The Celebrity Traitors returned for its 2026 series with an epic first episode, as Claudia Winkleman selected two Traitors from the 21 celebrity contestants. Richard E Grant and Maya Jama were revealed as the first two Traitors, with a third set to be announced on Friday, 2 October, following a cliffhanger.
Celebrity line-up for the new series
The BBC confirmed earlier this year that Amol Rajan, Bella Ramsey, James Acaster, James Blunt, Jerry Hall, and Joanne McNally would take part. Joining Claudia in the Scottish Highlands are Joe Lycett, Julie Hesmondhalgh, King Kenny, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Maya Jama, Michael Sheen, Miranda Hart, Myha'la, Professor Hannah Fry, Richard E. Grant, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Ross Kemp, Sebastian Croft, and Sharon Rooney.
The contestants follow in the footsteps of Alan Carr, whose victory last year became legendary after he deceived his fellow players and survived to the finale as a Traitor, securing £87,500 for Neuroblastoma UK.
How the game works
The BBC previously teased the format: “A new group of celebrities play the ultimate game of detection, trust and betrayal in the hope of winning a cash prize up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice in The Celebrity Traitors series two.”
“Hidden amongst the group are The Traitors whose job is to secretly murder their fellow players, without getting caught. It’s up to the others, the Faithful, to try to detect the Traitors and banish them from the game before they become their next victim.”
“The lucky players who survive to the end have the chance of winning the money. If a Traitor remains undetected, however, they’ll take it all.”
Why the Traitors signed up
Richard E Grant explained his motivation before the broadcast: "Because I think it's the most brilliant game, where even Stephen Fry's encyclopedic knowledge of Sherlock Holmes couldn't solve the mystery. You can't have any clue."
He added: "The Traitors are decided by a team of people and Claudia Winkleman, so there's nothing to go on. Pack mentality prevails, where suspicion turns into accusation." He also said he would "love" to be a Traitor, stating: "You have no control in real life over anything. Any chance for that would be welcome. And a little bit of mischief is always welcome."
Maya Jama, the second Traitor selected, said: "I love the show. I watched the last celebrity series, and I've always wanted to do some kind of challenge game show, but there's never really been the right one." She continued: "I'd love to play someone who's the complete opposite of me, a proper villain or someone really evil. Maybe this is my chance to test that out."
When to watch the next episode
The second episode of The Celebrity Traitors airs on Friday at 8pm. Weekly episodes will broadcast on Thursdays and Fridays, spanning 10 episodes, one more than last year, on BBC One and iPlayer.
