James Blunt’s Celebrity Traitors debut: the dry humour and Army background

James Blunt made his Celebrity Traitors debut in the 1 October premiere, joining the cast at a Scottish Highlands castle and responding when Richard E Grant openly declared himself a Traitor. Reports published on 2 October spotlighted both the singer’s dry response and his earlier career as a British Army captain.

“It’s an interesting angle. You need to be very clear that you’re not,” Blunt said, laughing, according to PinkNews. Grant had been telling the truth: he and Maya Jama were the two contestants initially selected as Traitors. Spoilers for the opening two episodes follow.

What James Blunt said to Richard E Grant

The exchange came as Joe Lycett went around asking contestants whether they were Faithfuls or Traitors. PinkNews reports that Grant answered that he was a Traitor, leaving the room silent. When Lycett asked, “You’re what?”, Grant repeated his answer: “A Traitor. What’s the point of being in the game if you’re not”.

Blunt’s response was a warning to make the opposite claim. Lycett then offered Grant another chance: “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that… what are you, Richard?” According to PinkNews, he also whispered a prompt for Grant to say “Faithful”.

Was James Blunt a Faithful or a Traitor?

The starting assignment matched the preference Blunt had expressed before the programme aired. In remarks published by Female First on 30 September, he said: “I think I want to be a Faithful.” He described wanting to contribute proactively as a team player and suggested the Faithfuls’ greater numbers could help them if they worked together.

He also welcomed the missions as an opportunity for contestants on either side to cooperate, build the prize fund and release some of the game’s tension, Female First reported. Those comments describe his stated approach before the premiere; they do not establish how successfully he would put it into practice.

James Blunt’s Army career before music

Blunt’s military background predates his television appearance by decades. The Tab reports that he served in the British Army from 1996 to 2002, trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and joined the Life Guards, a regiment within the Household Cavalry. He reached the rank of captain during six years of service.

His service included deployment to Kosovo in 1999 with NATO’s peacekeeping mission. Music was already part of his life: according to The Tab, he took a guitar with him, performed for troops and local people, and wrote No Bravery while serving there. He pursued music as a career after leaving the Army in 2002.

Asked before Celebrity Traitors about the usefulness of that background, Blunt gave a more modest—and specific—assessment. “I can scurry around in ditches. I’m excellent at hiding in bushes,” he joked in the remarks published by Female First.

What Blunt previously said about Kosovo

Blunt has spoken publicly about his military experience before. In an interview with Ruth Davidson reported by LBC on 14 December 2020, he recalled advancing towards Pristina Airport and finding Russian troops already there. That account is historical background to his career, rather than a new disclosure made during Celebrity Traitors.

He told Davidson that he questioned instructions to “overrun and overpower the Russians”. In his account, another officer in direct command of his troops intervened and instructed them to surround the airport and wait. Blunt said the Russians subsequently asked to share food and water, and his side proposed sharing the airport.

“It was very obvious that the consequences were far bigger than the entire mission,” Blunt told Davidson. His recollection credits a superior officer’s intervention as part of the outcome; it does not establish that he alone prevented a war.

James Acaster’s recruitment and Amol Rajan’s exit

The opening episodes also changed the Traitor lineup. Grant and Jama were told that two Faithfuls would pitch to join them: one would be recruited and the other eliminated. The candidates were comedian James Acaster and journalist Amol Rajan, who made their cases before lying in coffins while the pair deliberated.

The Evening Standard’s 2 October report records the episode-two outcome: Acaster joined the Traitors and Rajan became their first elimination. It says a substantial focus of the discussion was who could help Grant after his disclosure to the other contestants.

Blunt was not one of those recruitment candidates. His confirmed starting position was among the Faithfuls, but the Standard’s opening-role roster also includes the subsequently eliminated Rajan. It therefore should not be read as a list of everyone still competing after those events.