James Acaster revealed himself as a "reluctant Traitor" on the eve of The Celebrity Traitors final, reducing the number of Traitors to two and the Faithful to four, with the prize pot currently standing at £64,500.
The comedian's decision to out himself at the roundtable appears to contradict the show's rules, which state that those wearing the green cloak must pledge to lie and deceive throughout the game, commit murders every night, and "keep your identity and the identity of your fellow Traitors a secret".
Acaster's Exit
Speaking after leaving the castle, the 41-year-old argued that his actions created a more exciting final for viewers. "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?"
James admitted that revealing himself as a reluctant Traitor was a desire he'd harboured "through the whole experience". He said he had to constantly remind himself that the Faithful needed the Traitors to behave badly otherwise the entire game would collapse.
"As a Traitor sometimes, when you see people have real life reactions that are bigger than the game, you feel bad," he explained. "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."
Roundtable Reactions
When James found himself being quizzed over whether he'd sprayed the perfume that killed Ross Kemp in plain sight, he declared: "They got me - I've been caught. A weight has been lifted." Romesh Ranganathan, who has known Acaster for more than a decade, felt that trying to play for both sides was a very James thing to do, insisting: "I respect him a lot."
James said that going into his final roundtable, he hadn't known that Michael Sheen was going to point to him as the individual who murdered Ross in the library. "It was a surprise," he insisted. "But I was glad that they caught me."
As the group sat dumbfounded, he told them: "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's had before where I wanted to be a Faithful - that's all I wanted to be. I couldn't just go 'guys it's me - vote for me', so that's all I can do really."
Impact on the Final
James' sudden exit leaves Maya Jama in a weak position, as most of the Faithful now suspect her for playing a similar game to him. After James gave himself up, she told the camera that even murdering Michael wouldn't help her now, sighing: "All roads lead back to me."
James admitted he could not predict whether the overall victory would now go to the Faithful or the Traitors. On Maya and King Kenny, he said: "I believe in them, I've got a lot of faith in them. They're excellent Traitors, but James Blunt is ferocious in this game. He is a man possessed."
At the start of tomorrow's episode, the Traitors will commit one final murder, meaning either Romesh, Leigh-Anne, James Blunt, Michael or Sebastian will not make it into the final day. The remaining four Faithful will then do battle against Maya and Kenny to see whose charity wins the jackpot.
Earlier tonight Joanne McNally became the 10th Faithful to leave the show after being banished at the roundtable and declaring that she was "a hardcore Faithful". Then Sharon Rooney became the 11th to go after being murdered. Their exits mean that only two women remain in the game - Maya and Leigh-Anne.
