BBC fury as Celebrity Traitors winning refugee charity accuses Israel of 'genocide': 'Supposed to be impartial!'

BBC fury as Celebrity Traitors winning refugee charity accuses Israel of 'genocide': 'Supposed to be impartial!' Choose Love was Sebastian Croft's chosen charity after he emerged victorious in Friday's finale Sign up to the Celebrity Newsletter I agree to receive updates and information about my account, the GB News Community, and related products and services from GB News. Email address Sign up By signing up you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and Community Rules.

Thank you for signing up! See the latest from GB News here . Choose GB News on Google - add us as a preferred source Choose GB News Support GB News Champion free speech and independent journalism while unlocking exclusive benefits. Support us The BBC and Celebrity Traitors winner Sebastian Croft are facing criticism from some quarters over the Heartstopper star's choice of charity to receive his winnings. The actor, alongside comedian Romesh Ranganathan, triumphed in the Celebrity Traitors finale on Friday, dividing an £83,000 prize pot between two refugee charities.

Mr Croft, 24, is directing his £41,500 share to Choose Love, a humanitarian organisation that formerly operated under the name Help Refugees. Established in 2015 as a grassroots effort to raise donations for refugees arriving in Calais, Choose Love says it now partners with local organisations to deliver aid across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. However, Choose Love's political activism has drawn scrutiny, especially given that the BBC programme is funded through the licence fee and bound by strict impartiality rules enshrined in its charter.

Sebastian Croft pledged his winnings to refugee charity Choose Love | BBC The organisation's website states that Palestinians "are still experiencing a genocide" at the hands of Israel, and it has campaigned publicly for the UK government to halt arms sales to the country. Last year, Choose Love published an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, co-signed by figures including Gary Lineker, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dua Lipa, Riz Ahmed and Annie Lennox, alongside more than 400 public figures, leading doctors, academics and Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos.

The letter demanded three specific actions: an immediate suspension of all UK arms sales and licences to Israel, full humanitarian access across Gaza for aid organisations without military interference, and a commitment to broker a permanent ceasefire. Choose Love's co-founder and chief executive Josie Naughton said at the time: "Words won't save the lives of Palestinian children as they are being killed; words won't fill their empty stomachs."

Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft won this year's Celebrity Traitors | BBC She added: "Action is a choice, just as inaction is one. History will remember what we did in this moment. We are begging the Prime Minister to make the right choice." Beyond its stance on the Middle East conflict, Choose Love also helped finance a legal challenge against the Conservative government's policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda. The charity acknowledged covering the "staff costs" of Asylum Aid, which spearheaded a High Court battle against the deportation scheme, a case it ultimately lost, with the policy being ruled lawful.

Conservative MP Jack Rankin is one voice who has condemned the flow of licence fee money towards the organisation. "When activists nakedly misuse charitable designation to peddle their extremist agenda, it should concern us all," he said, according to the Daily Mail. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Sadiq Khan wades into BBC Celebrity Traitors charities row as he defends winning pair's choices Ricky Gervais mocks James Acaster over Celebrity Traitors exit as he reignites feud with BBC star James Acaster speaks out on controversial Celebrity Traitors exit as he shares reason behind twist View this post on Instagram A post shared by Choose Love (@chooselove) "It is doubly shocking that our licence fee, which we have no choice but to pay, is shovelled in directions opposite to the national interest.

"The BBC are supposed to be impartial and should not be handing money to political activists. If they had any backbone, they would refuse to let public funds bankroll pro–migrant crusades." (sic) GB News has contacted the BBC and Choose Love for comment. Meanwhile, Choose Love's acting chief executive Emma Stevenson described the organisation as "absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful" following Mr Croft's victory. Sebastian Croft is an actor and singer | BBC She said the funding "will quite literally change and save lives," particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals facing "displacement, violence and persecution simply for who they are."

The charity selections sparked a fierce reaction online. GB News presenter Alex Armstrong wrote on X: "Nothing for British people? The homeless? Cancer charities? Veterans? I could go on… No. Refugees of course, because that's what these celebs do, it keeps them popular with studios, who're all left wing." (sic) Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer described the outcome as "the most BBC thing EVER," while journalist Charlotte Gill pointed out that the Refugee Council had received £41.6 million from taxpayers between 2021 and 2025, arguing that "so many small, struggling charities could have done with the help and publicity."

Others rallied behind the winners' decisions. Political commentator Narinder Kaur celebrated on X, calling the split between two refugee charities "the best bit" of the result. Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft had been Faithfuls since day one | BBC The finale drew an average of 11.2 million viewers overnight, the highest figure for any episode of the celebrity spin-off. It peaked at 11.6 million on BBC One. Mr Ranganathan, 48, directed his £41,500 to the Refugee Council, which he joined as patron in September.

"Whatever your politics, I think we should be able to agree that people who have been forced from their homes deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity," he said at the time of that announcement. Despite being eliminated from the game, presenter Maya Jama donated £83,500 of her own money to Action for Children on Saturday, a charity working with vulnerable young people facing poverty and abuse. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter Celebrity Heat director Michael Mann rushed to hospital after 'accidentally shooting self in leg' at gun range Celebrity Deep Purple forced to postpone tour as singer Ian Gillan, 81, hospitalised following 'medical emergency' Celebrity Sadiq Khan wades into BBC Celebrity Traitors charities row as he defends winning pair's choices Celebrity David Walliams's ex-wife Lara Stone, 42, shares breast cancer diagnosis in emotional statement: 'Huge shock' Celebrity Maya Jama donates would-be BBC Celebrity Traitors winnings to children's charity amid controversy over winners' choices Celebrity Paloma Faith fights tears as she admits being 'scared' to say Free Palestine on final night of Macklemore tour Celebrity BBC Celebrity Traitors 'woke' row erupts as winners split jackpot between two refugee charities: 'Nothing for Britons?!'

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