James Acaster has revealed that all Celebrity Traitors contestants receive the same pay regardless of how long they stay in the castle, and admitted he tried to leave the competition early.
The comedian, known for his many theories during the series, spoke to the BBC after the show concluded. He said: "We all get paid the same, whether you're there for day one or day 23. So for most of the time, I was trying to... get the hell out of dodge. But no-one was killing me and no-one was banishing me!"
Winners Crowned in Tense Finale
Romesh Ranganathan and actor Sebastian 'Bash' Croft were crowned winners of the BBC reality game show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, on Friday (October 30). They secured victory for the Faithfuls after banishing Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny.
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 fellow Faithful James Blunt of being a Traitor.
Acaster's Game Plan
Knowing that outspoken players often get voted out first informed how Acaster wanted to play his game. "But that's also really boring," he admitted. "And so for me, I just thought, 'Let's just go around and come up with theories.' You don't see it in the edit, but I was telling everyone, 'It doesn't matter [who goes], just kill them all!' It's fine, as long as you're apologetic when you get it wrong."
The final followed a particularly eventful penultimate episode, which saw Joanne McNally and Sharon Rooney leave the competition before Acaster stunned viewers by admitting he was a Traitor. He 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 a surprise end.
End Game Twist
It was during the end game that Romesh accused Acaster of being a Traitor. With Kenny still in the game, a split vote meant that Romesh and Bash were given the chance to confer, and Romesh changed his vote, trusting Bash's theory that Kenny was a Traitor and Acaster was a Faithful.
With Kenny gone, the pair decided to end the game; however, after Romesh blindsided Acaster, 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 - Choose Love and Refugee Council.
Acaster has taken the eleventh-hour loss in his stride. "The ending was perfect. It had all the twists and turns. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way," he added to the BBC.
