If you found yourself booked into the unglamorous hotel currently packed with some of the most recognisable celebrities in the country, one thing might leave you scratching your head. It is the presence of four super-keen young women, each clutching their mobile phone and bounding along the corridors with trays heaving with snacks.
Here at the Courtyard, a Premier Inn-style hotel in the shadow of Inverness Airport, the cast of Celebrity Traitors is billeted for three weeks of filming. Behind the scenes of the BBC hit show, an operation to keep the Traitors fed, watered, and ready for betrayal runs with near-military precision. These Traitors include supermodel Jerry Hall, A-list actors Michael Sheen and Richard E. Grant, and singer James Blunt.
“It is spearheaded by these four runners,” says my Traitors snitch. “They look glamorous but they literally are at the beck and call of the celebrities. The orders ping to their phones and it is action stations. Whatever the stars fancy they get, as they cannot leave their rooms.” With no room service on offer, the celebs, used to having their every diva-ish request fulfilled, are reduced to summoning food and drink via WhatsApp. This is why other guests at the hotel have watched open-mouthed as orders of Nando’s, Malbec, and double gin and tonics have been whisked along the corridors at all hours.
Production company staff, also based at the hotel, have been overheard muttering that booze is very much needed after a day’s work. Some of the stars, who are banned from talking to each other to ensure no secrets are divulged outside the game, are even apparently summoning the runners for a chat just to relieve the boredom. “You overhear them saying that they have Jerry Hall and Richard E. Grant upstairs waiting for their snacks,” reveals my snitch. “There is quite a lot of booze being drunk. It must be tough doing the show and it must be boring just sitting in a bedroom. There isn’t much showbiz glamour going on. The hotel isn’t up to much – it is certainly not as lavish as what they are used to. But at least they are waited on 24/7.”
This year’s line-up also includes EastEnders actor Ross Kemp, comedians Miranda Hart, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Joe Lycett, Joanne McNally, and James Acaster, Love Island host Maya Jama, and Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Mathematician Hannah Fry, broadcaster Amol Rajan, ex-Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, prankster King Kenny, Industry’s Myha’la, Heartstopper’s Sebastian Croft, and My Mad Fat Diary’s Sharon Rooney are all booked into the Courtyard.
If conditions inside the hotel, billed on Tripadvisor as offering “solid value,” are budget-style, the views are even less appealing. There are none of the stunning Highland hills, misty lochs, and ancient turrets of Traitors Castle (really Ardross Castle, an hour’s drive away). Instead, celebrities must make do with the bustle of Inverness Airport or, on the other side, the local landmark affectionately dubbed the “Cloud Factory” – the West Fraser wood panel plant which pumps out smoke constantly. While Traitors Castle boasts rooms bedecked with sumptuous antique furnishings, including four-poster beds, the Courtyard vibe is simpler. Each room has a bed, small sofa, wardrobe, and TV. There is not even a bath – just a walk-in shower with complimentary mini bottles of toiletries.
You would not blame our celebs for going a little stir crazy. But woe betide anyone who tries to make a break for it. Guards are stationed at either end of the corridors where the celebrities are staying, effectively sealing off entire sections of the hotel and ensuring there are no accidental run-ins or leaks that could lead to off-screen treachery. At the back of the hotel, a large black screen has been erected that allows the contestants to enter and leave, shielded from both the eyes of the public and any Faithfuls twitching their curtains. “Nothing at all is left to chance,” says my source.
Downtime is tightly controlled, too. The hotel’s small ground-floor gym is available to the celebrities but only one at a time, with crew members stationed outside to ensure no contestants cross paths during their workouts. Outdoor runs and walks are allowed but only with a chaperone. “There is absolutely no chance they can say anything untoward,” says the source. “They are watched like hawks.” And no doubt they will be watched by millions when the series airs in the autumn.
