Celebrity Traitors' James Acaster reveals intense show moment viewers don't get to see

The second season of The Celebrity Traitors has been full of drama over the past few weeks, but James Acaster has revealed that a regular unaired segment proved to be one of the most dramatic during filming.

The comedian is wreaking havoc in the Scottish Highlands as he plots his way through the game alongside fellow Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny, with the trio hoping to make it all the way to the end.

Recent scenes saw the plain-sight murder of Ross Kemp, while Miranda Hart and Jerry Hall were also eliminated from the game as the initial cast of 21 has been whittled down to a measly 10.

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV

With the banishment ceremonies being some of the most dramatic scenes on TV, Acaster shared that producers often get the contestants into the mood by playing 'The Hanging Tree', a song popularised in The Hunger Games, through the speakers.

Speaking at a recent Q&A, a clip of which was shared via TikTok, the popular comedian explained: "You walk in and you all sit down, and then they don't announce it's going to happen.

"The first time this will completely blindside you but they do it every single roundtable, they play that song from The Hunger Games – that 'coming to the tree song'. Like, a cappella."

Acaster added that the song is often played when the contestants sit down at the Roundtable for the banishment ceremony, and also noted that it was the "only song" they would hear throughout filming.

His words were backed up by Tom Elderfield and Reece Ward, who both appeared on the civilian series, with the former commenting: "This is true, and the song now gives me trauma."

Related: Celebrity Traitors' latest murdered star says he was under a "considerable amount of pressure"

Reece, who appeared in the fourth season of the popular BBC reality series, echoed the sentiments of season one star Tom, writing: "It's FACTS, and it catches you off guard every single time."

It remains to be seen if Acaster will make it all the way to the eagerly awaited endgame, but the most recent episode saw the Traitors eliminate Hart, one of the key Faithfuls throughout the season.

Speaking about her exit, Hart revealed that she had an "emotional" speech planned, quipping: "I think it's a good thing that I wasn't banished because my speech would have ended up being emotional and mushy."

The Celebrity Traitors airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of the world of K-pop, is here. Buy K-Pop in newsagents or online.

Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.