Celebrity Traitors is back - here's what you need to know ahead of the first show

ByHelen Bushby

Culture reporter

The Celebrity Traitors is backmost for a 2nd series, and viewers volition spot the likes of Michael Sheen, Jerry Hall, Richard E Grant and Amol Rajan astatine the circular array on with Bella Ramsey, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Maya Jama and King Kenny.

There are 21 celebrities taking portion successful full - 2 much than past twelvemonth - and determination volition beryllium an other occurrence aft the immense popularity of past year's series.

The extended 75-minute debut occurrence starts astatine 20:00 BST connected Thursday, with Claudia Winkleman again hosting the murderous game.

Viewers tin expect immoderate caller ideas, and enforcement shaper Sarah Fay said they "always privation to propulsion the envelope" with the show's elaborate tasks.

"We're ever trying to germinate existing ideas to bring them into a caller beingness oregon coming up with antithetic taste references," she told the show's property launch.

The celebrities volition beryllium playing for a £100,000 currency prize for charity.

The last magnitude volition beryllium connected however good they execute successful the tasks, careless of immoderate imaginable tensions implicit who is simply a faithful and who is simply a traitor.

This year's contestants are a substance of celebrated faces from TV, film, vigor and YouTube:

In the show's trailer, external, they are seen arriving successful a church, smiling arsenic they greet each other, but looking nervous.

They aboriginal question to the castle successful a fleet of achromatic cars, earlier Winkleman chooses her traitors portion everyone wears their blindfolds.

They past instrumentality portion successful their archetypal ngo successful a water successful wetsuits, ending with Winkleman saying ominously: "Fame won't prevention them."

Speaking astatine the property launch, Winkleman said she is wholly focused connected the celebrities portion she's successful the castle, and is glued to the monitors showing footage of them passim the day.

"All of them were tremendous, and erstwhile we bash immoderate bid I person this country with the monitors. I'm similar a weirdo conscionable applying fake tan, watching," she said.

The presenter added that adjacent erstwhile she's told to spell home, she tells the producers "I americium not leaving", joking that she got hardly immoderate sleep.

Ed Gamble, big of BBC Two spin-off amusement Uncloaked, added that helium watched "hours of footage a day" arsenic well.

"So erstwhile they're eating breakfast, I'm eating meal watching them devour breakfast. It's really rather sad... I'm usually sat determination successful my pyjamas eating cereal, watching them devour cereal," helium told BBC News.

Viewers tin besides look guardant to much of Winkleman's eclectic wardrobe choices.

"I similar the information that it is 'human crow meets play caddy meets the Artful Dodger'. We're beauteous blessed with it," she joked astir this year's outfits.

The celebrities person besides been speaking astir the amusement earlier its launch, with comedian and presenter Romesh Ranganathan saying that contempt being champion friends with chap comic Rob Beckett, helium would person nary occupation stabbing him successful the back.

"I mean, he's conscionable arsenic easy going to beryllium connected my broadside arsenic helium is going to twist the weapon successful my backmost fixed the opportunity," helium said.

The show's different comics see Joe Lycett, James Acaster and Joanne McNally.

"I deliberation we're going to beryllium the archetypal ones nether the magnifying solid being looked at," Acaster said implicit suspicions 1 volition beryllium a traitor.

Comedian Alan Carr won the archetypal bid of Celebrity Traitors, which was the astir watched TV programme of 2025 successful the UK, watched by 15 cardinal people.

The Last of Us and Game of Thrones prima Bella Ramsey already has acquisition of playing akin games astatine play clubs and astatine home, which is wherefore they joined the show.

"I've been playing a mentation of The Traitors since I was 10 years old," they said.

Mathematician Hannah Fry, who called herself "toxically competitive", added she has already looked for "statistical patterns" successful the information for erstwhile games; portion Little Mix vocalist Leigh-Anne Pinnock said she took proposal from vocalist Cat Burns, who reached the last arsenic a traitor past year.

"She had bully advice. She said it mightiness get aggravated astir that circular array – but remember, it's conscionable a game," Pinnock said.

The amusement is besides thing of a emotion missive to the Scottish Highlands, wherever it is filmed, with sweeping drone shots of the scenery and Ardross Castle successful Inverness, wherever the celebrities meet, devour and of people beryllium astatine the circular table.

"It's breathtaking," Winkleman told the press, adding that she and her household were returning to the Highlands for a holiday.

"My hubby was like, 'You're already determination rather a lot, what's the substance with you?'" she said.

"It's the astir beauteous spot I've ever been successful the world, is the truth."

After she precocious chose to extremity her caller BBC One chat show, Winkleman is backmost connected acquainted crushed with Celebrity Traitors.

BBC News asked if she would ever privation to effort being a contestant connected the show, possibly successful the US oregon Australian versions.

"No, I'm excessively thick," she said successful emblematic self-deprecating style.

"I mustn't play it successful public. I indispensable not.

"I'm conscionable being honorable - it's a privilege to play that crippled and to beryllium astatine the circular table, but I deliberation I would conscionable beryllium excessively atrocious astatine it."

The Celebrity Traitors bid 2 begins connected Thursday 1 October astatine 20:00 BST connected BBC One and iPlayer. The bid volition aerial 2 nights a week, connected Thursday and Friday evenings.