Celebrity Traitors series two: the 21 contestants and BBC's early picks

The BBC has previewed the 21 celebrities taking part in the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, ahead of its return on Thursday, 1 October. Its picks for possible ‘big dogs’ and dark horses are assessments of how the game might unfold, not clues to who has been chosen as a Traitor or who will win.

The series begins at 8pm on BBC One, according to the Royal Television Society. The BBC says the winning celebrity will receive £100,000 for a chosen charity. Claudia Winkleman returns as host.

Who is in the cast?

The 21 contestants listed in Banijay Entertainment’s cast announcement are Amol Rajan, Bella Ramsey, James Acaster, James Blunt, Jerry Hall, Joanne McNally, Joe Lycett, Julie Hesmondhalgh, King Kenny, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Maya Jama, Michael Sheen, Miranda Hart, Myha’la, Hannah Fry, Richard E. Grant, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Ross Kemp, Sebastian Croft and Sharon Rooney.

The BBC’s early assessments

In its preview, the BBC places Sheen, Grant, Hall, Jama, Rajan, Kemp and Blunt among the potential ‘big dogs’: prominent contestants who may attract attention at the round table. It also describes Ramsey, Pinnock, King Kenny and Fry as possible dark horses, while suggesting Myha’la, Hesmondhalgh, Rooney and Croft could stay under the radar. Those labels describe the BBC’s expectations before the series airs; they do not establish anyone’s role in the game.

The BBC also reports contestants’ own plans. Rajan said he wanted to make friends and keep his head down at first, while Ramsey described an approach they hoped would be ‘instinctive, measured, and perceptive’. Neither comment reveals how either will actually play.

The speculation follows last year’s celebrity series, which Alan Carr won as a Traitor. For viewers trying to judge the new cast, the central uncertainty remains the point of the format: the preview sources do not identify this year’s Traitors or a winner.