Celebrity Traitors returns with 21 stars as Richard E Grant reveals traitor role
Celebrity Traitors has returned for a second series with 21 famous contestants, and Richard E Grant quickly told fellow players he was a traitor.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The second series of Celebrity Traitors has returned to the BBC with 21 contestants, two more than the first series. The line-up is drawn from acting, comedy and entertainment, and the players take part in the murderous game to try to win £100,000 for charity. Claudia Winkleman is the host.
The reported cast includes:
- Michael Sheen
- Miranda Hart
- Rob Beckett
- Bella Ramsey
- Richard E Grant
Coverage has also named Maya Jama, Ross Kemp, Jerry Hall, Julie, who played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, and James Blunt as contestants or contenders to watch.
The first series became a major hit. It made headlines for Celia Imrie's flatulence, Tom Daley's side-eye and Alan Carr's tearful victory. Alan Carr won, and 15 million people watched the final, making it 2025's biggest TV audience.
The new series began with immediate drama. Minutes after Winkleman made Richard E Grant a traitor, he told fellow players at the bar. Most of them laughed it off as a joke. Producers said it was a twist they had never seen before.
Ed Gamble hosts the spin-off Uncloaked, which airs immediately after the main show. He said players might try to copy successful tactics from earlier series, but once they enter the castle everything goes wild. Many contestants know each other this time. They work in entertainment and are used to putting on a TV face, but the show tests whether they can keep that up for a long period in front of friends. One contributor noted that research shows people detect lies only about 54 per cent of the time, little more than chance, though knowing someone can give an advantage because changes in behaviour may be a cue.
Casting for shows of this scale is a long process. Celebrity talent executive Steph Alexander, who previously cast I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and booked talent for Strictly Come Dancing for seven years, said casting can start in January and take about nine months. She said bookers keep a wish list that runs from the Beckhams downwards and approach some stars repeatedly. Bill Bailey was asked about three or four times before he agreed to Strictly, then won. Shows aim to attract a broad family audience and represent regionality, disability, diversity and the LGBTQ+ community. In 2018 Joe Sugg was brought in to attract younger viewers. Personality matters most for contained environments such as Traitors, I'm a Celebrity and Big Brother, and cast members are not told who else is taking part. Some unsure stars are given a dance session to help them decide.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| Alan Carr won the first celebrity series. | Not reported by Channel 5 | ||
| Contestants take part in a traitors and faithfuls game to try to win £100,000 for charity. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | |
| The lineup includes Michael Sheen, Miranda Hart, Rob Beckett, Bella Ramsey and Richard E Grant. | Not reported by Channel 5 | ||
| The new series features 21 contestants, two more than the previous series. | Not reported by Channel 5 | ||
| The previous final drew 15 million viewers and was the biggest TV audience of 2025. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | |
| Only on one channel | |||
| Bill Bailey was asked three or four times before appearing on Strictly, where he won. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Casting for large entertainment shows can start about nine months before filming. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Ed Gamble hosts Uncloaked immediately after the main show. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| Joe Sugg was brought into Strictly in 2018 to attract a younger audience. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Producers said an unprecedented twist saw Claudia Winkleman make Richard E Grant a traitor minutes into the show; he later told other contestants at the bar, and most laughed it off. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Research indicates humans correctly identify lies about 54 per cent of the time, only slightly above chance, though knowing someone may provide an advantage. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | |
| The celebrity edition is popular for revealing unfamiliar sides of well-known participants. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One |
| The first series featured memorable moments involving Celia Imrie, Tom Daley and Alan Carr. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This bulletin led its entertainment segment with the return of Celebrity Traitors as the night's main TV event, stressing the bigger 21-person line-up and the show's huge ratings. It mixed cast names, first-series highlights, and an interview with Ed Gamble about the new series. Unlike the shorter bulletins, it also carried unrelated news about driving tests and prison releases.
- “Celebrity Traitors is back and bigger with two extra contestants meaning an all-star line-up of 21.”
- “15 million people watched the final, making it 2025's biggest TV audience.”
- “Ed Gamble is the host of Uncloaked, which is on immediately after the main show.”
This bulletin gave a compact straight-news account of the second-series launch, including cast names, charity prize, first-series highlights and Ed Gamble's comments. It framed the show as a ratings success and added a short psychology element about lie detection. It did not carry the later spoiler about Richard E Grant revealing his traitor role.
- “21 traitors and faithfuls drawn from the worlds of acting comedy and Entertainment will take part in the murderous game to try to win a hundred thousand pounds for charity.”
- “Ed Gamble is the host of uncloaked and is confident this Celebrity traitors will not disappoint.”
- “I was worried that people would go in see what people had done before That was successful and try and copy their game, but it turns out as soon as you get in the castle everything Everything goes wild.”
This programme treated the return as a cultural talking point, pairing a short news intro with a studio interview with a Traitors superfan. It focused on why the celebrity format works, the appeal of seeing new sides to famous people, and who might win. It also discussed several cast names and possible dark horses.
- “Twenty-one traitors and faithfuls drawn from the world of acting, comedy and entertainment will take part in the murderous game to try and win 100 grand for charity.”
- “15 million people watched the finale, which was won, of course, by comedian Alan Carr.”
- “the celebrity version is seeing other sides to people that you wouldn't normally expect.”
This bulletin skipped the wider format details and went straight to the post-launch twist, warning viewers about a spoiler. It focused on Richard E Grant's quick disclosure as the freshest development. The item was brief and sat alongside unrelated health news.
- “spoiler alert, Celebrity Traitors is back and it didn't take long for the drama to start.”
- “Just minutes after host Claudia Winkleman made Richard E Grant a traitor, the actor couldn't resist telling his fellow players at the bar, though most of them just laughed it off as a joke.”
- “It's a twist producers say they've never before seen.”
This programme looked behind the casting process rather than the on-screen result. It used Celebrity Traitors as a peg for a wider discussion about how reality and entertainment shows assemble famous line-ups. The tone was analytical, with practical detail on timings, wish lists, diversity aims and personality booking.
- “Celebrity Traitors is back on the BBC and another group of famous faces is stepping into the spotlight and success for shows like this and for programmes like Strictly Come Dancing often depend on getting the right mix of personalities long before the filming begins.”
- “we start the process in January for casting something as huge as Strictly. So nine months basically.”
- “I think when you're booking a group of people to be in sort of that contained environment the personality is so important I mean especially with a game like Traitors”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.