James Acaster is playing Celebrity Traitors in a brand new way, having been recruited to the dark side very much against his will. But against all expectation, he's acing it.
The comedian, who told host Claudia Winkleman that he had no desire to be a Traitor at the start of the show, was picked to be one anyway, by Maya Jama and short-lived eejit Richard E Grant.
And while it was almost annoying when he simply refused to join in with Maya's murderous glee as they pulled the plug on Bella Ramsey, I've come around to the idea so much that I'm finding his gameplay quite admirable.
A Reluctant Traitor's Unique Gameplay
Banished Hannah was also a reluctant Traitor, while Maya - the only OG - has gone into the killing sprees with gusto. Somehow James is managing to succeed as a Traitor while playing as a Faithful. Yes, it's quite weird, but against the odds he's making it work. And watching him try to justify every little thing he does - presumably so he can sleep at night and also so he can point this out to everyone afterwards - is fascinating.
In tonight's episode he told King Kenny, the latest Faithful to make it through the turret's revolving door: “I'm basically playing the game as a Faithful - I haven't told a single lie yet, but I'm protecting Maya.”
He seemed almost happy, presumably on the back of the previous night's murder having gone so well. Because while Ross Kemp would have been FURIOUS to get murdered, and Romesh Ranganathan might have been a bit miffed too, Rob Beckett just laughed at them.
Face-to-Face Murder and a Clear Conscience
The Traitors killed Rob in a face-to-face meeting - and he laughed his head off. Afterwards James said he wished ALL the murders could be done face to face, because it had helped to ease his conscience when he saw that Rob, at least, was very much remembering it was all just a game.
Because he's more Faithful than Traitor James has had no qualms about voting out two fellow baddies so far - Richard E Grant and Hannah Fry. So Kenny is right to be worried about being double crossed by him or Maya Jama, but for now James is genuinely delighted to have the fellow avid Faithful on board. “I'm feeling much more relaxed now that Kenny's on the case,” he said. “You know when you get someone who comes in at work who you know will actually do all the jobs - and you can just hold a broom and look like you're doing something.” Yup, James is going to hide behind Kenny for all he's worth.
Meanwhile Maya is having a tough time of it because the Traitors are dropping like flies. I mean yes, she does keep voting for them too. But still, she must be feeling a bit lonely.
Faithfuls Close In on Acaster
Kenny joins the turret two and James is delighted with his Faithful friend. Now the Faithful are all pumped up again and Bash (Sebastian Croft) keeps mentioning James Acaster as a potential Traitor so it might not be long before he's forced to defend himself.
I wish someone would just ask him: “Are you a Traitor?” because if he can't lie, it'll be Richard E Grant all over again. Roll on tomorrow's episode…
