Earlier this week, Richard Osman let slip that series 2 of The Celebrity Traitors would be coming to our screens on 23rd September... yes, less than 2 weeks away. We believed him. So did many of you. Why wouldn’t we? But quite frankly, we should have known better.
Richard was, in fact, deceiving us – at least, that’s what the BBC reportedly says, and it seems he's taken a leaf out of the series 2 contestants’ books. During a live recording of his podcast, he revealed that he’d heard from some of the celebrities that the series “was quite intense”, with the game-playing very much turned up a notch.
Ed Havard, the BBC’s director of entertainment, has already teased “tears” and “paranoia” - so what exactly is in store for us? And how dramatic did things actually get in the castle? Here's everything we know so far - and why Richard just proved that series 2 will be the most deceitful yet.
What do we know about The Celebrity Traitors series 2?
First things first, we know that the show is definitely returning this autumn (phew!). We also know that 21 celebrities will take part this time round – which is 1 less than last year’s series. What does that mean? We've got a few theories that you can read about here. Interestingly, we also know that many of the celebrities are familiar with each other - some far more than others. You can check out the full list of contestants below.
Which celebrities are taking part in The Celebrity Traitors series 2?
The full list of celebrity contestants includes:
- Michael Sheen
- Richard E. Grant
- Maya Jama
- Miranda Hart
- Jerry Hall
- Joe Lycett
- Ross Kemp
- Amol Rajan
- Sharon Rooney
- Joanne McNally
- Leigh-Anne Pinnock
- Professor Hannah Fry
- James Blunt
- Rob Beckett
- Bella Ramsey
- Romesh Ranganathan
- James Acaster
- King Kenny
- Myha'la
- Sebastian Croft
- Julie Hesmondhalgh
Who is hosting The Celebrity Traitors series 2?
Would any of us even care about The Celebrity Traitors if it wasn’t for host Claudia Winkleman? Probably not, so it’s a good job she’s returning for the second series with plenty more Fair Isle knits and kilts for us to swoon over.
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What has Richard Osman said about The Celebrity Traitors series 2?
If you didn’t see the news, last weekend, Richard Osman appeared to confirm that The Celebrity Traitors series 2 would kick off on Wednesday 23rd September. Speaking during a live recording of his podcast, The Rest is Entertainment, he said: “By the way, to point out, it’s absolutely embargoed that it starts on September 23… let’s talk about what we call the events of September 23 this year… the cat’s out of the bag isn’t it? Not to repeat it."
He and co-host Marina Hyde were interviewing series 1 star Joe Marler at the time, who speculated on the date: “What is it, 23rd September, the next series?” he said. Richard’s response, therefore, seemed to suggest that Joe had speculated correctly. Richard also suggested that the new series is more “intense” than the last, and Joe had an interesting response.
“I believe it was a slightly different emotion than our experience," said Joe. "Ours was very laugh-led, and everyone was sort of enjoying catching up, you know, pratting about to the point where they [the producers] went: ‘Guys, we’re trying to play a game.’
“Whereas this lot really want it from the start, and then I guess they see how well the first series has gone and there’s a little bit of pressure on them to be like: ‘Oh, I’d quite like a bit of that.’”
Intriguing! If the pair's comments are anything to go by, it's safe to say we're in for a series with far more treachery than ever before.
What else has been revealed about The Celebrity Traitors series 2?
During an appearance at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the BBC’s director of entertainment, Ed Harvard, revealed a few more details about the new series, explaining: “The thing about this season is things happen that you didn't think could happen on Traitors, that you have never seen before. I came from working on the US version, and it just shows how many surprises this show can deliver. I can't stop thinking about it. The paranoia is off the scale.
“I really wanted to step in and go, ‘no one is actually being murdered.’ I don't want to give too much away, but there are tears in this series. I don't think that I thought there would be this many surprises in this season… but there are.”
What has the BBC said about The Celebrity Traitors series 2?
While the BBC hasn't yet said anything about Richard Osman and Joe Marler's comments, The Sun has reported that The Traitors team wanted to do their own launch date announcement - and that 23rd September isn't the real date at all. According to The Sun's insider, Richard Osman actually sent a text to the BBC’s Head of Content Kate Philips to apologise for the situation. Awkward!
When does The Celebrity Traitors series 2 actually start?
Well, since we've all seemingly been told the wrong date (which was 23rd September), the jury's out. The BBC hasn’t yet confirmed an official release date but, given this week's drama, we’re expecting one to be announced shortly. As soon as we have an exact date, we’ll update you here.
