James Acaster has revealed the clever way that the BBC show Celebrity Traitors unnerves contestants ahead of every roundtable decision.
Three weeks ago, 21 famous faces arrived at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands as host Claudia Winkleman invited them to play a game of betrayal and deceit. The hit BBC series returned for its second instalment, following celebrity contestants – the majority of whom are known as Faithfuls – as they try to seek out the murderous traitors among them, who kill off players in the middle of the night.
How the show unnerves contestants
James Acaster, who was recruited as an unwilling traitor, revealed that the show plays The Hanging Tree, a ballad from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, before every roundtable. The song tells the dark story of a man sentenced to death for murder who calls out for his love to meet him at the tree.
He said: "You come in silence down the corridor, then you walk in and you all sit down. They don’t announce that it’s going to happen, the first time they completely blindside you, but they do it at every single roundtable."
"They play that song from The Hunger Games, that 'coming to the tree' song, like acapella, Jennifer Lawrence," he added.
Impact on the contestants
He added: "You’re sat there and the camera goes in the middle. Sometimes you see the shots before the roundtable and it’s like a panning shot of everyone with a serious face and you’re having to sit there while it does the 'coming to the tree' and it’s every f*****g time. It’s the only song we heard the whole time we were there, and all day I would have it in my head constantly. And everyone would."
This series has been very up and down between the Faithfuls and Traitors. The first episode of the second series saw Maya Jama and Richard E Grant chosen as the traitors. Richard was the first to be banished from the castle, marking the earliest a traitor has been eliminated. Since then, the group has lost multiple Faithfuls through both murder and banishment, including Corrie legend Julie Hesmondhalgh and fan favourite Miranda Hart.
Traitors Maya Jama and James Acaster recently recruited King Kenny after Professor Hannah Fry was banished. Contestants compete to win a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice. Last year, it was an intense final as Nick Mohammed turned on Joe Marler at the last minute and voted him to be banished. With everyone else in agreement, Joe walked away from the prize pot. In a turn of events, traitor Alan Carr remained undetected and swept the entire amount, £87,500, for his chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK.
The final two episodes are set to air this week, with viewers left on a cliffhanger as both Sharon Rooney and Joanne McNally are at risk of being the next contestants banished from the castle and missing out on the prize pot.
