Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft emerged victorious in the final of The Celebrity Traitors, correctly identifying Maya Jama and King Kenny as Traitors, although Leigh-Anne Pinnock and James Blunt were wrongly banished along the way. The pair will split the £83,000 prize, but instead of keeping the cash, they will donate it to charity, as is customary on the celebrity version of the show.
Romesh Ranganathan's chosen charity
Romesh Ranganathan is donating his half of the winnings, £41,500, to the Refugee Council. The 48-year-old comedian became a patron of the charity in September this year. In a statement at the time, he said: 'I'm really pleased to be joining the Refugee Council as its Patron. Whatever your politics, I think we should be able to agree that people who have been forced from their homes deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity. The Refugee Council does incredibly important work, and I'm very proud to support it.'
The Refugee Council thanked Romesh in a Facebook post, writing: 'We're beside ourselves with delight and cheering at the top of our voices to celebrate our Patron, Romesh Ranganathan, winning BBC Celebrity Traitors. We've followed every minute and every laugh that Romesh has created in the Traitor's Castle, and we're so proud of the game he played. We're delighted that Romesh chose Refugee Council, the nation's refugee charity, as his nominated choice. Our work supports refugees to rebuild their lives in Britain. We're here come rain or shine, helping refugees rebuild and thrive.'
Sebastian Croft's chosen charity
Sebastian Croft, also known as Bash, is donating his £41,500 to Choose Love, a humanitarian charity formerly known as Help Refugees. The organisation supports displaced communities worldwide by working with grassroots and community-led groups to provide funding and support.
In an interview with the BBC, Bash explained his connection to the charity: 'I used to volunteer with them when I was 15 and 16, when they were first starting out. I'm now an ambassador for them. I have an organisation called Queer Is Always Here, which operates underneath Choose Love and raises money for them. And with them and Queer Is Always Here, we've raised just under £300,000 so far for queer refugees and displaced people.' He also noted his desire to help people persecuted because of their sexuality.
Online reaction to the donations
The announcement drew criticism from some online, including broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer, who called the final 'the most BBC thing ever'. She wrote: 'Of course, the two winners are donating their winnings – our licence fee money – to a charity for refugees and a charity for "queer" refugees.' However, her comments found little support, with many branding her a 'snowflake' and questioning her objection to charity.
Several X users complained that the charities were 'woke' or 'anti-British', but the majority of reactions were positive. Metro journalist Emily Bashforth wrote: 'The entire £83,000 #CelebrityTraitors prize fund going towards supporting refugees and queer displaced people feels bloody wonderful in such wretched times marked by fearmongering and inhumane politics.' Martin Cottingham added: 'Many refugees suffer so much – and then suffer again when they reach these shores because of bigotry and blame. It's brilliant that in #CelebrityTraitors @SebastianCroft and @RomeshRangstayed faithful to true British values and picked British refugee charities for their winnings.' One user, @Pinotnoirgirl, summed up the mood with the words: 'love wins over hate.'
