James Acaster has spoken out after a shocking, never-before-seen moment on last night's semi-final of Celebrity Traitors. The BBC competition is set to conclude tonight (Friday, October 30) with the remaining contestants competing to be crowned this year's champion and win a substantial sum for charity.
Throughout his time on the show, Acaster consistently expressed his desire to be a Faithful, even playing the game as one after being recruited to become a Traitor. He made headlines last week when he refused to take part in a challenge that saw the Traitors taking a significant risk, yet he remained a fan favourite to win.
Acaster confesses at the Roundtable
However, last night, things appeared to overwhelm the star when he owned up to being a Traitor at the Roundtable, before even being voted out. Speaking to cameras, he admitted: "I'm going to do what I've done this whole game, I'm going to continue to be completely honest."
Then at the roundtable, he confessed: "I just want to explain my situation. I was made a Traitor without wanting to be. I've had a unique experience on this that no one has had before."
Filming reportedly halted
Filming had reportedly been halted after the star became "very anxious" on set. The Mirror previously reported that the comedian had begun to panic whilst filming, as a source told the Sun: "The show is incredibly intense and during one particular scene at the castle, James became very anxious and panicked."
"Some of the other celebrities on the show spoke up and said cameras should stop rolling so he could calm down, and production were in agreement as well."
Viewers react and Acaster responds
Viewers at home were quick to share their thoughts as one person wrote on social media: "Everyone forgetting that James Acaster had a panic attack during filming of #CelebrityTraitors, clearly it was then as the emotions in the round table changed massively and filming changed."
Another added, "James Acaster definitely had a panic attack at the round table, and that’s why he outed himself as a traitor. It’s heavily edited, and he just couldn’t take it anymore. He’s done nothing wrong, he was true to himself. He never wanted to be a traitor."
Reflecting on his exit, James issued a statement, saying: "I feel pretty good getting to episode nine, and now we've got a proper final on our hands. With three Traitors, it would have been a foregone conclusion that we were going to win."
"Don't get me wrong, I thought it was hilarious at one point that we were just going to walk our way to the final and win the whole thing, but this is much better, isn't it?"
He continued: "The idea of doing that got me through the whole experience because you feel as a Traitor sometimes, when you see people have real life reactions that are bigger than the game, you feel bad, and I would have to remind myself they don't have a game without you, literally, if no one's doing this stuff, they can't play, and they all want to play."
"So you are doing an important job here, so they all have something to do, and when they catch you, they'll be really happy, and they'll like it, and it will feel good to just tell them and see that reaction."
Admitting it was a surprise to see suspicions turning to him, James went on to say he was glad he had been caught. In his exit chat, he also had his say on remaining Traitors Kenny and Maya as he said: "I don't know. I believe in them, I’ve got a lot of faith in them. They're excellent Traitors, but you still have James Blunt. James Blunt is ferocious in this game. He is a man possessed."
Celebrity Traitors will come to an end tonight at 8pm on BBC One.
