Miranda Hart has explained why she decided to sign up to Celebrity Traitors, which comes after years out of the spotlight as she dealt with a series of health struggles
Miranda Hart is making her television comeback with Celebrity Traitors(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative)
Miranda Hart has explained why she decided to sign up to Celebrity Traitors following her “long term ill health issues.” The comedienne, 53, is best known for fronting her eponymous sitcom in the late 2000s but took a break from the spotlight after becoming increasingly unwell.
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!”
Miranda, who will appear alongside the likes of Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Coronation Street legend Julie Hesmondhalgh, and Love Island host Maya Jama, even teased that there could be a nod to her sitcom past.
She added: “When someone said on Instagram, “Oh, I hope you gallop in the castle,” I foolishly replied, Right, I now take that as a dare.” So that was idiotic of me.
“I will have to at some point gallop down a corridor. I’ll gallop when no one’s watching…or who would be the best person to encourage to gallop?
“I don’t know. I mean, Kenny probably doesn’t even know who I am. So, if I could get him to gallop…I could get a new generation galloping.”
Experienced host Emma Willis knows what to expect in some ways and just wants to bring ‘joy’ to Strictly viewers in the same way Tess and Claudia did
Strictly has a new trio hosting the show this year with Emma joined by professional dancer Johannes Radebe and comedian Josh Widdicombe.(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Defiant Emma Willis says she knows the new Strictly Come Dancing series will bring her and the other new hosts lots of abuse and criticism – but she won’t engage with it. Emma, former Strictly professional dancer Johannes Radebe, 39, and comedian Josh Widdicombe, 43, will take over later this month from long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who stepped down last year.
Emma is used to comparisons with other hosts having fronted Big Brother after Davina McCall and Brian Dowling. But she vowed to ignore the haters and just wants to try to enjoy the experience. She said: “I’m ready for the comparisons. I am ready for the negative opinions that can come with these things. Those things I don’t engage with or read, and there are always positives as well.
“At the end of the day, I feel like it’s really simple, right? We we work in this industry, and we’ve been given the opportunity to work on a phenomenal show that is really well loved by the public and also by ourselves. We we aren’t reinventing the wheel, and we’re not rocket scientists.
“We’re working on an entertainment show about dancing that is meant to hopefully bring joy to everybody watching it. So hopefully we can be a small part of that joy and have a really lovely time doing it.”
She added: “There’s obviously a kind of fear that comes with it because of the enormity of it, and you have nerves about being good enough to kind of do the job and step into the role.”
The trio were a surprise choice to make up the presenting team and they admitted they were also a bit shocked to be picked. They gave the impression they were unsure if they were in pole position to get the jobs, saying their final audition was the “very last of the callbacks on a Friday afternoon”. They had also been told it would be a pair presenting and so Josh presumed it was “two weirdos against each other” and he was being pitched head-to-head with Johannes, only to end up working with him and more established host Emma.
Comedian Josh also said that while they would not “reinvent the show”, they would “be ourselves and our personalities will be there”. He added on taking the job: “It’s like you only get one opportunity at this career. We’re incredibly blessed that we’ve got where we are in our careers, and just why not?”
Johannes was initially nervous but after speaking with his agent was more confident. “If anybody was afforded this opportunity amongst my peers[dancers], any one of them would jump at it.”
Emma turned 50 in March, but rather than seeing that milestone as a time to reflect or slow down, is arguably enjoying her most successful stage of her career. She said: “I think maybe there’s more of a reframe needs to be had around 50 and as you’re getting older, you should slow down or change or maybe not do as much. I feel more invigorated at 50, I’m more like I’m more sure of myself. I know what I want to do. I’m not going to apologise for myself and my successes like I’ve done for the last 25 years.
“I’m not about to step down and slow down for anything. So I say, bring it on. You know, life is short. So take these opportunities when they they come your way, because at some point they’ll stop.”
* Strictly Come Dancing will return on Sunday September 19 to BBC One and iPlayer.
One of the big changes will be that the three presenters will dance themselves in a big group number for the launch programme
20:51, 12 Sep 2026Updated 20:53, 12 Sep 2026
This time around the hosts have so much freedom, they’re even dancing(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Guy Levy)
When Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe step onto the Strictly dance floor as presenters for the first time, they will be doing it quite differently to their predecessors.
For a start, they are going to be dancing themselves, not something that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman ever got involved in. “We have to dance in the opening show, the three of us together have some choreography,” Emma reveals, looking both excited and nervous.
Of course this will be nothing new for Jojo, who has been on the show as a professional dancer since 2018 and says he will never stop. “Can you imagine?” he laughs. “For my own mental health and well-being, I need to be shaking my tush. You’ll see me, and not only me, in the launch show — there’s going to be more dancing than you’ve ever seen.”
Sitting next to him, comedian Josh quips: “Before you ask, I need to keep shaking my tush for my mental health as well, so don’t worry about that.”
All three of then have been sent good luck messages from former hosts Claudia and Tess. “They have been in touch with all of us, sending love and congratulations and just saying enjoy it – it’s so fun,” Emma says. She is looking forward to having a go herself on the dance floor because, while Josh took part in the 2024 Christmas special (dressed as a penguin), Emma also came very close to being a contestant two years before that..
“I got really close and I went in and did a dance test. And it was JoJo who I tested with!” she explains. “It just never panned out that year – now I feel like I get to host the show, which is quite unbelievable, but also I get to have a little boogie as well.”
Her near-miss with the show, in 2022, came several years after she’d publicly declared that her Busted bassist husband Matt Willis was banned from taking part (she didn’t want him “grinding against hot women”). “We considered doing it together,” she says now. “After I was like ‘No! No!’ to him, I was like, actually, I really want to do it. So how about if we did it together?” In the end, the plan was scuppered when Matt, with whom she has three kids, landed a role in the West End show 2.22. “We said if we couldn’t do it tougher, let’s not do it.”
The trio are going to share the presenting duties quite randomly between them, rather than each having a fixed role, giving them a newfound freedom. “In the chemistry tests, we did all the different roles” dad-of-two Josh, 43, explains. “It’s not a straight swap, one for one. It’s not like you’re Tess, you’re Claud. It’s going to give it more movement – it’s a gang show.”
All three says they are going to embrace the costumes on offer – but Emma has some shock news to deliver. “I’m not a massive sequin fan, if I’m honest,” she admits. “I love it on other people but it’s just not very me.” That said, she’s not going to hold back, believing the show gives you “license to really go for it”.
Josh claims he’s going to embrace it all – including the glitter. “You don’t do Strictly unless you do Strictly, that’s my view,” he declares. “I’ve done it once and they put me in a penguin hat. I’m more than amenable. Go hard or go home.” And he adds with a laugh: “I’ll be spray tanning completely.”
He says one of the best bits about being considered the show’s wild card in the presenter stakes, was the reaction from some of his comedian pals, including James Acaster. “I would say one of the great joys of getting this job was other comedians reacting to it. It’s just been so fun. It’s great to say to them, ‘Look, Acaster, you’re always welcome to come on the show?”
His tactic on dealing with the nerves of landing one of television’s top jobs is to pop himself into a bubble – and stay there. “I’ve been worrying since my first gig in 2008 and I’m still worrying now!” he reasons. “If you weren’t feeling the pressure, you’d have to wonder what is wrong with you. I’ll just focus on doing the job. And never, ever read anything that’s written anywhere about yourself – that’s papers, the internet, toilet walls – just don’t do it.”
As a stand-up, he is brave when it comes to the rigours of performing live. “I love chaos – controlled chaos,” he says. “It’s about reacting in the moment and enjoying it. It’s much more fun for a comedian, I think. You want to feel like anything can happen.”
On his new sidekicks, Josh – who is teetotal – laughs: “I think both of them have got a twinkle in their eye for wanting things to go a little bit wrong—that’s always the most fun bit, isn’t it?”
Of course Emma, 50, has got many years of presenting experience under her belt, thanks to her roles on Big Brother, The Voice UK and The Circle. She is fully aware of the enormity of this gig, with Strictly still attracting audiences bigger than 10million on occasion. “We’re very aware that this show is hugely loved,” she says. But she’s trying not to overthink it. “At the end of the day it’s fun isn’t it? It’s dancing and it’s entertainment. We want to be a small part of something that is really loved, and hopefully keep everyone at home happy, with spirits lifted.”
She finds herself in the unusual position of going up against herself on Saturday nights this autumn, as ITV screens The Voice – which was pre-recorded nearly two years ago but rested last year – and BBC1 launches Strictly.
“I don’t really see it as going head-to-head,” she insists. “It’s not something I really thought about because I didn’t know I was going to be doing this!” Pointing out that viewers can easily watch both if they want, she says: “It’s just the way it is. We consume TV differently now don’t we? You can watch what you want when you want, so it’s great.”
Johannes, 39, comes to the job with an army of Strictly fans already. He admits that becoming a presenter was not what he was expecting, but he’s loving the new opportunity and being helped by Emma and Josh. “This was never on the cards,” he laughs. “I am leaning on them with everything I have! I’ve always thought if there was a way to stick around with the show, it would be as a judge. That’s what I saw for myself. When this came along, I was just like, they’re asking me to speak to the magic of this show. What could be so difficult about it?
“Now that I’m in it, I realise it’s a different ballgame. But I’ve found my way of sticking around. Do I have FOMO? Yes I do. But I’m happy to still be a part of it.” He says the three of them have already formed a tight bond. “It’s so lovely to be in a room with two wonderful human beings,” he says. “You just don’t want to be stuck with somebody you don’t get along with, and that has been, honestly, the cherry on the cake for me.”
The South African-born star says he’s keeping his feet on the ground. “We’re not saving lives, it’s not open-heart surgery we’re performing, it’s just a bit of dancing and it’s a bit of joy.” “It’s not open heart surgery,” Josh pipes up, as we all fall about laughing. “Apart from week 10, open heart surgery week.”
Comedian Nick Mohammed, who appeared on Celebrity Traitors towards the end of last year, will act as host in the new stage production based on the hit game show
17:45, 10 Sep 2026Updated 17:47, 10 Sep 2026
Nick Mohammed sworn in as host of The Traitors Act of Betrayal
Nick Mohammed will take on the role of the host in the new stage show The Traitors – Acts Of Betrayal at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, London.
The comedian and Ted Lasso actor, 45, was a contestant on The Celebrity Traitors where he reached the final but lost to fellow comedian Alan Carr. The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman formally swore Mohammed in during a video filmed at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, where the BBC show is filmed.
In the video, former Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia says: “Nick Mohammed, you stand before me. You have been chosen to take this game to the West End. Eight shows a week, no retakes, no edits, no mercy.”
She then pronounces him a Traitors host and hands him a cloak At the end of the clip, she jokingly says: “I’m out of a job.”
Written by John Finnemore and directed by Robert Hastie, The Traitors – Acts Of Betrayal is a cycle of five new plays, each playing out an entire game of The Traitors, traitors chosen, players banished and murdered, a winner crowned, in one evening.
Nick Mohammed said: “At first, I didn’t want to believe that a series of fictional plays based on The Traitors could ever contain as many brilliant twists and turns as the real thing – or be quite as compelling.
“But John Finnemore has crafted an absolute masterpiece: a cycle of five plays that are each as funny as they are moving, and of course, deeply, deeply unpredictable!
“And under the direction of the brilliant Robert Hastie, I couldn’t be more delighted to be joining such an original and wildly ambitious show.
“To take on Claudia’s role, as it were, is not just a privilege but a real challenge as an actor – I simply don’t have enough hair! But I will do my utmost not to disappoint.
“Either way, this time round, I promise not to let down the whole nation right at the very end. Now let the game begin…”
The production also does something television cannot: it answers the question of who would have won if different players had been chosen as the Traitors.
From Monday to Friday the story begins identically but takes five different paths. Characters banished or murdered early in one version emerge victorious in another.
On Saturdays the audience decides who will wear the cloak, and their choice determines which of the five plays unfolds that day. The stage production begins previews from May 11 2027, with opening night on June 8 2027.
Strictly Come Dancing’s new hosts were summoned to a shock zoom call at short notice which meant Emma Willis was sat on the loo when she was told she was told she had a new job.
Johannes Radebe, Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe in the promo for the new Strictly series.(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
Comedian Josh Widdecombe was in grave danger of giving away the news he was a new Strictly Come Dancing host whilst it was top secret – after finding out the news whilst walking around a cemetery.
Stand up star Josh, 43, revealed the bizarre moment as he and co-hosts Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe were quizzed in a new podcast. And he wasn’t the only one being given the life changing news in a weird place, with Emma flushed with the success of a new job whilst in the toilet at her hairdressers.
The trio said after their final audition they had to wait around two weeks before they were summoned to a zoom call at short notice by BBC execs.
Emma said: “We were all in very random places. But we also didn’t know the call was happening did we? It was a very weird situation.
“The reason it kept getting put back was because I was at the hairdressers.
“I was like this could be an either way Zoom so I’m not going to get excited. And I said ‘I can’ [go on a call] but literally I’m just I’m having my hair washed. And she said okay okay.
“And then they took ages washing my hair. And they’re like ‘do you want a massage?’ I’m like ‘no no just crack on’.
“She[show boss] said can you go somewhere private? And I said the only place I can go is outside in the street or in the loo.
“So I was sat on a toilet at the hairdressers.”
Johannes was at his home when he was on the same call waiting to head out to do a stage show, and then there was also Josh who was desperately trying to find a quiet spot.
Josh explained: “I was in Birmingham because I was on tour. So I was sat in a graveyard in Birmingham because I wanted somewhere quiet.”
Looking back on the moment he knew he had the job, he added: “I didn’t like stand up and go ‘yes’ because obviously it wasn’t public then either.
“Not that anyone would have gone ‘wait a minute, he got the Strictly gig – that guy punching the air by the grave’.”
Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, the trio also explained the role of Johannes on the show, and denied previous reports he would act as a ‘roving reporter’ with the other two as main hosts.
The trio, who start fronting the show later this month, are replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman who previously hosted the BBC hit series together for 11 years.
Emma said: “There’s no like for like, so no one’s kind of replacing anybody and at the minute it’s all very kind of open. We’re having lots of production days where we go in and we play around and we’re kind of feeling each other out – well, they’re feeling us out really.”
Josh Widdicombe: “It’s going to be like total football. We’re going to be moving everywhere.”
And Emma added: “There’s definitely no backstage roving reporter, which is what has been reported quite a bit. That’s not a thing.”
* The full interview is on The Rest Is Entertainment Podcast out today.
The 100 year old scooped the TV presenter prize, having been nominated alongside Alison Hammond, Ant and Dec, Claudia Winkleman and Stacey Solomon.
Although Sir David was absent from the ceremony, a speech was delivered on his behalf.
He said: “I hope this award is a response to the part television has played in growing recognition, not only for the terrible plight our wonderful planet is in as a result of human activity but also of the fact we now have a pressing responsibility to do what we can to protect and conserve it.
“I am honoured indeed. We are increasingly aware that if we are to repair the planet we need major national and international initiatives which certainly require our support, but it is also possible to make small differences in our own spaces and neighbourhoods.
“If enough small differences are made they do add up to doing something significant, while also providing spaces that we do enjoy being in and nurturing.”
Attenborough added: “Humanity has always needed the natural world for all the practicalities of life and for our mental wellbeing. Now the natural world needs us too. Surely we must not ignore that simple fact.”
The internationally adored naturalist received two NTA nominations this year, with his nature documentary Secret Garden also recognised in the factual entertainment category.
However, it was Gogglebox that walked away with that particular accolade. Sir David launched his presenting journey fronting Zoo Quest in 1954, subsequently helming documentary programmes The Life Collection, Natural World, Wildlife on One, the Planet Earth franchise, The Blue Planet and Frozen Planet.
Dianne Buswell has addressed the notion that she could have been axed from Strictly Come Dancing when she was pregnant as bosses decided to add fresh talent to the show
21:26, 05 Sep 2026Updated 21:27, 05 Sep 2026
Dianne Buswell has insisted she never worried about getting the axe from Strictly(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
Dianne Buswell has insisted she never worried about getting the axe from Strictly Come Dancing while she was pregnant. The TV star, 37, has served as a professional on the BBC Saturday night favourite for almost a decade and in March, she and her partner Joe Sugg became parents to son Bowden.
Around the same time, as part of a huge revamp, bosses also axed long-standing professionals Karen Hauer, Gorka Márquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, and Michelle Tsiakkas in favour of new talent.
But now Dianne has insisted that whilst there is always a slight worry that she won’t be asked back to the programme, she wasn’t particularly concerned that she would be axed amid the “bloodbath” because of how much support she had received from the BBC in the first place.
She said: “We’re so lucky to be there every single year and you’re never guaranteed that you’ll be back. Of course, you always hope, but they’re putting on a show, and sometimes they will have to change it up.
Speaking to The Sun, she added: ““You always think: ‘Am I going to be back or not?’ But because of how supportive they were to me when I was pregnant and talking about me coming back, I didn’t feel like they would do that [axe her]. They were very aware that being a working mum while still dancing was possible and they wanted to accommodate that.”
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing will have a different feel entirely, with brand news hosts Johannes Radebe, Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe having taken the reins from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Dianne claimed that the decision of new presenters was “quite genius” and opined that if bosses had simply chosen two women, it would only lead to comparisons of Tess and Claudia. When it comes to the new trio Dianne said she is particularly excited to talk all about babies with Emma Willis, who previously trained as a maternity care assistant and has also fronted Emma Willis: Delivering Babies.
The star competed on Strictly Come Dancing last year alongside Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis, who eventually had to withdraw from the show over an injury, but prior to that Dianne was subject to criticism for performing whilst pregnant.
On her Instagram Stories, she shared a comment from a viewer that read: “I get so uncomfortable watching Dianne run down the stairs in heels, cartwheel and do tricks while pregnant.
“Your centre of gravity is off while you’re pregnant, just takes one slip to fall on the precious bump. She is a true professional and fabulous dancer but I think it might have been wise to sit this season out. She is 36 so classed as advanced maternal age mother regardless of how fit she is, I think BBC made a mistake here,
They continued by noting that Amy Dowden also took part in the BBC competition last year whilst facing health issues, adding: “It just doesn’t make sense. Like it didn’t make sense to give Amy a celebrity partner last year and look what happened there.” Fed up, Dianne shared her own thoughts as she reposted the comment, writing: “I have honestly had enough of comments like these.”
Traitors star Freddie Fraser, who found fame when he took part in the third series of the BBC hit, has been supported by fans after coming out and revealing his new relationship
18:50, 23 Aug 2026Updated 18:51, 23 Aug 2026
Freddie Fraser has revealed his new relationship (Image: BBC)
Traitors star Freddie Fraser has been supported by fans after coming out and announcing his relationship. The reality star, 22, found fame when he competed on the third series of Claudia Winkleman’s BBC hit, which aired in early 2025 and was eventually won by Jake Brown Leanne Quigley.
He simply captioned the post with a heart, but several of the TV star’s followers were quick to congratulate him over the happy news. One said: “LOVEEEEE!!!! SO CUTE,” and another wrote: “Gorgeous, so happy for you.”
A third wrote: “this is the best news xx” Amanda Lovett, who appeared on the first series of The Traitors, said: “Aww I’m so happy for you,” whilst former X Factor star Jack Remmington simply left a string of heart-faced emojis.
Freddie, who before finding television fame was a top-ranked sprint hurdle athlete in the years before he signed up for The Traitors, was a Faithful on the BBC show before being recruited as a Traitor by Charlotte Berman in episode 10.
But in a shock twist, he was banished from the castle following a slip up involving Minah Shannon less than a day later, and hastily exited the castle.
When he was banished – and had to reveal he was a Traitor – he told the group it had been “the honour of my life” to take part in the TV series.
Since then, he has carved out a successful career as an influencer, with a combined following count of almost 250,000 across various social media platforms.
His new relationship comes more than a year after it was reported that he had split from Nisha Davenport, whom he had met at university, and it was claimed that his new career had made it tricky to keep things going.
A source told The Sun: “Freddie quietly split from Nisha earlier this year, shortly after a loved-up trip to Budapest. She’d been by his side throughout his Traitors fame but Freddie soon found himself living a showbiz lifestyle that he’d always dreamed of.
“They were also both incredibly aware that after university it would be more difficult than ever to keep the romance going strong. The split was very amicable and there was no drama on either side”.
