James Acaster has spoken out after his shock banishment in the penultimate episode of Celebrity Traitors, as reports suggest the bombshell was enveloped in filming chaos.
The explosive episode on Thursday night (October 29) saw the comedian reveal himself to the group of celebrities as a "reluctant Traitor" in a shock twist. James had wanted to compete as a Faithful and admitted he found being a Traitor challenging throughout the series.
A confession at the round table
At the round table, James confessed to being a Traitor after actor Michael Sheen pointed the finger at him during a discussion about Ross Kemp's plain sight murder. After revealing his gameplay to the group, which then saw him banished by fellow contestants, James has now given his verdict on his departure.
He claimed his departure - which saw scenes edited out after filming was halted - has set the scene for a great final of Celebrity Traitors.
He said: "I feel pretty good getting to episode nine, and 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?"
Reflections on being a Traitor
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 said his idea to reveal his identity as a traitor got him through his experience. He said: "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."
Scenes edited out of semi-final
Since the series was aired, reports have emerged that filming was halted mid-shoot during last night's episode, with the welfare team called in to check on the cast. It is believed production was brought to a standstill when the pressure proved too much for James, reports the Daily Star.
A source told The Sun: "What you don't see is the moment when James got upset as he crumbled when he could see he was about to be caught. Both the producers and the other celebrities could see how he was struggling with the pressure of keeping his true identity secret and he reached some kind of breaking point when he was confronted.
"That saw the team feel compelled to intervene, and filming was brought to a halt as they assessed the situation. They spoke to both James and the rest of the stars and didn't allow filming to resume until they were sure everyone was in a fit state."
The Celebrity Traitors final airs on BBC One at 8pm on Friday. The seven finalists are Maya Jama, King Kenny, Sebastian Croft, James Blunt, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Michael Sheen, and Romesh Ranganathan.
