James Blunt reveals James Acaster roundtable scenes that were cut from Celeb Traitors - The Independent
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Celebrity Traitors star James Blunt has revealed more about the unaired roundtable scenes that preceded James Acaster’s sudden confession to being a Traitor in the penultimate episode.
The 2026 series was won by Faithful contestants Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft last week – although it was somewhat overshadowed by Acaster’s unprecedented move during last Thursday’s (29 October) episode where, after being grilled by Faithful Michael Sheen, the comedian revealed he was a Traitor before voting even began.
Earlier this week, Faithful star Blunt revealed that viewers “didn’t see the full extent” of Acaster being interrogated at the roundtable and that the comedian “didn’t fall on his sword” – but he’s since elaborated further on the scenes that didn’t make the edit.
“Michael and I had been really planning our assault on him through the roundtable in the morning,” he told Hits Radio on Wednesday (4 November). “I think you picked up that I really then became obsessed about the perfume.”
The week before, Acaster and his fellow Traitors – Maya Jama and King Kenny – had been tasked with committing a murder-in-plain sight by spraying a perfume bottle and tricking one of their fellow players into yawning. Eventually, they managed to “kill” Ross Kemp in this manner, but ahead of the final, Sheen and Blunt had started to put the pieces together.
“I’d walked that through with Michael and we really knew what we were going [to do] and then Michael delivered an absolute knockout,” Blunt continued. “Some of this wasn’t necessarily shown. It became so evident that we had nailed him to a post at that stage.
“And so, what you’ve seen is him just saying, ‘Oh guys, you got me.’ But it wasn’t like that. It was much harder than you saw. It was a courtroom and we drilled it down.”
He added: “So to all those who would critique James and say, ‘You just put your hands up and quit.’ He really didn’t. It was more dramatic than you saw.”
Earlier this week, Blunt said that Acaster – who was promptly banished after his roundtable confession – “didn’t fall on his sword”, adding to BBC News: “You didn't see the full extent of the interrogation. It was heavy in there and it was clear-cut. He was pinned to a post. We got him. We really, really got him.”
According to the BBC report, Blunt hinted that Acaster was caught in a fib about a perfume bottle used in the murder.
It was reported that filming of the penultimate episode was halted so producers could intervene when Acaster became distressed at the roundtable. In a statement, the BBC said that its “highest priority is always the safety and welfare of everyone taking part”.
A spokesperson added: “Players are closely monitored and supported throughout by production which includes a dedicated and experienced welfare team.”
Blunt isn’t the only Celebrity Traitors star to speak out about the moment; Acaster’s fellow Traitor Maya Jama said in a recent interview that the game was “a lot” for the comedian.
“Bless him,” she said. “Never in a game would you expect that you’re going to be put in a situation where you absolutely hate being a Traitor. And I obviously had no idea beforehand that he didn’t want to be a Traitor, I just thought everyone’s kind of up for it.
“But yeah, it was hard. I don’t think anybody knows how it would feel once you’re in the situation, and that’s going to impact everyone completely differently. As he said, for him it was a lot,” she added. “You’re like, ‘OK, this is a game, we’re playing for charity.’ But then these people have real feelings, and trying to find the balance between it is tougher than it looks.”
Over 11.2 million people tuned in to watch Ranganathan and Croft split the £83,000 prize pot on Friday, making it the highest-ever overnight audience for the show.
