Richard E. Grant’s Traitors confession explained: why he said it and who is at risk

Richard E. Grant revealed his actual Traitor status to fellow contestants in The Celebrity Traitors’ series-two premiere, broadcast on BBC One on October 1, 2026. In the Scottish Highlands game hosted by Claudia Winkleman, his admission drew suspicion before he and fellow Traitor Maya Jama had to choose between recruiting James Acaster and Amol Rajan.

Grant’s explanation was excitement, rather than a claim of strategic genius. ‘I was so thrilled to have been chosen as a traitor that in my unguarded excitement, I said, “Of course I’m a traitor”,’ he told viewers in footage quoted by BBC reporter Helen Bushby. Spoilers for the first episode follow.

Why Richard E. Grant said he was a Traitor

Winkleman selected Grant and Jama at the first Round Table. Shortly afterwards, Joe Lycett began questioning contestants about their roles, and Grant openly answered that he was a Traitor. Viewers already knew his assigned role: what he disclosed was true, even if the other players could not be certain.

Speaking to viewers afterwards, Grant acknowledged the danger. ‘That may be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life,’ he said. ‘I clearly need to defuse all the heat that’s coming in my direction.’ His own account describes an unguarded admission, not a deliberately planned double bluff.

Why Jerry Hall still doubted Grant’s confession

The admission did not convince everyone. James Blunt called it ‘an interesting angle’, while Rob Beckett described it as ‘a bold strategy’. Those reactions show how the contestants received the moment; they do not establish that Grant had planned it.

Jerry Hall drew on her long friendship with Grant to reach a different conclusion. ‘I just don’t believe Richard’s a traitor, I’ve known him 30 years and he’s my neighbour,’ she said. She suggested he was acting out because he had not been selected. Miranda Hart also considered that he could be a Faithful, while expressing confusion.

At the programme’s press launch, Winkleman interpreted his disclosure as excitement. ‘He was giddy, wasn’t he? He’s just laughing at what’s happening. Fantastic,’ she said in Bushby’s BBC report, syndicated by AOL. Companion-show host Ed Gamble added: ‘It felt like he’d been given the lead role in a film and he just had to tell everyone.’

Why James Acaster and Amol Rajan face elimination

The recruitment twist gave Grant and Jama the power to choose their third Traitor, but with a condition. They had to nominate two contestants to meet them face to face and argue for the place. One would join them; the other would immediately be eliminated through the game’s ‘murder’ mechanism.

They chose Acaster and Rajan, both of whom had put pressure on Grant over his identity. Grant described Rajan as his strongest interrogator and Acaster as convinced he was a Traitor. His stated concern was how to reduce the suspicion already surrounding him.

Acaster, who had originally wanted to be a Faithful, argued that removing him would make Grant look more suspicious. ‘If I go tonight, the first person they’re looking at is you,’ he said. He also maintained that the others believed he was a Faithful and that he could help divert attention from Grant.

Rajan’s pitch centred on his journalistic reputation. ‘The faithful think I will identify the traitor by doing my job really well,’ he said. ‘If I’m on your side, I’ll throw them off the scent.’ He also argued that he had built good relationships and was not under suspicion himself.

What the coffin cliffhanger actually revealed

After hearing both pitches, Jama said the candidates had made good arguments and she was ‘50/50’, according to Goss.ie’s episode recap. Grant deferred to her: ‘I’ve got it wrong completely, so I’m going with what you say.’ Those comments did not reveal which contestant they would choose.

Acaster and Rajan each lay in a coffin in the church to await the decision. The episode ended without identifying the new Traitor or the contestant leaving the game. The coffins were television staging, and ‘murder’ means elimination under the programme’s rules.

Goss.ie documented episode-night discussion on X about Acaster’s possible departure and whether eliminating him might work as a double bluff. Those selected reactions establish that viewers were debating the possibilities, not that either outcome was confirmed or that one prediction represented the audience as a whole.

When the next Celebrity Traitors episode airs

The next scheduled episode is Friday, October 2, at 8pm UK time on BBC One, with BBC iPlayer also carrying the series. Goss.ie directs viewers to that episode for the recruitment outcome. The announced broadcast pattern is Thursday and Friday evenings.

The series brings together 21 celebrities competing for up to £100,000 for their chosen charities. Our Celebrity Traitors cast and viewing schedule guide covers the line-up and broadcast arrangements; the premiere has now established Grant and Jama as Traitors while leaving their third member unresolved.