James Acaster has explained why he confessed to being a Traitor on Celebrity Traitors, a decision that led to his banishment just hours before the BBC show's final.
During the Round Table on Thursday, October 29, the surviving players debated who to eliminate. Pressure initially fell on Michael Sheen, but attention turned to James when the Welsh performer accused him during discussions about Ross Kemp's murder in plain sight.
Why James Acaster admitted to being a Traitor
James was recruited as a Traitor by Maya Jama and Richard E Grant earlier in the series, but from the start he had told host Claudia Winkleman that he only wanted to be a Faithful. As the group targeted him in the latest episode, the comedian revealed that he was actually a Traitor, resulting in his elimination.
Speaking after his banishment, James said: "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 added: "As a Traitor sometimes, when you see people have real life reactions that are bigger than the game, you feel bad. 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. When they catch you, they'll be really happy and they'll like it."
James's plan to reveal his identity
James said the idea of disclosing his identity as a Traitor helped him cope with the experience. He explained: "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."
Who is in the Celebrity Traitors final
Seven famous faces secured their places in the finale: Michael Sheen, Maya Jama, King Kenny, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, James Blunt, Sebastian Crost and Romesh Ranganathan. The surviving Traitors are Maya and Kenny.
Other participants who were Traitors during the series included Richard E Grant, who became the first Traitor in history to be banished at the opening Round Table of any series, and Hannah Fry. Richard's elimination came after he slipped up in the opening episode, revealing to everyone that he was in fact a Traitor.
Celebrity Traitors airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
