Amol Rajan has broken his silence after becoming the first Faithful to be 'murdered' by the Traitors on Celebrity Traitors. The University Challenge host was eliminated in the opening episode of the second series, which returned on Thursday night (October 1).
Love Island host Maya Jama teamed up with actor Richard E. Grant as this year's Traitors. The duo were tasked with recruiting one Faithful and murdering another, and the 41-year-old journalist was the one axed.
Rajan reflects on his exit
On Saturday (October 3), the broadcaster returned to BBC Radio 4's The Today Show for the first time since he was removed from the University Challenge host role after five years last month. He confessed: "There are lots and lots of people who are having a go at Richard, as you can imagine."
"We all kind of had a go at him because he said he was a Traitor, which has never happened before and is a completely ludicrous thing to do. So it wasn't just me doing it."
Rajan revealed he recently had lunch with the actor, who apologised for his first murder. He went on: "I had lunch with him a few weeks ago, and I did ask him about it. And he said, 'I'm so sorry, I went completely mad, and I thought you were a threat'. I would say in my defence, there were other people asking hard questions as well, but my strategy, such as it was, got me this close to becoming a Traitor, which I would have loved, man."
Hard to read the actor
The journalist added that it was difficult for the cast to work out whether Grant was being his usual quirky self by admitting he was a Traitor or if he had made a major mistake. Mr Rajan explained: "You can't help but think someone's trying to be very, very, very clever when they say the very, very, very stupid thing."
"That's kind of how it works, and obviously, he's Richard E. Grant, and he's this extraordinary, vastly brilliant and talented actor. And there is something about the celebrity version of Traitors where we all walk in with this weight of expectation and, especially in his case, proper fame."
"Fame is the mask that eats the face, and something about Richard E. Grant's fame made it impossible to tell whether he'd slipped up or whether he was being very, very, very clever."
What he would have done
When asked what he would have done had he made it to the round table alive, the presenter chuckled: "Had I stuck around and had the privilege of attending at least one round table, I was going to try and keep stum, I was going to try and fly under the radar, but if asked, I was going to nominate Richard."
Listeners took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their disappointment at his exit. One user penned: "Sad to see him go. He would have been riveting at the final round table. Also sad to see that Richard E. Grant, star of my favourite comedy film, now seems certain to be kicked out, too."
Another agreed: "As a viewer, I was gutted when I saw the choice Maya and Richard had given themselves, picking two players I wanted to see go further than the first day!"
A third echoed: "So disappointed you were 'murdered'. Would have loved to see you on a longer journey, especially as a Traitor. Now there is a surplus of comedians and not enough serious sleuths. If REG is not the first banishment, it'll prove my point," as a fourth chimed in with: "Deeply disappointed you got the elbow..."
