Professor Hannah Fry is among the 21 celebrities taking part in the second series of The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One, hosted by Claudia Winkleman. The 42-year-old broadcaster and mathematician, who describes herself as a Faithful, has called herself "toxically competitive" ahead of the show.
The Essex-born star is known for making big ideas accessible through programmes such as Horrible Science and The Secret Genius of Modern Life. She has also performed stand-up comedy, runs a YouTube channel with over 100 million views, has authored several books, and counts more than two million followers on Instagram.
Personal life and 'gold-star divorce'
Hannah was married to Phil Lythell, with whom she has two daughters. The couple divorced in 2022, and she has described their relationship as amicable. Speaking to The Times, she said: "There have been very few hiccups, but if such a thing is possible we’ve basically had a grade A, gold-star divorce."
According to Grazia, Hannah met her new partner, Oli, on the dating app Hinge. She matched with him on a new profile after her original one was banned for ‘impersonating herself’. She explained: "Put it this way, I wasn’t getting to see men as good as Oli before being banned, and I met him almost immediately afterwards. I mean, correlation isn’t causation, except sometimes it is!"
Cancer diagnosis and recovery
Five years ago, aged 36, Hannah was diagnosed with cervical cancer after a routine smear test. She underwent a hysterectomy and, as a precautionary measure, had a number of lymph nodes removed in case they were cancerous, reported Grazia. The surgery led to her developing lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes limb swelling, which she had further surgery to manage.
Hannah shared her experience in the BBC documentary Making Sense of Cancer with Hannah Fry, which included footage of her receiving her results and ultimately the all-clear.
Thoughts on Celebrity Traitors
Ahead of her appearance, Hannah described the show as "one of the most important, amazing experiences of my life", reported The Scottish Farmer. She added: "What an absolute treat to be in this beautiful castle, incredible surroundings, and with some of the biggest names in the entire country playing games that a whole team have spent months planning and preparing, all whilst getting to be involved in strategy and subterfuge. I mean – amazing!"
On her maths background, she said: "Have I gone back through the data of all the previous games and tried to find statistically significant patterns? Yes! Are any of these going to help me? Honestly, who knows?!"
Celebrity Traitors is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
