Celebrity Traitors winner Sebastian Croft is donating his entire £41,500 share of the prize pot to Choose Love, a global humanitarian organisation supporting refugees and displaced communities, prompting an emotional response from the charity.
The Heartstopper actor, 24, was crowned a winner alongside comedian Romesh Ranganathan during Friday night's (October 30) final of the BBC reality series. The pair secured victory for the Faithfuls after successfully identifying the remaining Traitor, King Kenny, and taking home the £83,000 prize pot to split between their chosen charities.
Charity thanks for 'long-time friend'
Sebastian, also known as Bash, decided to donate his half of the winnings to Choose Love, an organisation previously known as Help Refugees that provides emergency assistance and longer-term support to refugees and displaced communities. The charity works with people forced to flee their homes because of conflict, persecution and other humanitarian crises.
Emma Stevenson, acting chief executive officer of Choose Love, said the charity was delighted by Sebastian's decision and praised his continued support. She said: "We are absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful to Bash for choosing Choose Love as his designated charity following his incredible win on Celebrity Traitors.
"Bash has been a long-time friend and dedicated supporter of our work, and we could not be prouder of him. This vital funding will quite literally change and save lives.
"It allows us to extend critical support to refugees and displaced people, especially LGBTQ+ individuals who face displacement, violence and persecution simply for who they are. We can't thank Bash enough, it means the world."
Romesh Ranganathan also backs refugees
Romesh also chose to put his winnings towards supporting refugees, donating his £41,500 share to the Refugee Council. The organisation helps people who have escaped war, violence and persecution to find safety in the UK and rebuild their lives.
Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the charity had thoroughly enjoyed following Romesh's journey through the competition. She said: "We have loved every minute of watching Romesh and cheering him along from the sidelines. To see him win is the icing on the cake. Romesh continues to be a brilliant champion for our cause. As we saw in the castle, he has a unique combination of huge public appeal, warmth and humanity, at the same time as being a gifted comedic legend.
"Romesh's support will help us continue to provide vital frontline services to refugees and people in the asylum system who come to Britain in search of safety and the chance to rebuild their lives."
Dramatic final draws record audience
The pair's victory brought an end to a dramatic series which saw 21 famous faces enter the castle, with contestants gradually eliminated through a combination of murders, banishments and round table showdowns.
The final followed a particularly eventful penultimate episode, which saw Joanne McNally and Sharon Rooney leave the competition before James Acaster stunned viewers by admitting he was a Traitor. James eventually confessed that he had been recruited as a Traitor despite originally wanting to play as a Faithful, bringing his time in the castle to an end.
Friday's final brought further twists, with Maya Jama and King Kenny initially working together as the remaining Traitors. However, their partnership fell apart when Kenny turned against Maya at the final round table, voting to banish her and leaving her visibly stunned.
The finale attracted a huge audience, drawing an average overnight viewership of 11.2 million and peaking at 11.6 million on BBC One. It was the highest-rated episode of the second series and the most-watched instalment of the celebrity spin-off so far.
