Maya Jama and James Acaster were absent from Friday night's live Uncloaked special following the Celebrity Traitors final, in which the Faithfuls emerged victorious. Romesh Ranganathan, 48, and Sebastian Croft, 24, were crowned winners after Traitors Maya, 32, and King Kenny, 29, were banished just before the finish line.
The pair walked away with £83,000 between them, taking home £41,500 each for their chosen charities. Sebastian selected Choose Love, while Romesh chose the Refugee Council.
Victory After Series of Twists
Their victory came after a series of twists that kept viewers guessing, with Maya and Kenny managing to stay under the radar until the final stages. However, fellow Traitor James, 41, exposed his own identity during Thursday's episode in a moment of pressure, leading to his banishment.
Despite their major roles in the series, neither Maya nor James appeared on Friday's live Uncloaked special, hosted by Ed Gamble alongside Claudia Winkleman. Actor Michael Sheen, who was murdered in the final, was also missing from the studio audience, although he did appear via a video message during the programme.
Prior Work Commitments
It is understood that the absent celebrities had prior work commitments that prevented them from attending the live show. Maya, in particular, has been busy filming the second series of Netflix drama The Gentlemen this week.
During the final, the Faithfuls came away with the win, as actor Sebastian and comedian Romesh triumphed after seeing off James Blunt, King Kenny and Leigh Anne Pinnock in the End Game. The scenes were supposed to be watched by the entire cast in a live reunion show straight after the action, however over half of the famous faces refused to show up to filming.
More Stars Missing
The likes of Jerry Hall, James Acaster and Romesh's pal Rob Beckett made their excuses, prompting confused viewers to ask what went wrong. Joanne McNally is also away in America on her ongoing comedy tour and gave her apologies for the miss.
After sealing his Celebrity Traitors victory, Sebastian vowed to give his share of the £83k prize pot to Choose Love, an organisation that supports refugees and displaced people. It is the same charity that Harry Styles is supporting on his Together, Together tour, donating £1 from every ticket sold to fund emergency food, medical care, and family assistance to those in need.
Sebastian's fellow winner Romesh has said his main feeling towards his win is one of 'embarrassment.' The BBC Radio 2 presenter said he was a 'mug' and 'easily swayed' as he panned his gameplay during the series despite taking home the prize pot. Speaking immediately after the finale, the comedian, 48, said: "It's happiness tinged with a little bit of embarrassment. I feel that I've won the game despite I would say my key development area in this game being identifying Traitors correctly. I think that's probably the thing that I was the worst at."
The Mirror have contacted James and Maya's reps for comment.
