The Celebrity Traitors returns: new season brings famous faces and early betrayal
The BBC's The Celebrity Traitors kicks off a new season with 21 well-known contestants gathering at Ardross Castle to play a game of trust and deception for charity. The opening episode delivers an unusually candid twist from one star.
The new season of BBC's The Celebrity Traitors has begun, bringing together 21 contestants of varying fame to Ardross Castle in Scotland. Actors, broadcasters, comedians, musicians and other recognisable faces are competing for the chance to win up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice, under the watchful eye of host Claudia Winkleman.
Inside the opening episode
The series opens with contestants filing into a church guarded by masked figures amid floral tributes. Early standout moments include former army captain James Blunt among the cast, and actor Ross Kemp, who spends much of the episode visibly rattled, convinced that anyone who touches him might be plotting against him.
The most striking moment, however, belongs to actor Richard E Grant, who openly expresses his wish to be chosen as a traitor. Once selected, he immediately and gleefully confirms it to comedian Joe Lycett when asked directly — a level of candour rarely seen in the show's history. His longtime partner Jerry Hall initially assumes he is simply play-acting after not being picked, but it turns out he is telling the truth.
Alongside fellow traitor and Love Island host Maya Jama, Grant must help choose a third traitor from two contestants brought in to make their case: journalist Amol Rajan and comedian James Acaster. They settle on the pair who believed Grant's admission, with the loser symbolically "murdered" as the episode closes on a tense note.
Reviewers note that this opening instalment feels somewhat more subdued than the previous celebrity season, though they expect relationships and alliances among the cast to deepen and enliven the show as it progresses.
