James Blunt has revealed that viewers of The Celebrity Traitors "didn't see the full extent" of the interrogation of James Acaster before his dramatic exit from the castle, which reportedly led to filming being halted.
The comedian stunned viewers when he was banished from the roundtable during last Thursday's (October 29) semi-final of the BBC One game show, after he shocked his fellow players by coming clean and admitting he was a Traitor.
Acaster's confession and exit
James began the game as a Faithful, but it wasn't long before he was recruited by original Traitors, Maya Jama and Richard E Grant. It quickly became clear that the 41-year-old was struggling with the new role, having made it clear he wanted to play the game as a Faithful.
After seemingly flying under the radar as the weeks passed, James fell under suspicion at the penultimate roundtable after a discussion about former EastEnders star Ross Kemp's murder in plain sight, in which he struggled to defend himself.
As actor Michael Sheen led the way in suspecting James as a Traitor, viewers witnessed the moment he halted the game and said: "I just want to explain my situation: I was made a traitor without wanting to be. I've had a unique experience on this that no-one's had before, where I wanted to be a faithful and that's all I've wanted to be. I couldn't just go, 'Guys it's me, vote for me, but that's all I can do really'."
Blunt's account of the interrogation
After leaving the show, James 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."
Now, James Blunt has revealed that viewers "didn't see the full extent" of the interrogation that led to James A revealing he was a Traitor, with the confession reportedly leading to filming being temporarily halted, with production staff stepping in to check on the comedian and the wider cast before filming resumed.
Speaking to the BBC, Blunt, 52, said Acaster had been caught in a lie about a perfume bottle used in a murder in plain sight. "He didn't fall on his sword. That's what you saw, that's what you feel, but he didn't," the singer said.
"You didn't see the full extent of the interrogation. It was heavy in there, and it was clear-cut. He was pinned to a post. We got him. We really, really got him." He added: "I think how that played out hasn't really been revealed to you, but he didn't just say, 'Oh guys, you got me'."
Editing and earlier suspicions
Reflecting on the editing of the series, Blunt added: "There are elements [of the show] where I was screaming at the screen for a different reason than you. No matter what really went on in that castle, you're a victim to the edit."
It comes after James A revealed that he was actually rumbled much earlier in the game. Speaking to Celebrity Traitors series one winner Alan Carr on the latest episode of his 'Life's a Beach' podcast, he revealed: "They cut out my one, Jerry Hall went right up to me, face-to-face, and accused me of being a Traitor and she said, 'I think it's James!'"
He explained: "I looked her in the eye and said, 'I think it might be me as well, Jerry!' And she went, 'You're very sneaky', and I said, 'I am sneaky, Jerry. It could be me!' And she went, 'Hm...' and went away. I went, 'Surely that's going in the edit'. No, nowhere to be seen!"
