Celebrity Traitors star James Acaster reveals he confessed being a traitor to another star in cut scene

James Acaster has revealed that he admitted to being a Traitor to fellow Celebrity Traitors contestant Jerry Hall earlier in the BBC series, in a moment that never made the final edit.

Speaking on Alan Carr's Life's a Beach podcast, the comedian said Hall had confronted him with her suspicions, and rather than deny it he effectively confirmed her hunch.

"I looked her in the eye and said, 'I think it might be me too, Jerry,' and she said, 'You're very sneaky.' And I told her I was very sneaky and it might be me," Acaster recalled.

He said he had assumed the exchange was certain to be broadcast. "I was like, well, surely that's going in the edit," he added.

Acaster caused one of the series's most talked-about moments when he outed himself as a Traitor at the roundtable in the penultimate episode, a move that stunned both his fellow players and viewers at home.

He told Carr, who won the inaugural Celebrity Traitors last year, that far more of his roundtable contributions had been left out than audiences realised. "I said a lot more around that roundtable than the edit would suggest," he said.

"Most of the time, they want to keep how the Traitors vote as a surprise. They don't want to be like there's hints that I might go one way or the other. So a lot of the time what I said at the roundtable is cut out," he explained.

Viewers had already suspected that significant footage was missing, following a report in The Sun that filming was paused after Acaster became distressed.

A spokesperson told Radio Times: "Our highest priority is always the safety and welfare of everyone taking part. Players are closely monitored and supported throughout by production which includes a dedicated and experienced welfare team."

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Love Island host Maya Jama later reflected on Acaster's confession in an interview with Variety. "I know, bless him," she said. "Never in a game would you expect that you're going to be put in a situation where you absolutely hate being a Traitor. And I obviously had no idea beforehand that he didn't want to be a Traitor, I just thought everyone's kind of up for it."

In the finale, Faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft emerged victorious after banishing the remaining Traitors, Maya Jama and King Kenny, and shared the charity prize pot. Ranganathan's winnings will be donated to the Refugee Council, while Croft chose Choose Love.

Celebrity Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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Authors

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.