Michael Sheen says acting may put him at a disadvantage on Celebrity Traitors

Michael Sheen says being an actor could put him at a disadvantage on the second series of The Celebrity Traitors because fellow contestants may assume he is skilled at deception. Speaking to BBC Wales ahead of the competition’s 1 October launch on BBC One and iPlayer, he said he expected his profession to make other players suspicious of him.

His concern is about how the other contestants might judge him, rather than a claim that he has already been treated differently in the game. The series brings together 21 celebrities to play as faithfuls and traitors, with a prize of £100,000 for a charity chosen by the winner.

Why Michael Sheen thinks acting could raise suspicion

Sheen told BBC Wales that people might look at an actor and think, ‘oh well, he pretends for a living’. In a game where players must decide whom to trust, he believes that assumption could work against him. He did not say that acting would make him better at identifying traitors or concealing a role of his own.

He disputed the idea that acting is simply a matter of knowingly telling convincing lies. ‘The whole point of acting is that you have to trick yourself into believing that what you’re doing is true,’ he said. If an actor is consciously aware of pretending or saying something untrue, he added, ‘then it’s bad acting’.

The actor said he joined because he is a fan of the programme. He had filmed in the area before and wanted to spend time at the Scottish castle where the competition takes place. He called the location ‘stunningly beautiful’ and described the game as fascinating.

How the second Celebrity Traitors series works

Claudia Winkleman hosts the series in the Scottish Highlands. Most contestants play as faithfuls and try to identify the traitors among them; the traitors remove players during the night. The celebrities must persuade others that they can be trusted while pursuing the charity prize. Sheen’s comments address that social part of the contest, where a reputation can shape suspicion before anyone’s performance is known.

Production company Banijay Entertainment’s series information confirms a cast of 21 and says Studio Lambert Scotland produced ten 60-minute episodes for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Its announced cast includes Sheen alongside Amol Rajan, Bella Ramsey, James Acaster, James Blunt, Joe Lycett, Maya Jama, Miranda Hart, Richard E. Grant and Romesh Ranganathan.

ITV News carried a May report on the cast announcement, months before Sheen explained his concern to BBC Wales. The earlier announcement established his place in the line-up; his new comments give viewers his own account of why that place in the game may feel awkward. Neither report establishes what role he will play or how other contestants will respond to him.

The audience awaiting the new series

The first celebrity series drew a large television audience. BBC Wales reported that its finale reached a peak of 15.4 million viewers and that the series averaged 14.9 million during its run. ITV News also reported the finale figure, attributing it to the BBC. Alan Carr won that first celebrity competition.

The BBC report said the most recent regular series, broadcast in January, attracted more than 12 million viewers per episode. Those figures explain the attention on the next celebrity cast, but they do not indicate how any individual will fare when the new episodes are shown.

Sheen has appeared in Frost/Nixon, The Damned United and The Special Relationship. He also portrayed Prince Andrew in the 2024 drama A Very Royal Scandal. Those roles are part of the public acting career he thinks fellow players may bring to mind when deciding whether to trust him.

The second celebrity series is due to begin on 1 October. Until it airs, Sheen’s suggested disadvantage remains his assessment of how he may be perceived; the contestants’ roles, eliminations and winner are not established by the published reports.