Romesh Ranganathan has revealed the text message he received from James Blunt as he admitted to still feeling guilty about doubting him as a Faithful in the dramatic finale of The Celebrity Traitors.
The comedian, 48, and actor Sebastian 'Bash' Croft, 24, were crowned winners of the BBC reality game show on Friday (October 30), securing victory for the Faithfuls after banishing Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny.
Finale Doubts and a Deadlock Vote
During the tense finale, viewers saw social media star Kenny turn on Love Island host Maya in the final roundtable, before Romesh, in the endgame, wrongly accused James of being a Traitor.
With a deadlock vote, Romesh and Bash were given the chance to confer, and Romesh changed his vote, trusting Bash's theory that Kenny was a Traitor and James was a Faithful. With Kenny gone, the pair decided to end the game; however, after Romesh blindsided James, the You're Beautiful singer decided to banish again, leading to Romesh and Bash voting him out and winning the game, banking £83,000 to be split between their chosen charities.
Speaking after the final, James said he had no regrets on the show despite his decision to banish again, leading to his departure at the final moment. He added: "I'm thrilled with the end. From the bottom of my heart, thrilled… I've had moments with everyone and genuinely it's been really nice hanging out with a very, very varied bunch of people and getting on with all of them."
Joke Sparks Fan Outrage
Following the show's finale at the end of last week, a joke between the pair left fans outraged. During the show, winner Romesh Ranganathan joked that viewers didn't witness host Claudia Winkleman remarking to him and Sebastian 'Bash' Croft, 'Thank God James Blunt has gone!' when they voted him out of the End Game.
The quip sparked laughter in the BBC studio, but James didn't look too impressed with the dig when the camera cut to him. Viewers have now picked up on the moment a dour looking James whispered to Claudia, "Did you really say that?" that was quietly picked up on the show's microphones.
Romesh Addresses Rumours
Now, during an appearance on The One Show on Monday evening (November 2), host Roman Kemp was heard quizzing Romesh on whether he and James are 'on speaking terms', to which the BBC Radio 2 host admitted: "I feel really bad about that, and it's gonna stay with me for a long time, what happened."
Addressing speculation that he and James had genuinely fallen out, he said: "I just wanna get this out in the open, James Blunt and I are friends, OK? It's all good. Although he did text me the other day saying, 'I know where you live!'"
He added: "But I felt so bad because, in that moment, Bash convinced me; he said, 'Listen, I think he's a Faithful.' And I trusted Bash, and we were like, 'Let's end the game,' and when (James) decided to go again, I was like, 'Oh no!'"
Behind-the-Scenes Tension Reports
It comes after reports have continued to emerge following the show's explosive finale, which have claimed behind-the-scenes tensions on Celebrity Traitors, which was filmed earlier this year and aired throughout October.
There were claims of a fallout involving Romesh and fellow comedians James Acaster and Rob Beckett. It comes after the majority of the BBC show's celebrity cast gathered to celebrate winners Romesh and Bash, however, James was notably absent, while spin-off Uncloaked presenter Ed Gamble reportedly made no mention of him during the celebrations, which came after James was banished from the penultimate roundtable during last Thursday's (October 29) semi-final after he came clean and admitted he was a Traitor.
A show insider claimed the comedian had felt uncomfortable with remarks made by Romesh and Rob throughout filming. According to the Daily Mail, James allegedly felt increasingly singled out by fellow comedians Romesh and Rob, with their strained relationship said to have centred on their different social backgrounds.
However, James has now insisted that he never fell out with Romesh and Rob, despite the reports. He said: "I've been friends with those guys for over 10 years. They were lovely for the entire show. It's so completely fabricated. Do people really care that much about a game? It's a game, a reality show, a talking point."
