Professor Hannah Fry is among the 21 famous faces competing in the second series of Celebrity Traitors on BBC One. The 42-year-old mathematician and broadcaster has built her reputation on demystifying complex concepts, from Horrible Science to The Secret Genius of Modern Life.
The Essex-born presenter also dabbles in stand-up comedy, runs a YouTube channel with over 100 million views, and has written several books. Her Instagram following exceeds two million. This year's line-up, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, also includes Michael Sheen, Richard E Grant, James Blunt, Ross Kemp and Miranda Hart.
Cancer diagnosis and treatment
Hannah underwent treatment after being diagnosed with cancer. She had a hysterectomy following a cervical cancer diagnosis five years ago, discovered during a routine smear test. Then just 36 years old, she also had several lymph nodes extracted as a preventative measure in case they contained cancer, according to Grazia.
This led to her developing lymphedema – a long-term condition causing limb swelling – which required additional surgery to control. She documented her journey in the BBC documentary, Making Sense of Cancer with Hannah Fry, featuring footage of her receiving test results and eventually the all-clear.
Marriage break-up and new romance
Hannah was previously married to Phil Lythell, with whom she shares two daughters, but the couple divorced in 2022. She maintains a friendly relationship with her former spouse, revealing to The Times: "There have been very few hiccups, but if such a thing is possible we've basically had a grade A, gold-star divorce."
Hannah encountered her new partner, Oli, through dating application Hinge, according to Grazia. She connected with Oli on a fresh profile after her initial account was suspended for 'impersonating herself'. She said: "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!"
Celebrity Traitors experience
Before her stint on the programme, Hannah called it "one of the most important, amazing experiences of my life", The Scottish Farmer reported. Hannah 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!"
Reflecting on her mathematical background, she commented: "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?!"
