Romesh Ranganathan has revealed that James Acaster was not quiet during filming of the second series of BBC's Celebrity Traitors, despite his on-screen portrayal as a reluctant Traitor. The champion comedian, who won the series alongside actor Sebastian Croft and split the £83,000 prize pot, discussed Acaster's conduct during an interview on The Romesh Ranganathan Show with series one champion Alan Carr.
Acaster's Traitor struggle
James, an avowed Faithful, became a Traitor at the expense of journalist Amol Rajan, leading to a storyline that saw him admit to being a Traitor at one of the final Round Tables. After the series, speculation arose about how much the public saw and the role the edit played in shaping perceptions of each celebrity.
During the interview, Alan Carr asked: "I saw James Acaster was like a rabbit in headlights, but was he like that, or did they edit it, like, was he quiet?" Romesh replied that James had been more talkative in footage that didn't reach the final edit, stating: "I don't think he was quiet. He wasn't quiet. I think it's fair to say he was wrestling with being a Traitor, but he wasn't quiet."
Unseen moments revealed
Romesh noted that substantial contributions during recording might not feature in the broadcast, drawing on his own experience: "You know what it's like, the Round Table, was so long. There are lots of time, a couple of Round Tables where I remember saying stuff quite a lot and then in the edit, you're just not in it at all. Just how it works out, but he [James] wasn't quiet I don't think."
Earlier in the interview, the pair discussed behind-the-scenes moments, with Romesh admitting he had said things he hoped wouldn't make the edit. He recalled: "There's so many things I said and I thought, 'Please don't let that make the edit'. There's one bit that didn't make the edit and James Acaster was like, he was so excited for this to make the edit."
Romesh described an incident at the Round Table where he said, "Well if they're being served up, let's eat," after someone remarked that the Traitors were being served up on a plate. He added: "As soon as I said that I thought, 'Dear God please don't let that...' and Acaster came up to me afterwards and he goes, 'I cannot wait for that to go out'. Thankfully they cut it out."
Acaster's own confession
James has also shared behind-the-scenes moments that didn't make the final show. On the Life's a Beach podcast with Alan Carr, he said he had confessed to Faithful Jerry Hall about his position after she accused him of being a Traitor, but it wasn't aired. He explained: "I looked her in the eye and said, 'I think it might be me too, Jerry,' and she said, 'You're very sneaky.' And I told her I was very sneaky and it might be me. I was like, well, surely that's going in the edit."
