Celebrity Traitors returns next week for a second round of deception and amateur detective work. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the Traitors castle will welcome 21 new celebrities on Thursday, as a group of famous "faithfuls" attempts to work out which among them are - and perhaps, always have been - "traitors", secretly murdering contestants each night. Last year's show provided Bafta's most memorable TV moment - an award voted for by the British public - when traitor Alan Carr broke down in tears at the end of the final having bluffed his way to a win by hiding in plain sight.
Let's have a stab in the dark, then, at who might follow in Jonathan Ross's footsteps as this year's "big dog", and who, like singer Cat Burns, could fly under the radar? If Carr was the star of last year's show, then perhaps his fellow TV funnymen could be the ones to watch this time around. Naturally good readers of a room and skilled at misdirection, comedians can inject some comic relief into those tense roundtable moments.
It worked for Carr, who was considered to be less of a threat and more out of his depth by the other sleuths. This time around, stand-up star Joe Lycett, 38, is one of the leading candidates for the role of class clown. Known for his quick wit and political stunts, Lycett told the BBC he asked Carr for advice on "how to spot a rotten little traitor like you".
Last year's winner replied: "Just anyone that's sweating and giggling." With his brightly coloured outfits, Lycett will bring some glamour to the castle, if and when he's not donning the famous dark cloak. "There's a lot of variety and silly stuff that I might not get to wear at all if I end up doing a Paloma," he noted, with reference to Paloma Faith, who was brutally killed off early doors last year by her supposed friend, Carr. If laughing all the way to the winning line is to work again, then it's hard to look beyond James Acaster.
Anyone who has seen his Netflix special Repertoire or heard his podcast Off Menu will know his deadpan, absurdist humour and whimsical flights of fancy could make it difficult to tell whether he is telling the truth or not. A "huge fan" of the show since the first non-celebrity edition in 2022, Acaster, 41, said he would prefer to be a faithful as he wasn't good at lying - though Carr did previously say something similar... Romesh Ranganathan's dry humour and wry presenting style saw him succeed Anne Robinson as the host of The Weakest Link revival in 2021.
Could it help him to become a more believable traitor or faithful? The former maths teacher and now comedy podcaster, 48, blamed his youngest son, who was "desperate for me to come on", for his reluctant participation this year. One of his best friends on the comedy circuit, Parenting Hell podcaster Rob Beckett, is another of this year's funniest contestants.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
