The worst move in The Celebrity Traitors is telling people you’re a traitor. Richard E. Grant did it in the first episode of season two, to Joe Lycett, and NME says it has never happened in the game before.
Grant and Maya Jama were picked as traitors after telling host Claudia Winkleman how badly they wanted the job. Later that night, Lycett asked Grant whether he was a traitor or a faithful, and Grant simply said traitor. James Blunt, Ross Kemp and Rob Beckett were among those who saw it happen.
What’s the point in being in the game if you’re not one?
Richard E. Grant, to Joe Lycett, NME
Lycett had no playbook for it. “I think you’ve done something that’s never been done in the game,” he told Grant, adding: “It’s a bold strategy.” Later in the episode, some players decided he had to be double-bluffing, while others were sure he was guilty. It ended with the traitors weighing whether to recruit or murder James Acaster and Amol Rajan.
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The music side of the 21-strong cast, per NME’s round-up, is Blunt, best known for “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover,” and former Little Mix member Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Last year’s cast included Paloma Faith, Cat Burns and Charlotte Church, and Alan Carr won it as a traitor. Season one also took Best Reality and the Memorable Moment prize at this year’s BAFTA TV Awards.
Pinnock also figured in one of the premiere’s paranoia moments. Ross Kemp became convinced that other players were trying to murder him in plain sight after Bella Ramsey put a pirate hat on his head and Pinnock stroked his arm. Hear Winkleman’s warning in the trailer below.
There is an Oasis angle, too. Liam Gallagher said he had “been asked” to join this season, NME notes, though he is not in the cast. The show airs Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. on BBC One and iPlayer, with episode two on Oct. 2 and episodes three and four the following week, and the Uncloaked video podcast hosted by Ed Gamble returns alongside it.
- Where
- BBC One and BBC iPlayer, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. BST
- Premiere
- Oct. 1, 2026
- Host
- Claudia Winkleman
- Players
- 21 celebrities, including James Blunt and Leigh-Anne Pinnock
Sources
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 11, 2026.
