private life, but it is known that he met his wife Becka, who is a teacher, way back in his student days at Durham. The couple tied the knot in 2014, with Nick announcing: “Got married last weekend, this is my niece’s impression of the events,” before adding: “WHAT IS GOING ON NEAR MY WIFE’S CROTCH?””
They have three children together, and their eldest, Finn, appeared alongside him on an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. In an interview with The Guardian, Nick was asked about the ‘funniest person’ he knows. In a heartwarming reply, he said: “My wife. Pretty much every day she’ll say something that makes me roar with laughter (which I’ll then secretly write down).”
During his time at Durham, Nick and Becka performed together in the orchestra, though he didn’t make it into the Durham Revue, so he explored the comedy circuit before moving on to study at Cambridge. There, he became part of their renowned Footlights troupe.
It was at this point that he created Mr Swallow, basing the character on his secondary school English teacher. Nick’s alter-ego has brought him considerable success, and he has refined it across stage and screen throughout the years. Additional television recognition came through regular roles in Sorry, I’ve Got No Head, Drifters and Cuckoo.
However, it was Ted Lasso that catapulted him to worldwide stardom, where he appeared alongside the likes of Hannah Waddingham and Jason Sudeikis in the Apple+ comedy. When discussing the possibility of another series, he commented: “Everyone has said if there’s an idea that feels good, we would be all up for it. I would personally go back in a heartbeat!”.
Despite not pursuing music as his primary career, he has still managed to indulge in his love for it. Last year, he hosted the BBC Proms, and fans of Ted Lasso will remember that, portraying his character Nathan Shelley, he genuinely played the violin as the scriptwriters incorporated his particular talent into the storyline.
At the time, he explained that his wife also played a role, saying: “This ep of Ted Lasso is special for lots of reasons… but mostly because it’s my *incredible* wife playing the piano to Arvo Pärt’s ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’ with me on my old violin from home. The piece was Jason’s idea: literally translates as ‘mirror in mirror.”
Before going into Celebrity Traitors – where he has been picked as a Faithful – he admitted he didn’t have a game plan, saying: “I think I’ll just try and be quite easy breezy in the first instance. Because, you know, people are going to go right from the off.
“A little further down the line you can maybe start considering strategy – and it also depends on whether I’m made a Traitor or a Faithful. There’s a certain thrill of being made a Traitor, of course. In conversation with BeyondTheJoke, he continued: “If I’m a Faithful, I’ll have that constant worry each night whether I’ll be murdered.
“You can of course be discovered and banished as a Traitor, but I feel that in the first instance, you’re in a little bit more control. So, I would enjoy that element to a degree and I’d love to make the final. That said, I’ve got lovely family at home, so it’s sort of a win, win. When my time is up, I get to go back home and see them!”
However, Nick has one genuine concern about the whole situation. He confessed: “My problem is I do find things very funny, and a lot of people who I’ve worked with will testify that I do often get the giggles. My biggest worry is the moment when the blindfolds are taken off at the start.
Because irrespective of whether I’ve been made a Traitor or a Faithful, I’ll struggle not to smile. So that is a real, genuine worry.”
The Celebrity Traitors returns to BBC One tonight at 9pm
Celebrity Traitors has kicked off as Claudia Winkleman returns to host a line-up of famous faces including Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr, Stephen Fry, Kate Garraway, Tom Daley and more
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Claudia Winkleman has returned to host the Traitors and Faithfuls(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
The highly-anticipated Celebrity Traitors has finally kicked off this week, with Claudia Winkleman returning to the Scottish Highlands to pit traitors versus faithfuls for a potential £100,000 prize pot for charity.
The Traitors‘ castle has become an iconic location thanks to its picture-perfect landscaped gardens, huge grounds, breathtaking library, living room and even its own bar. It’s therefore not surprising that fans always clamour to find out if they can hire it out for a holiday with their friends and recreate their own Traitors experience.
The real-life location is Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, around half an hour’s drive north of Inverness.
Unfortunately before you rush to book a room at the beautiful 19th century spot, it’s not a hotel. However, it can be hired for the likes of weddings or corporate events. The landmark’s website is quite clear: “The estate is located in Ross-shire and is available for exclusive use hire for both corporate and private clients. The Castle is not a hotel and we do not let individual rooms.”
If you do hire it, don’t expect to find the infamous Roundtable Room; the whole set-up with the table and atmospheric decor is for the show.
It’s not hugely surprising; even during the show, the Traitors and Faithfuls themselves don’t sleep on the property but instead get whisked away to a nearby hotel, as Ardross Castle wouldn’t have enough rooms to accommodate all of the participants. (Although they do of course travel back to have breakfast in that gorgeous dining room, even if those breakfasts can get very tense).
Don’t be disheartened if you were picturing a fun weekend in a castle for a big group holiday; there are plenty of other castles across the UK which are open for bookings. Sykes Holiday Cottages, the Landmark Trust, Host Unusual and Big House Experience all have a variety of castle listings that cater to a wide array of budgets and group sizes.
It appears that The Traitors has caused quite a boost of tourism in Scotland, with increased searches for stays in the areas. Chris Ross, Chief Brand Officer & EMEA Executive Chair at Collinson International, said of the trend: “We’ve seen a remarkable uplift in visits to our Scottish airport lounges, and it’s clear that The Traitors has played a major role in putting Scotland, and especially the Highlands, firmly on travellers’ wish lists.
“Our data shows fans are turning their on-screen fascination into real-world adventures, with more travellers than ever flying to Scotland to experience the drama, beauty and intrigue for themselves. Scotland’s moment in the spotlight really is translating into a tourism boom.”
Ruth Codd, who is in this year’s The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One alongside 18 other stars, wants to raise awareness about amputations following a horrific injury
23:49, 08 Oct 2025Updated 23:52, 08 Oct 2025
Ruth Codd is pictured on The Celebrity Traitors(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
The star’s candid interview, which has resurfaced following her appearance in the new series last night, details why Ruth, now 29, had her right leg amputated below the knee. The actress had injured her foot playing football when she was 15 and, in around 2019, she suffered further complications which led to the surgery.
Ruth, from Wexford, Ireland, said she made the decision to help relieve the pain and gain more control over her life. Ruth has learned in the subsequent years to use a prosthetic leg, she told the Irish Examiner. This interview from 2022 has resurfaced today following interest on Ruth and her injury.
She said: “My injury is the greatest challenge I’ve faced in my life so far. I injured it playing soccer at the age of 15. It never healed correctly so until I was 23, I was on and off crutches, getting loads of operations. Because of nerve damage and chronic pain, I chose to get it amputated. It took eight years of my life, constantly going in and out of hospital.
“My whole life revolved around trying to heal my leg. For years, I didn’t see it getting any better. I was stuck in a really bad mindset and I was pissed off at life. When I made the decision to amputate it, things finally started to turn around. It was a relief. I could get on my life.”
In The Celebrity Traitors, Ruth and 18 other stars compete to prove themselves as either a Faithful or a Traitor. The other celebs include actor and broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry and Olympian Tom Daley.
Ruth, who portrayed Anya in the Netflix thriller series The Midnight Club, previously spoke of her delight to partake in the show. Her enthusiasm was mirrored by the BBC unscripted director Syeda Irtizaali, who said of the show in the summer: “It was a real pleasure to cast this series. I think where we started with was we wanted to have a really broad range of people, obviously, but we also wanted people that were real fans of the show, that really understood it.
“I was worried about it; I was worried about how they were going to play it compared to members of the public, but we have nothing to worry about. They really play the game, and some of the things that you’ll see them doing are extraordinary; that’s all I’m going to say. It’s well worth the wait.”
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, The Celebrity Traitors will air on Wednesdays on BBC One and iPlayer.
There’s been just one episode of Celebrity Traitors but fans think they’ve worked out which celebrity will be taking home the crown already, after a huge twist
Traitors fans think they’ve already ‘worked out’ the winner of the show(Image: BBC)
It was a dramatic first episode of Celebrity Traitors tonight – and fans think they’ve already worked out who will win the show with eight more to go after thinking they’d spotted a ‘huge clue’.
The show started off with a huge twist tonight. Instead of being taken to the iconic Scottish castle, the SUVs took a major detour, and the celebs started the game by meeting host Claudia Winkleman at a graveyard.
There, they were told to dig their own graves, which all included a shield under all the dirt. The first six were granted immunity, and it was Celia Imrie, comedian Joe Wilkinson, ex rugby player Joe Marler as well as Charlotte Church, Kate Garraway and Jonathan Ross who received the all important item.
However, Charlotte later gave hers up in the challenge after a huge blunder by Clare Balding, and it was a waste for Jonathan Ross, who was named as a Traitor moments later. Alan Carr and Cat Burns were also given the role of Traitors.
Fans have already been left impressed with the Traitors, and think they’ve worked out who will win after dissecting everyone’s gameplan.
There was one Traitor in particular who seemed to stand out to viewers, as one fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter to write: “I think cat can be harry level traitor, she has that vibe,” as another agreed: “i think Cat will shaft Alan & Jonathon and neither of them will see it coming.”
“Cat burns is capable of winning it all imo !!! #CelebrityTraitors,” another penned.
A couple of fans later thought they’d spotted a ‘clue’ that drove them to their predictions, as one penned: “placing my bets now that cat burns is going to win because her album comes out on the night the traitors finale airs.”
Another agreed: “Cat Burns winning traitors – calling it now. Album coming out on night of the final!”
At the end of the show, it was revealed that Traitors, Alan, Jonathan and Cat were given the task to murder one Faithful in plain sight, by touching their face. Fans were left in hysterics at the huge twist
The episode ended on a huge cliffhanger, as the trio decided Chatty Man Alan would be the least suspecting, but who will be the first out?
Fans will have to tune in to the second episode tomorrow night at the same time to see who the Traitors chose as their first victim.
The BBC Sport presenter joins the likes of Tom Daley, Jonathan Ross and Alan Carr in taking part in the first series of The Celebrity Traitors
Balding first met her wife in 1999 and describes her as “fiercely loyal”
The inaugural series of The Celebrity Traitors hits our screens on Wednesday night, with a star-studded cast taking part in the spin-off of the popular BBC programme.
The celebrity line-up includes singer-songwriter Cat Burns, telly host Jonathan Ross, actress Celia Imrie and former Olympic diver Tom Daley. However, one contestant who’s been tipped to go the distance and bag the £100,000 charity prize is BBC Sport legend Clare Balding.
Over her 30-year career, the presenter has become one of Britain’s most esteemed broadcasters, having fronted massive sporting events such as the Grand National, Olympic Games and Wimbledon for channels like the BBC and Channel 4.
Balding will be hoping her authority, popularity and affability to take her far in the iconic Traitors castle, while she has grown used to the spotlight being cast over her, and particularly her life away from the cameras. As her stock has risen, particular attention has been paid her personal life, from her relationship with another presenter to her recent weight loss. Here’s what you need to know.
Ex-BBC presenter wife
Balding first met her wife, broadcaster Alice Arnold, in 1999 while they were both working for the BBC. While they were simply good friends at first, they began dating in 2002, after a national newspaper publicly revealed Balding’s sexuality.
The pair entered into a civil partnership in 2006 before getting married in a private ceremony in 2015, following the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the UK. Their marriage was subsequently back-dated to 2006.
Balding has described Arnold, who worked as a newsreader and continuity announcer at BBC Radio 4 for over two decades, as “fiercely loyal” and her “own little guard dog”.
Reflecting on their first meeting, the Wimbledon presenter confessed she was unaware of Arnold’s identity when she first noticed her at a BBC show, but added: “I saw her and thought ‘Oh, she’s really interesting and rather beautiful. We started chatting and she’s very funny. We were friends for at least two years.”
Balding recently spoke more candidly about her relationship with Arnold during an interview with Hello! Magazine, crediting her wife as the inspiration behind her debut novel ‘Pastures New’, which hit shelves in September.
“One of the things I wanted to write about in my novel was about falling in love because I thought ‘I know that’,” she explained. “I know what real, deep love is and meeting someone I want to grow old with. Lucky, lucky me.”
In the same interview, she revealed that she and Arnold are preparing to leave their long-time home in Chiswick as they look to fill the “canine-shaped hole” in their lives by getting a new dog.
“We’re looking to move out of London in the near future, and one of the main reasons for that is to have a bit more space and protection from the road so that it’s a good environment for a dog,” said Balding. “As soon as we’re settled, it’s definitely our plan – probably next spring. I just smile at the thought of having a dog back in our lives.”
On how she and Arnold spend their time together, she spoke about their love of golf, adding: “I’m not as good as Alice, who’s a seven-handicap golfer, but I’m working on getting better”. She also discussed the couple’s travel plans, explaining: “Alice and I are about to go from New York up to Quebec and back again and we’re going to Japan on a cruise next year. We love being on the water and then ending up in a new place.”
Balding’s relationship with Arnold came after she previously dated men, with one of her former partners even proposing to her. However, she turned down the proposal and never regretted the decision, explaining that he went on to “behave appallingly”.
“I had a few boyfriends, not like loads,” she recalled. “But I had one very serious boyfriend for two or three years. He asked me to marry him, and he was in the Army, and he was going off. And I thought, ‘He’s only asking me because he thinks he’s in danger and, according to romantic films, I’m meant to say yes at this point’.
“I knew I didn’t want to. I said, ‘Look, that’s a lovely thing to say but ask me again when you come back’. When he came back he didn’t ask me again, and I thought, ‘Thank God’. I thought, ‘I don’t trust you and I’ll never trust you’ – and funnily enough I was absolutely spot on as his ex-wife told me not that long ago.”
She added: “That relationship ended not very well with him behaving appallingly. I think I was damaged by that, but that doesn’t make you gay. I just think when I first fell in love with a woman, it was completely different.”
Cancer battle
In 2009, Balding revealed she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer after spotting a lump on her neck while watching herself present on television.
Warning signs of the condition include a lump in the neck, a painful throat and swallowing difficulties that persist, and after heeding her family’s advice to consult a doctor, she was told she had cancer and needed an operation. Balding then underwent surgery to remove a cyst, her thyroid gland and a lymph node, followed by radioactive iodine treatment to halt the disease’s progression.
She later admitted to going through a “dark stage” after her diagnosis, as she feared the potential impacts of her illness on her voice and career. However, she received the all-clear at the end of 2010 and has since seen her career flourish.
During a recent appearance on the Stick to Rugby podcast, she opened up about her diagnosis, recalling: “It was an odd one because I hadn’t noticed feeling any different. I was doing the show jumping at Christmas when it was at Olympia and I recorded an opening link, and I was watching it back on the monitor as we were about to go live.
“I was looking at the mirror and I saw this lump on my neck, a big lump. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s really weird, where has that come from?’ I went home for Christmas and my sister-in-law’s Welsh grandfather was a doctor, and he looked at it. He was still a practising GP and he said that I’d better go to the doctor. He took Alice to one side and said, ‘Make sure she goes’.
“Between Christmas and New Year, when the doctor’s surgery was open, I went and the GP did some tests and he sent me to a specialist. They came back and said, ‘You’ve got thyroid cancer’ and they had to operate.”
Pointing to her neck, she added: “I’ve got a cracking scar there, they had to operate three times. I was most worried about my voice because of where the surgery is. I was thinking, please don’t hit my vocal cords. I came back and was commentating on the tennis for the radio and I couldn’t hit the notes, the vocal cords weren’t meeting properly.
“Anyway, it came back and I was all fine and I got my bass notes back – but that was all I was worried about. I then had radioactive iodine therapy, but that’s all right, because it’s not as bad as chemo.”
During her Hello! interview, the 54-year-old revealed that she had embraced a low-carb diet, ditching pasta and bread while also reducing her sugar consumption. She also modified her drinking habits, choosing gin and tonic over red wine.
After overhauling her eating habits, Balding says she not only “feels better” but has gained fresh confidence as she can now wear whatever she wants.
“I’ve worked hard at it and feel better,” she said. “I got into my 50s and thought, ‘I’m just going to be fat and happy’, but then a friend talked about a low-carb diet and the late Michael Mosley publicised this form of weight loss, too, and I thought, I’ll give it one more go – as I’ve tried so many diets over the years – and see if it works. And it did!”
Revealing she no longer eats bread or pasta and as little sugar as possible, she added: “And if I want a drink, I have a gin and tonic instead of wine, so I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself of things.
“I’m never going to be stick thin – that’s just not me. I’ve got massive bones. But I can now put on a pair of trousers with a belt and my shirt tucked in and I went for years without being able to do that. That feels great.”
The former England and British and Irish Lions rugby star, who is taking part in The Celebrity Traitors, has spoken openly about his mental health struggles in recent years
Marler has opened up on his “lowest point” while discussing his mental health struggles(Image: David Rogers, Getty Images)
Few players in world rugby have relished the physicality of the sport quite like Joe Marler, with the former England prop using his formidable size and strength to his advantage throughout his career.
On the outside, he was in fine shape and appeared to be thriving, earning 95 caps for England, finishing on the podium at two Rugby World Cups and touring with the British and Irish Lions, as well as making nearly 300 appearances for his club side Harlequins.
Known as one of rugby’s most colourful characters, with a renowned sense of humour and mastery of ‘s***housery’, all seemed well in Marler’s world. However, beneath the surface, he was struggling with his mental health.
Marler is an ambassador for CALM and fronted the Sky Sports documentary Big Boys Don’t Cry, while he has also spoken about his own mental health journey in interviews and podcast appearances, as well as in his memoir Loose Head, in which he discusses his struggles and the lessons he learnt during his rugby career, which came to an end in November last year.
In discussing his mental health, Marler has previously opened up about his “lowest point”, in which a minor row with his wife Daisy – who was seven months pregnant at the time – caused him to suddenly lose control as he “completely lost the plot”.
The England international admitted that he began destroying his kitchen and “turned the house over” in a violent outburst before storming off in his car, “not wanting to be here anymore”, leaving Daisy in tears.
Detailing the distressing 2018 incident in an interview with The Guardian, Marler revealed how he and Daisy had clashed after she became upset that he hadn’t swerved to avoid a squirrel on the road while driving back from the school drop-off.
Though it was a minor disagreement, the former prop admitted he suddenly “snapped,” explaining: “We got home and I just spiralled and lost control.
“I turned over the kitchen, punched in one of the doors. Then I got in the truck and drove off. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. But it was a massive turning point because it was the most ashamed I’ve ever been. I didn’t recognise who I was anymore.
“After 30 minutes I came back because I was running out on everything good in my life,” Marler continued. “Daisy was crying and I was worried she was scared, but we’ve spoken about it often since then. She says, ‘I was never scared of you. I was just upset and wondering who you were and what you were doing.’
“She had no idea even during those times when she’d said, ‘Any danger of you actually being here, when you’re here?’ I wasn’t engaging because I was stuck in this fog. I didn’t feel like I could tell her or anyone because I was in complete denial there was anything wrong with me. We didn’t speak that night.”
Following the frightening episode, Marler recognised he needed to get support for his mental health and received help from the Harlequins team doctor, who spotted the damage to the prop’s hand the following day, causing him to break down in floods of tears.
Recalling seeing his wife crying in the wake of the argument, he said: “That was the moment I was just like I need help. So I went and got help. I went and saw a psychologist called Humphrey and I was not comfortable doing it, even with someone called Humphrey, and I got there and what an incredibly lovely bloke he was.”
After going to therapy and taking antidepressants, Marler is now looking after his mental health and has developed techniques to recognise warning signs. Using his experiences and platform as one of rugby’s biggest personalities, he has also worked tirelessly to break down the stigma around mental health in sport, encouraging men to have open and honest conversations and seek professional help.
In an interview with Men’s Health, the 35-year-old opened up about how he looks after his mental health now, explaining: “There are techniques I use when I feel my red mist; sometimes they work, and other times they don’t. The biggest thing was learning to recognise when I was going to start feeling that way: knowing what triggers it and finding ways to deal with it early. And to know that there’ll always be these moments.
“My mental health is the same as my physical health. In both, you can put on weight or lose weight; you can put on muscle the same way as you can control how you want to attack the day. You can’t control what might be thrown at you. But you can control how you react to it.”
He added: “We know we have to be mentally strong and physically fit, and yet we’re still rubbing up against the fact that people don’t want to talk about their mind, even though we need to be mentally sharp to compete at the top level. There’s a disconnect.
“Work and sport and the other parts of your life are not separate: your psychology is your psychology. It’s all one thing. How can I possibly focus on using those specific psychological skills for sport if I’m suffering from depression and anxiety away from rugby?’.”
Charlotte Church was once one half of Wales’ most high-profile power couple – now she is taking on Celebrity Traitors
17:26, 07 Oct 2025Updated 17:31, 07 Oct 2025
Church and Henson were together for five years
Few players have transcended the game of rugby quite like Gavin Henson, with the former Wales international earning comparisons to David Beckham for the talent he showed on the pitch and the life he lived off of it.
The flamboyant back was one of the most naturally talented players of his generation and few could take their eyes off him as he shone on the international stage and for his many clubs, single-handedly turning games on their head on more than one occasion.
In addition to winning 33 caps for Wales and touring with the British & Irish Lions in 2005, Henson represented three out of the four Welsh regions – the Ospreys, Dragons and Cardiff – while he also played in England with Saracens, Bath, Bristol and London Welsh, as well as in France with Toulon.
He tasted glory with Wales, being part of two Grand Slam campaigns in 2005 and 2008, while he also won two domestic titles and the Anglo-Welsh Cup with the Ospreys. But for all the headlines he made for his success on the pitch, he would make just as many off it, sometimes for the wrong reasons.
He would later have stints on reality TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing but things now look very different for the former rugby star, who is now 43-year-old. From his romance with Church to running his own pub, here’s what you need to know about Henson’s life away from the pitch.
Relationship with Charlotte Church
Henson and Church – who rose to fame as a classical singer before pursuing a pop career – sparked a media frenzy when they were first seen in public together in April 2005, shortly after she split up with her previous boyfriend Kyle Johnson.
On her BBC podcast, Kicking Back With the Cardiffians, Church said she went looking for the rugby star after watching him play on TV, explaining: “I remember watching on this television, Wales vs England, when Gavin kicked the kick over.
“Then that night – I didn’t know Gav before that – I was like, I’m going to go out and find him in town. He is nice. Actually I was going round asking everybody, ‘Do you know Gavin Henson? Where will he go out drinking afterwards?’ Nobody knew – but I did find him.”
The Welsh power couple moved in together the following year, while in March 2007, Church revealed that she was pregnant with the couple’s first child. They welcomed a daughter, Ruby, later that year, with their second child, a son, Dexter, born in January 2009.
They looked to be going from strength to strength, with Henson proposing to Church on her 24th birthday in February 2010, the same month she landed a big TV gig on BBC singing show Over The Rainbow. However, it all fell apart just six weeks later, as the couple confirmed they were splitting up after five years together.
It was later confirmed that the decision was a joint one, with Church explaining: “When he proposed, I was overjoyed. It was amazing. I really was going to marry Gav and spend the rest of my life with him. But then he came back from Norway, and he’d changed, and I’d had time to think. We had both had a change of heart – so we were both of the same mind.”
Church later hit out at the “insane” media intrusion she had to deal with before and during her relationship with Henson, having also claimed that her phone was hacked by the News of The World, for which she later received an apology and substantial damages.
“The press intrusion was insane, there was all sorts of dark stuff going on,” she said. “There were stories in the papers all the time and lots of things were blown up, misconstrued and made seedy – when they really weren’t.
“There was a lot of shame being thrown at me, with the press desperately trying to make me a figure of sin and push this ‘fallen angel’ narrative. If I had let that shame in, or internalised it, my life could have gone in a very different way.”
Today, Henson and Church maintain a good relationship and co-parent Dexter and they have both found love again. While the former rugby star married long-term partner Katie Wilson Mould in 2019, Church tied the knot with musician Jonathan Powell in 2017, having asked Henson for his blessing before they started dating.
Past controversies
Aside from his relationship with Church, Henson found himself making headlines for all the wrong reasons on more than one occasion, sometimes landing himself in trouble with the law and his clubs.
In 2007, he and three other men were charged with disorderly conduct for drunken behaviour on a train between London and Cardiff, only for the case to be dropped due to insufficient evidence. In 2009, he was also given a police caution over his behaviour on a night out in Cardiff following Wales’ Six Nations win over England.
Henson also landed himself in hot water after some drinking sessions went too far, as he was sacked by Cardiff after playing just eight games for them following his “inexcusable” and “inappropriate” drunken behaviour on a flight back from Glasgow in March 2012.
A year later, a drunken comment he made to new Bath teammate Carl Fearns led to the two-time Grand Slam winner being knocked out by the flanker during a team bonding night, with the incident caught on CCTV.
However, Henson has since opened up on his past behaviour and revealed he has been able to understand himself better after discovering the ‘chimp’ that had been running his mind, leading him to put boozing behind him.
Having “battled for a long time” with his own mind, Henson was captivated by Professor Steve Peters’ mind-management book The Chimp Paradox, which outlined how to control the ‘chimp’, or “the voice which tells you to do things you maybe shouldn’t.”
“I didn’t understand the thoughts I was having after games where I wanted to go out and drink,” he explained in an interview with MailOnline. “They were a million miles away from my core values and goals in rugby.
“Now, having read the book, I understand that for most of my rugby career, the chimp was controlling me and running my life more than I was. If I’d found the book while I was still playing rugby, I’d 100 per cent have been a better player and maybe I wouldn’t have made the mistakes I did.”
“In social interactions, I probably need a drink because I’m an introvert,” he continued. “If I have a drink, I become more of an extrovert and the chimp has more confidence! I can be good fun on a night out! But now I choose not to go into those environments. I’m not tee-total. In the last year, I’ve probably had one good drink. There’s a place in rugby for sharing a drink with your team-mates”.
New life as pub landlord
While Henson has cut down on his drinking habits, these days he can be found pulling pints, having become the landlord of The Fox & Hounds pub in St Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan in 2019.
After carrying out an extensive refurbishment and restaurant upgrade, the former Wales international shortened the name of the pub to The Fox and manages the venue with his wife Katie.
Speaking to The Times about the venture, Henson said: “I was coming to the end of my career, and it [the pub] had been sat here for 18 months, two years. It was not nice for the village, and I needed something to do after rugby and to be busy, not to mourn rugby and get depressed, as they say everyone does.
“But be careful what you wish for because this is so full-on. We want to feel like we’ve achieved something with the pub. We’re perfectionists. We’re all about the detail.”
Henson – who is believed to have a net worth of around £800,000 after once earning roughly £120,000 a year at the height of his career – has also recently pulled his rugby boots back on again.
In September last year, he returned to the field with his boyhood club Pencoed and he is now into his second season in League 2 West Central, in the fourth tier of Welsh rugby.
Speaking to BBC Scrum V, Henson admitted he is “loving” being back in rugby, explaining: “I’m 43 now, so a bit old, as my wife tells me. But I’ve missed it, I’ve missed the physicality of it, and being in a team environment again and trying to win.
“I’m very competitive, I like trying to win, that’s the main thing. We have a good group of boys. We’re aiming for promotion, so hopefully it will be a good season and great for the club.
“I’m playing 10, I would like to play 12 but I am just not quite big enough yet. So I’ll still try to aim to get there but 10 at the moment.”
Richard was on ITV’s Good Morning Britain when he was asked if he’d been invited to do the show and replied: “I was, everyone who’s been on Celebrity Traitors won’t tell you anything.”
He added: “Normally people will say if they’ve been on Celebrity Catchphrase, they go, ‘I’d watch that I think I did quite well’, Celebrity Traitors, nobody is saying a single word.
“I’ve been working with Celia Imrie, and she won’t say anything about what happened, none of them will say. I love Celebrity Traitors, but I said I would only do it if I could be a Traitor.”
He went on: “Only because I couldn’t bear if I was a Faithful – that thing where you go back to your room at night and you’re just lying there, and you know that there’s three people up in that tower filming, having a load of fun wearing cloaks and filming something.
“I’d be lying there just going, ‘Well, I mean, I could be murdered any second’, I wouldn’t have that control, and obviously they can’t say, ‘Yes, you can be a Traitor’, so yeah, I’m just going to watch.”
Richard was later warned that he could never participate in the show as everyone would suspect him of being the Traitor, to which he cheekily responded: “Am I double bluffing?”
The star-studded line-up of the hit telly show includes Thursday Murder Club’s Celia Imrie, Olympic diving legend Tom Daley, and acting heavyweight Sir Stephen Fry. They’ll be battling it out in the Scottish Highlands for a chance to bag up to £100,000 for their chosen charity.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the show sees contestants trying to sniff out the Traitors among them while completing challenges to add funds to the prize pot. If a Traitor makes it to the final round, the loyal contestants lose the money and the Traitor walks away with the full prize.
Richard was promoting his latest book in the Thursday Murder Club series, The Impossible Fortune, which hit the shelves on September 25. So far, the TV presenter has penned four books in the series – The Thursday Murder Club (2020), The Man Who Died Twice (2021), The Bullet That Missed (2022), and The Last Devil To Die (2023).
Celebrity Traitors starts on BBC One on October 8.
Claudia Winkleman is hosting The Celebrity Traitors with 19 famous faces all trying to win £100,000 for their chosen charity – but Claudia isn’t her usual bubbly self
Claudia Winkleman is back with a host of celebs entering the castle(Image: BBC / Studio Lambert)
Nineteen huge stars are taking part in The Celebrity Traitors – but all eyes will be on Claudia Winkleman’s fierce fashion choices. Wearing faux fur coats, structured layers and statement knitwear, Claudia has honed a look that’s all her own, and reinvented
it for the celebrity version. “It’s absolutely nuts,” says Claudia. “Unhinged in taffeta was where we went.”
Alan Carr, Cat Burns, Celia Imrie, Charlotte Church, Clare Balding, David Olusoga, Joe Marler, Joe Wilkinson, Jonathan Ross, Kate Garraway, Lucy Beaumont, Mark Bonnar, Nick Mohammed, Niko Omilana, Paloma Faith, Ruth Codd, Stephen Fry, Tameka Empson and Tom Daley are all signed up for the gothic game show, each vying to win £100,000 for their chosen charity.
It’s the spin-off fans have been begging for – but at first Strictly host Claudia was against the idea of yet another celebrity format. “I was scared,” she admits. “Only because I’m in love with this show and I wanted to keep it small. Once a year or maybe once every two years felt like enough. My bosses, thank goodness, ignored everything I said.”
When she saw the calibre of celebrity queuing up to play traitors and faithfuls, even Claudia had to agree the show was a good idea. Working with Stephen Fry was a dream come true for Claudia and bearded comic Joe Wilkinson left her especially starstruck. “I could barely breathe when I saw them all in the Highlands. I’m such a fan of every single one of them,” shares Claudia, 53.
“The whole team were just in awe, it was hard not to scream, ‘You’re here!’ When I talked to Stephen Fry I almost welled up, I told him this was my dream. We’re incredibly lucky to have the cast that we have. Each one of them is tremendous. My family and I are obsessed with Joe Wilkinson, I had to stop myself getting his autograph for my son.”
Claudia oversees the games on the show but admits she finds it a challenge not to get too chummy with the players. “The biggest challenge was being strict,” says Claudia. “All I wanted to do was chat and be friendly but my role is aloof and grumpy. I found it hard not to just sit down with them and have a cup of tea.”
And she finds the urge to help them with the missions overwhelming. “Sometimes I try and drop big clues, but my producer tells me off,” Claudia confesses.
To help her maintain her distance from the stars, Claudia channels two classic villains. “[I’m] Cruella de Vil with a touch of Miss Trunchbull!” she laughs.
Hosting such a huge show is a dream come true for Claudia, but she admits she found the celebrity version tougher than the main show. “It was scarier, because all I wanted to do was chat to them and make them like me,” she says. “But of course, I have to be extremely unlikeable. It was tricky!”
Claudia can’t praise the celebrity contestants enough for the energy they put into the show. “They’re incredibly smart and kind,” she says. “They play the game beautifully and were fully engulfed in it. It was an extraordinary experience and we’re so so lucky this 19 said yes. It’s something we never take for granted and are so grateful for.”
EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Holden has opened up on her friend Alan Carr’s upcoming stint in the Celebrity Traitors castle
Amanda Holden has given her verdict on her friend Alan Carr‘s upcoming appearance on Celebrity Traitors.
Claudia Winkleman returns to the iconic Traitors castle in Inverness next Wednesday (October 8), alongside an all-star cast who are ready to play the ultimate game of deceit and betrayal.
While production for the new series was underway back in April, Amanda Holden shared her thoughts on her close friend Alan’s appearance on the hit reality show.
“He’s in the castle in Inverness as we speak!” she exclusively revealed on the set of her new BBC gameshow The Inner Circle.
“I think he’d be a terrible traitor and I think if they had any sense, that’s exactly what they’d make him be. It would be hilarious because he is rubbish at trying to keep secrets.
“He told me last year he was doing Traitors. It was like the biggest secret, I was like, ‘Shush, Alan!'”
Amanda’s new quiz show is reminiscent of The Traitors itself, with backstabbing and deceit at its core. BBC viewers will be treated to two versions of the quiz, which has the Britain’s Got Talent judge as its host.
The daytime game will see six contestants battle it out to outsmart and outwit the other players, while on Saturday nights, fans can tune in to see celebrities team up with members of the public to play.
During the game, the players will each be randomly assigned a secret stash of cash, anything between zero and £4,000 for daytime and £5,000 for the Saturday night show.
Each player only knows their value with no obligation to tell the truth as they get thrown into a battle of wits, nerve and strategic gameplay across a series of challenging rounds.
Speaking about the exciting concept of The Inner Circle, Amanda said: “It has elements of other shows that you might recognise; The Weakest Link, Traitors and Golden Balls with Jasper Carrot – all in one!
“It’s all about general knowledge and human nature… It’s complex but it’s fun!”
Amanda concluded: “It’s going to be glamorous and nail-biting with a real jeopardy at the end that I don’t think anybody is going to be expecting while they’re dunking their biscuits in a cuppa!
“The Saturday night takes the show up another level, just before Strictly. I’m their warm-up, which is just a brilliant place to be!”
The Inner Circle premieres on BBC One at 5.35pm on Saturday 4th October, while Celebrity Traitors premieres on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday 8th October
