Celebrity Traitors 2026: BBC shuts down Richard Osman after star ‘got premiere date wrong’

The Celebrity Traitors will not begin airing on September 23, as claimed by Richard Osman, BBC bosses have reportedly said.

Last week, the former Pointless host let the apparent start date slip during an episode of The Rest Is Entertainment.

Osman and co-host Marina Hyde were joined by former Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler as he gave advice for the upcoming batch of contestants.

Richard Osman is to host a new TV game show (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

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During the episode, which was a live recording taking place at the Southbank Centre on September 5, the 36-year-old former rugby union player asked: “What is it, September 23, the next series?”

Osman replied: “By the way, to point out, it's absolutely embargoed that it starts on September 23 ... let's talk about what we call the events of September 23 this year … the cat's out of the bag, isn't it? Not to repeat it.”

The alleged start date did the rounds online and in the media, with many taking Osman’s word that the popular BBC reality show would be hitting our screens in a matter of weeks.

Joe Marler rose to fame as a rugby star (Adam Davy/PA)

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However, the Celebrity Traitors team was reportedly “frustrated” at Osman for announcing the wrong date.

A source told The Sun: “There was huge frustration when Richard wrongly announced the date, and everyone involved were blindsided and confused as to where he got that from.”

It claimed that Osman even sent a text to the BBC’s Head of Content, Kate Phillips, to apologise for the blunder, “which is not a scenario that happens very often”.

“Making it worse is the fact that so many people assumed that if Richard said it, then it was probably correct. After all, he's a BBC star, and former telly executive who's well placed to uncover these bits of information.

Claudia Winkleman at the launch of BBC’s Celebrity Traitors, at the Electric Cinema in London (Ian West/PA)

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“Except he got it wrong.”

Last year, the series began on Wednesday October 8 , running over five weeks with the final airing on Thursday 6 November. While series two has 10 episodes to last series’ nine, a similar schedule would see The Traitors begin on October 7.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival last month, BBC’s Director of Entertainment Ed Havard said: “Things happen that you didn't think could happen on Traitors and have never seen before.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 08: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) The cast and crew of The Celebrity Traitors pose with the Reality Competition award backstage during the National Television Awards 2026 at The O2 Arena on September 08, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Hoda Davaine/Getty Images for The NTA's)

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“I came from working on the US version, and it just shows how many surprises this show can deliver. I can't stop thinking about it. The paranoia is off the scale.”

“So, we are very excited about it,” he said, adding that some stars have already asked him when an all-star version is coming.

The inaugural series of The Celebrity Traitors was won by Alan Carr, whose murderous ways as a Traitor went undetected.

The show, a spin-off of the civilian version that began airing in 2023, averaged an audience of 14.9million - the biggest TV audience of 2025.