Richard

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

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.”

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Richard Riehle, a prolific character actor who portrayed Tom Smykowski, the product manager with “people skills” in Mike Judge’s cult classic, “Office Space,” has died. He was 78.

Riehle died Thursday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his representatives from Artists & Representatives and Wright Entertainment Inc. confirmed Monday to The Times. No additional details were provided.

“A remarkable actor whose career in theater, film, and television spanned nearly five decades and more than 400 projects, Richard leaves behind an extraordinary legacy,” read the joint statement from his talent agency and management company. “Beyond his immense talent, he will be remembered for his genuine goodness, boundless kindness, and unwavering generosity, particularly toward emerging actors and filmmakers, whom he encouraged and supported at every opportunity.

“Our industry has lost an exceptional talent, and our community has lost a truly wonderful man,” it continued.

In the 1999 corporate comedy “Office Space,” Riehle portrayed Tom, a middle manager who is laid off by the company before being seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident and winning a large settlement.

“We didn’t have a regular effects person to put me into a body cast for my scene after the character’s accident, so we hired an EMT guy to put me in a real cast,” Riehle said in an interview with Notre Dame Magazine. “I couldn’t get out of it for 8 hours — and when the EMT had to go to work he left a cast-cutter for the PA [production assistant]. That was fun.”

Richard Riehle, right, portrays a co-worker of Ajay Naidu, left, Ron Livingston and David Herman in the 1999 classic “Office Space.”

(20th Century Fox)

Riehle’s other credits include portraying the guard who lets Harrison Ford’s character escape custody in “The Fugitive” (1993); the mechanic with a punny name, Bill Cozbi, in “Bridesmaids” (2011); and the proprietor of a local diner in “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” (2016).

His wide-ranging resume also includes TV roles in episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Star Trek: Enterprise,” as well as multiple stints in shows including “Quantum Leap,” “Murder She Wrote,” “L.A. Law” and “Drunk History.” He was also a voice actor on animated projects such as “The Legend of Korra” and “Home on the Range.”

For five seasons, Riehle portrayed Walt Finnerty, the father of Donal Logue’s Sean Finnerty, in the sitcom “Grounded for Life,” which aired from 2001 to 2005.

“Richard Riehle was an amazing human being,” Logue wrote in a tribute shared Monday on Instagram. “A consummate professional, he was an actor’s actor — humble, kind, and incredible at his craft.”

Logue said that he “loved every minute” he spent with Riehle and recalled how the late actor made him laugh so hard during his final audition for the show that he fell to the floor.

“I’ll always remember small details — how he always had a novel (never pulp stuff — always Hugo or Dostoevsky or another classic) stuffed into the back pocket of his old-school slacks,” Logue added. “He loved the House of Pies on the corner of Franklin and Vermont (I did, too).”

Richard Mathias Riehle was born May 12, 1948, in Menomonee Falls, Wis. He graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in speech and drama in 1970 before pursuing a master’s in fine arts at the University of Minnesota.

He started his acting career in local theater. His first uncredited onscreen role was in the 1975 western “Rooster Cogburn,” though he mentioned that he couldn’t find himself in it in a 2017 interview with the A.V. Club. His first screen role “with lines” came a couple of years later, in the 1977 movie “Joyride.” One of his earliest breakout roles was in the 1989 Civil War film “Glory.”

“I always wanted the role that would bring something out of me, force me to find something extra,” he said in the Notre Dame Magazine feature. “As I get older, the roles may not be there as much on high-profile projects, but I’m always going to look for ways I can work and maybe even be a part of ways to change the business. When I work, I feel great. That doesn’t ever have to stop.”

EXCLUSIVE: Richard Marx, a friend of Sir Tom Jones, has said the decision to axe the music icon from The Voice UK coaching panel was ‘handled badly’ amidst the public backlash

Sir Tom Jones’ friend has said the backlash surrounding ITV axing him from The Voice UK is “pretty significant”. The music icon, 86, was sensationally dropped by the ITV talent show after 13 years as part of a major shake-up.

Bosses had hoped to offer Sir Tom a role on the show, but in a “different capacity”. Although he’s currently appearing on series 14, next year will be very different. Long-standing coach will.i.am will be joined by returning coach, Kelly Rowland, as well as newbies Cheryl Tweedy and rapper Aitch.

Sources have since said that Sir Tom has ruled out returning to the show next year. He previously said that while he didn’t want to leave the show, ITV had made the decision “a while ago.”

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Speaking to the Mirror, Sir Tom’s pal and The Voice Australia coach, Richard Marx, said: “The way that went down, and I don’t know the behind-the-scenes details, but I know Tom a little bit, and he’s such a class act, and I think however they handled it, they handled it badly, it seems.

“And the backlash, the public backlash, has been pretty significant.” Richard went on to add: “I haven’t seen him in a while, but I actually spent some time in the studio with him years ago, and I grew up idolising him. When I was a little kid, it was Tom and Elvis; they were my guys.

“Years later, his son, who manages him, reached out to me, and we went into the studio together, Tom and I, and nothing ever really came of what we did in the studio, but he and I hit it off and got to spend some time together. He’s just such a lovely guy. I absolutely love Tom.”

Richard went on to say that despite Sir Tom’s health struggles, his pal is “remarkable”. He said: “I just saw a clip on TikTok yesterday from a gig like a week ago, and he came out, and you could tell he was like, ‘Ugh, my hips hurt!’ or whatever, you know, like, but then he sits down, and his voice is the same! It’s unbelievable, he’s 86. Holy s*8t!

“That’s goals for me, man! I want to be that. Tony Bennett was able to do that, and I look at Tom; there are so few people whose voices don’t just ultimately leave them in some way, shape, or form. And I think it’s a testament to Tom, and Tony Bennett also, if you just never stop singing, you just got to go—you just got to stay—sing all the time, and that’s what they do..”

After a career spanning decades and 14 albums, Richard also disclosed that trying to pick a setlist for his recent shows at the London Palladium had been “tricky”. “Especially in America,” he laughed, adding: “But in such an incredibly wonderful way. Which is why sometimes, I don’t play all the singles. I’ve done a few gigs here, where I didn’t do anything but hits.

“But when I was putting that setlist together, I thought ‘Man, I am the luckiest guy in the world to be able to have a setlist like that.’ I know that first of all, I cater to the people who’ve supported me all these years, and I know that they want to hear the hits. I get it, because I’m the same way when I go see um when I go see a band play, if they don’t do most of the material that I know and love, I’m going to be a little bummed out.”

His shows, he says, are a journey for fans to kick back and relax, listening to their favourite hits live, while also being introduced to new material. He’s also a fan of Niall Horan, explaining: “I’ve never seen Niall, but I’m a fan of his. If you’re the kind of performer I am, who talks to the audience a lot, once you build a rapport with that particular audience, they’re in.

“It’s almost like you saying to your friends at a dinner party, ‘Hey, listen, can we pause the Sade station here for a few minutes, because I want to play you a couple of songs I’m really into?’ Of course, your friends are going to go, ‘Yeah, show me! What do you got?’ It’s kind of like the same thing. I tell everybody, ‘If you come to see me live, I’m very proud of the music that we play.”

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Welcome Faithfuls, come on in Traitors, and a special hello to anyone who claims to be both (Richard E Grant, we see you there in your Burberry scarf).

Celebrity Traitors is back on screens tonight for episode 3 and we dive straight back into the first banishment with the Faithfuls hoping they’ve caught a Traitor.

But it’s a battle between people taking Richard E ‘I’m a Traitor’ Grant at his word and the others that think he’s a Faithful on a wind-up, which is proving an increasingly tricky position to take.

Will he survive? Can’t see how, but this is Celebrity Traitors and Alan Carr, who couldn’t even say “I am a Faithful” without cracking up, won it! Anything could happen.

Amol Rajan told The One Show his Celebrity Traitors exit was ‘absolutely horrible’ and said he would give Richard E. Grant less of a hard time if he could play again.

Broadcaster Amol Rajan has described it as “absolutely horrible” to become the first faithful booted off the new series of Celebrity Traitors, after giving “lord of chaos” actor Richard E Grant a tough ride.

The 43 year old journalist was eliminated by the traitors — Grant and TV presenter Maya Jama — during Friday’s episode of the popular BBC spin-off reality game show.

It followed his impassioned plea alongside fellow contestant and comedian James Acaster, who had secretly been recruited as the series’ third traitor.

Appearing on The One Show to discuss his departure from the Scottish castle, he said: “It’s absolutely horrible. It was horrible at the time. Just so people know when you are on The Traitors, it is your world. It’s not like a game, you are hundreds of miles from your family, you don’t have your phone, it’s so intense, it’s a little bubble.

“So as you walk into that chapel you are absolutely terrified.”

During the opening episode, which aired on Thursday, Grant sensationally revealed to his fellow contestants that he was a traitor just minutes into the competition.

The bombshell declaration left many faithfuls, Rajan included, deeply suspicious of the actor and debating whether he was bluffing or had genuinely exposed himself.

Rajan branded it a “moment of utter madness”, admitting that if he had his time again he would “definitely” handle things differently — including going easier on the “lord of chaos” himself. He said: “The one thing I would say is lots of people were giving him a hard time and I did get quite close to being recruited as a traitor.”

He also revealed that, as a journalist, he believes he was targeted due to expectations that he would ask probing questions. Rajan added: “The thing about the celebrity version, and it’s amazing TV, it’s just fantastic television, but on the celeb version people’s reputation walk in before they do.

“So I should have known I was going to be a target but I didn’t realise Richard would go quite that mad that quickly.”

Thursday’s episode made history as the most watched debut of any series of the programme in the UK, drawing an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and peaking at 9.1 million at one point.

In the smash-hit series, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, 21 celebrity contestants compete with those assigned as faithfuls attempting to root out those who have been designated as traitors, who “kill off” fellow players in the dead of night.

The celebrities are battling it out at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, with a charity cash prize of up to £100,000 up for grabs.

The Celebrity Traitors returns on BBC One and iPlayer on Thursday at 8pm.