The Celebrity Traitors returns with 21 contestants: cast and viewing schedule

The Celebrity Traitors begins its second series on Thursday 1 October at 20:00 BST on BBC One and iPlayer, with Claudia Winkleman hosting 21 contestants at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The opening episode runs for 75 minutes. For viewers, the new run brings a larger cast and an extra episode, with shows scheduled on Thursdays and Fridays through October.

The BBC says the celebrities are competing for a £100,000 charity prize, although the amount ultimately awarded depends on how they perform in the tasks. It has not named the charities or established the final sum in its preview. The series has yet to air, so the identities of the Traitors and the eventual winner are not established by the published previews.

Who is in The Celebrity Traitors series two cast?

The 21-person cast is two larger than last year's celebrity lineup. It brings together actors, comedians, musicians, broadcasters and a content creator. The BBC and The Guardian both identify the following contestants:

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

Some contestants have already described how they approached the game. Bella Ramsey told BBC News they had played a version of The Traitors since they were 10. Mathematician Hannah Fry said she examined statistical patterns from previous games. Leigh-Anne Pinnock said singer Cat Burns, a Traitor who reached last year's final, had warned that the round table could become intense while reminding her it was a game.

When are the episodes and Uncloaked on?

The BBC says the 10 episodes will air on Thursday and Friday evenings throughout October, starting at 20:00 BST on BBC One and iPlayer on 1 October. The opening instalment is an extended 75 minutes. Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked follows each episode, with Ed Gamble hosting. Gamble told BBC News that he watched hours of filming footage each day for the companion show.

The Guardian's guide to the second series says the first celebrity run had nine episodes, making this season one episode longer. It also reports that filming took place from late May to early June at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The castle is the setting where the contestants meet and sit at the round table, according to the BBC's preview.

What changed after the first celebrity series?

The larger cast and longer run follow a highly watched first series. The Guardian reports that the debut celebrity series averaged 14.9 million viewers and reached 15.4 million for its final. BBC News describes it as the UK's most-watched television programme of 2025, watched by about 15 million people. Alan Carr won that first series. Those figures describe the previous run; there is no audience figure yet for series two.

Executive producer Sarah Fay told BBC News at the programme's press launch that the team tries to develop existing task ideas and draw on different cultural references. Winkleman said she watched contestants on monitors during filming and joked that she resisted being sent home by producers. The preview describes a first mission in a lake, but neither the BBC nor The Guardian's advance coverage establishes how the new contestants perform in it.

The show's cast and expanded schedule were also covered in The Guardian's 25 September guide to the new series. Viewers will learn the outcome as the episodes air; the published advance reports establish the lineup, starting time and format, rather than the result of the game.