An actor from Avening has become one of the biggest talking points from the opening episode of BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors after apparently revealing his secret role within minutes of the programme beginning.
Richard E Grant was among the first two celebrities chosen by Claudia Winkleman to become Traitors, alongside broadcaster Maya Jama. But his secret appeared to be at risk when comedian Joe Lycett asked the contestants whether they were Faithfuls or Traitors.
When Lycett then asked Grant directly, “What are you?”, the Avening-based actor replied: “A Traitor”.
Grant attempts to explain the slip
Grant later reflected on the moment, describing it as potentially the biggest mistake of his life. He said he had been so pleased to have been selected as a Traitor that, in his excitement, he had responded without thinking.
“That may be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. I was so thrilled to have been chosen as a traitor that in my unguarded excitement, I said, ‘Of course I’m a traitor’. I clearly need to defuse all the heat that’s coming in my direction.”
The reaction from the other contestants was immediate. Lycett said he had just witnessed something that had never happened before on the show, according to the report.
Grant then tried to reverse the apparent confession, suggesting that he was actually a Faithful and that his answer had been part of a bluff. That left viewers with an unresolved question: had the Avening actor produced an elaborate piece of psychological warfare, or had he simply forgotten the basic rules of the game?
Stroud Times reporter gives her verdict
Stroud Times reporter Faye Hatcher, who has been following Grant’s journey from his home patch in Avening, offered her own verdict on the extraordinary exchange.
“Richard E Grant has either just played the greatest Traitors bluff ever – or completely forgotten how the game works!”
The opening episode also ended on a cliffhanger involving Amol Rajan and James Acaster. Grant and Jama were given a choice between the broadcaster and comedian, but the decision carried a deadly consequence: one would be recruited as a Traitor while the other would be murdered.
Rajan and Acaster were shown awaiting their fate in coffins at the end of the episode, leaving viewers waiting to discover which of them had been chosen.
