Entertainment02 October, 20262 min read
Richard E Grant Blurts He’s A Celebrity Traitor As Claudia Winkleman Arrives In Coffin
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Claudia Winkleman arrived aloft in a coffin to greet celebrities. Richard E Grant was named a Traitor in The Celebrity Traitors Season 2 premiere.
Grant’s Traitor Blunder
Claudia Winkleman arrived in a church to greet 21 anxious-looking celebrities, carried aloft by druids in a closed coffin, and she said, "That was quite the nap." Richard E Grant and Maya Jama were selected as two of Winkleman's three traitors, but Grant immediately blurted out that he was a traitor, prompting stunned silence.
Grant later admitted, in footage for viewers of the show, "That may be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life." James Blunt laughed after the confession, while Joe Lycett told Grant, "I think you've just done something that's never happened in the game."
Winkleman, Rajan, and Loyalty
Amol Rajan swooped the following day, asking Grant, "What happened last night?" Grant responded by saying he was so "blatant" about wanting to be a traitor that he simply answered when he was asked, and Rajan labelled him the "Lord of Chaos."
Jerry Hall stayed loyal and said, "I just don't believe Richard's a traitor, I've known him 30 years and he's my neighbour," while Miranda Hart said she is confused. Ed Gamble described the moment as feeling like Grant had been given "the lead role in a film and he just had to tell everyone," and Stephen Lambert said Grant had to row back quickly because "the point of being a traitor is not to tell anyone."
Ratings and the Next Episode
Digital i overnight data showed Celebrity Traitors season premiere drew an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 54.9% share, and the show’s debut last year drew an overnight average audience of 6.1 million and a 46.4% audience share. Helen Daddow said, "This hype no doubt drew new audiences as well as longtime Traitors fans to watch the first episode live last night," and the show recorded an 83.5% share among 16- to 34-year-olds watching TV in that time slot.
The series follows a group of famous Faithfuls attempting to find the celebrity Traitor among them, and it will air two episodes each week until the end of October with a total of 10 episodes. ELLE’s release schedule listed Episode 1 on Thursday October, 1 at 8pm and Episode 2 on Friday October, 2 at 8pm, with each episode released on BBC iPlayer following its release on BBC One.