Sharon Rooney got the Traitors role she wanted — her plan is to resist the crowd

Sharon Rooney began the second series of The Celebrity Traitors as a Faithful as the BBC show launched on 1 October 2026, bringing 21 contestants to a Scottish Highlands castle. The My Mad Fat Diary and Barbie actor got the role she had said she wanted, with a plan to make her own decisions rather than follow the group.

Her reason for preferring that side of the game was straightforward: ‘I don't have a good poker face’, she said in pre-show remarks published by Radio Times. Her strategy was to ‘keep yourself right’ — including resisting pressure over whom to vote for, even if that risked making her look suspicious.

Was Sharon Rooney picked as a Faithful?

Yes, in the premiere. Holly Bishop’s episode report, carried by AOL and associated with The Standard, lists Rooney among the initial Faithfuls. Presenter Maya Jama and actor Richard E Grant were selected as the opening two Traitors, with Claudia Winkleman hosting the contestants’ arrival. Premiere spoilers follow.

That selection matches Rooney’s stated preference, but the two pieces of information describe different moments. Her Radio Times comments explain how she hoped to play before the game; Bishop’s report establishes which role she initially received. Neither establishes her eventual result or her status in later episodes.

What Sharon Rooney said about her game plan

Rooney’s concerns about deception were part of her explanation for wanting to be a Faithful, according to Radio Times. She doubted she could conceal it convincingly. Those remarks were her own assessment before play began, rather than evidence of how well she could read other contestants or keep information from them.

Her voting plan centred on individual judgment. Radio Times reports that she wanted to resist peer pressure and decide for herself, while recognising the possible cost: refusing to go along with the group’s choice could itself attract suspicion.

She also described herself as a fan of the programme. In the remarks published by Radio Times, she said taking part already felt extraordinary before the game began and described being struck by the other contestants. Her enthusiasm for joining and her intended strategy were both expressed before the outcome of any vote.

Where you have seen Sharon Rooney before

Rooney played Rae Earl in My Mad Fat Diary and Lawyer Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Radio Times notes. The profile also identifies her as Sophie in Two Doors Down and Miss Atlantis in the 2019 remake of Dumbo, connecting her television work with two major film roles.

Her awards recognition goes back well before the castle. BAFTA’s original winners announcement records that Rooney won the Actress Television award for My Mad Fat Diary at the British Academy Scotland Awards in Glasgow on 15 November 2015.

The same BAFTA record notes that she had been nominated for the role at its Scotland awards in both 2013 and 2014. She was also named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2013, establishing a record of recognition years before this reality-show appearance.

Why Rooney’s Celebrity Traitors appearance is news now

The new development is the series launch and her initial role reveal. Rooney’s involvement was announced months earlier: STV News reported her inclusion in the second-series cast on 2 May. The October premiere moves the story from a casting announcement and pre-game intentions to her participation as a Faithful.

The programme returns after a widely watched first celebrity series. STV reported that its autumn 2025 finale peaked at 15.4 million viewers, attributing that figure to the broadcaster. Alan Carr won that series as a Traitor. Those figures describe the programme’s previous audience, rather than measuring attention to Rooney individually.

There is a charity prize at stake: STV reports that contestants compete for up to £100,000 for their chosen charities. Most players are Faithfuls, trying to identify the hidden Traitors while contestants are removed through the game’s overnight elimination process. The maximum prize is not an amount Rooney has already won.

What the premiere leaves unresolved

Bishop’s updated premiere account names Amol Rajan and James Acaster as the two Faithfuls selected to pitch for a place alongside Jama and Grant. One would become a Traitor; the other would be eliminated through the programme’s ‘murder’ mechanism. That account leaves the choice unresolved. For Rooney, it establishes a starting role, while her remarks set out an intended approach — not a confirmed record of how she subsequently voted.