Story summary
The Celebrity Traitors, a popular BBC show, is returning for its second series on Thursday, May 18th, at 20:00 BST. The new season features 21 celebrities, including actors like Michael Sheen and Julie Hesmondhalgh, comedians such as James Blunt and Rob Beckett, and content creators like King Kenny. Contestants will compete for a £100,000 cash prize to be donated to charity based on their performance in tasks designed to outwit each other.
In the first episode, the celebrities were divided into Traitors and Faithfuls, with Claudia Winkleman revealing only two traitors initially. This departure from tradition left viewers shocked, especially when veteran actor Richard E Grant declared himself a traitor just minutes after arriving at the castle, leaving many in disbelief about his honesty or bluffing skills.
Executive producer Sarah Fay emphasized that the show aims to evolve and push boundaries each year, incorporating fresh ideas while maintaining its core format. This season will air twice weekly on Thursdays and Fridays, with 10 episodes total, up from last year's nine. Additionally, BBC One, iPlayer, and Sounds will broadcast a spin-off series titled Uncloaked, hosted by comedian Ed Gamble. The first episode concluded on a cliffhanger, leaving fans eager to see who the traitors select as their first victims or allies in the upcoming episodes.
Written for “Celebrity Traitors Show Return” on 2026-10-05,
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The Celebrity Traitors is back for a second series, and viewers will see the likes of Michael Sheen, Jerry Hall, Richard E Grant and Amol Rajan at the round table along with Bella Ramsey, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Maya Jama and King Kenny.
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viewers → publish → Ramsey
The extended 75-minute debut episode starts at 20:00 BST on Thursday, with Claudia Winkleman again hosting the murderous game.
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Winkleman → start → game
Viewers can expect some fresh ideas, and executive producer Sarah Fay said they "always want to push the envelope" with the show's elaborate tasks.
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they → expect → tasks
"We're always trying to evolve existing ideas to bring them into a new life or coming up with different cultural references," she told the show's press launch.
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she → try → launch
The celebrities will be playing for a £100,000 cash prize for charity.
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celebrities → play → charity
The final amount will depend on how well they perform in the tasks, regardless of any possible tensions over who is a faithful and who is a traitor.
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who → depend → tensions
This year's contestants are a mixture of famous faces from TV, film, radio and YouTube:
Amol Rajan – journalist and broadcaster
Bella Ramsey – actor
James Acaster – comedian and podcaster
James Blunt – singer/songwriter
Jerry Hall – model and actress
Joanne McNally – comedian
Joe Lycett – comedian
Julie Hesmondhalgh – actor
King Kenny – content creator
Leigh-Anne Pinnock – singer/songwriter
Maya Jama – broadcaster and entrepreneur
Michael Sheen – actor and presenter
Miranda Hart – actor and author
Myha'la – actor
Professor Hannah Fry– broadcaster and mathematician
Richard E Grant – actor and author
Rob Beckett – comedian
Romesh Ranganathan – comedian
Ross Kemp – actor and presenter
Sebastian Croft – musician and actor
Sharon Rooney – actor
In the show's trailer, external, they are seen arriving in a church, smiling as they greet each other, but looking nervous.
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they → see → other
They later travel to the castle in a fleet of black cars, before Winkleman chooses her traitors while everyone wears their blindfolds.
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everyone → travel → blindfolds
They then take part in their first mission in a lake in wetsuits, ending with Winkleman saying ominously: "Fame won't save them."
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Fame → take → them
Speaking at the press launch, Winkleman said she is totally focused on the celebrities while she's in the castle, and is glued to the monitors showing footage of them throughout the day.
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she → speak → day
"All of them were tremendous, and when we do any series I have this room with the monitors.
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I → do → monitors
I'm like a weirdo just applying fake tan, watching," she said.
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she → apply → tan
The presenter added that even when she's told to go home, she tells the producers "I am not leaving", joking that she got barely any sleep.
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she → add → sleep
Ed Gamble, host of BBC Two spin-off show Uncloaked, added that he watched "hours of footage a day" as well.
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he → add → footage
"So when they're eating breakfast, I'm eating breakfast watching them eat breakfast.
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them → eat → breakfast
I'm normally sat there in my pyjamas eating cereal, watching them eat cereal," he told BBC News.
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he → sit → News
Viewers can also look forward to more of Winkleman's eclectic wardrobe choices.
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Viewers → look → choices
I like the fact that it is 'human crow meets golf caddy meets the Artful Dodger'.
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crow → like → Dodger
We're pretty happy with it," she joked about this year's outfits.
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she → joke → outfits
The celebrities have also been speaking about the show before its launch, with comedian and presenter Romesh Ranganathan saying that despite being best friends with fellow comic Rob Beckett, he would have no problem stabbing him in the back.
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he → speak → back
"I mean, he's just as easily going to be on my side as he is going to twist the knife in my back given the opportunity," he said.
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he → mean → opportunity
The show's other comics include Joe Lycett, James Acaster and Joanne McNally.
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comics → include → Lycett
"I think we're going to be the first ones under the magnifying glass being looked at," Acaster said over suspicions one will be a traitor.
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one → think → suspicions
Comedian Alan Carr won the first series of Celebrity Traitors, which was the most watched TV programme of 2025 in the UK, watched by 15 million people.
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which → win → people
The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey already has experience of playing similar games at drama clubs and at home, which is why they joined the show.
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they → have → show
"I've been playing a version of The Traitors since I was 10 years old," they said.
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they → play → Traitors
Mathematician Hannah Fry, who called herself "toxically competitive", added she has already looked for "statistical patterns" in the data for previous games; while Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock said she took advice from singer Cat Burns, who reached the final as a traitor last year.
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who → call → traitor
She had good advice.
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She → have → advice
She said it might get intense around that round table – but remember, it's just a game," Pinnock said.
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Pinnock → say → table
The show is also something of a love letter to the Scottish Highlands, where it is filmed, with sweeping drone shots of the scenery and Ardross Castle in Inverness, where the celebrities meet, eat and of course sit at the round table.
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celebrities → film → table
"It's breathtaking," Winkleman told the press, adding that she and her family were returning to the Highlands for a holiday.
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she → tell → holiday
"My husband was like, 'You're already there quite a lot, what's the matter with you?'" she said.
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she → say → you
After she recently chose to end her recent BBC One chat show, Winkleman is back on familiar ground with Celebrity Traitors.
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Winkleman → choose → Traitors
BBC News asked if she would ever want to try being a contestant on the show, perhaps in the US or Australian versions.
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she → ask → versions
"No, I'm too thick," she said in typical self-deprecating style.
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she → say → style
"I mustn't play it in public.
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I → play → public
"I'm just being honest - it's a privilege to play that game and to be at the round table, but I think I would just be too awful at it."
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I → play → it
The Celebrity Traitors series two begins on Thursday 1 October at 20:00 BST on BBC One and iPlayer.
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series → begin → BBC
The series will air two nights a week, on Thursday and Friday evenings.
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series → air → evenings
The Aporia
