“She’s outed him”: The “subtle” move that proves Celebrity Traitors’ Maya Jama will betray Richard E Grant

Our 2026 celebrity Traitors have been selected! Actor Richard E. Grant and TV presenter Maya Jama have been chosen as this year's villainous murderers in everyone's favourite mind-boggling strategy game. And while both have been nothing but charming and hilarious to watch so far, we’ve spotted a thing or two that suggests we’re already in for a Traitor-on-Traitor crime.

One of the biggest moments in the series so far has been Richard’s confusing reverse psychology strategy of 'jokingly' admitting to the Faithfuls that he was in fact a Traitor. A wild approach, not thus far seen on the show. For some, it implied immediate innocence. Why on earth would a real Traitor make such a risky joke? But for others, it raised eyebrows. And while his fellow Traitor, Maya, appeared to laugh along with him (and others!), we spotted a subtle move that proves she'll soon betray him. Here's why we believe she's subtly already outed him...

The subtle move that proves Maya’s betrayal – she’s an enabler

Our theory comes less from one specific thing Maya has said or done and more from her general demeanour towards Richard. She’s an enabler. By being nice and bubbly with him, indulging his incredibly risky behaviour and laughing along with his borderline obvious antics, she could be offering him up on a plate.

She’s said on the show that she plans to take full advantage of her skills as a TV personality and host, using her charm to put those around her at ease and lull them into a false sense of security. We think that’s exactly what she’s doing with her fellow Traitor. In last night’s episode, she said: ‘I think I'm good at making people feel comfortable. Which is a good skill, cause that’s when they open up – and that’s when they slip up.’ She may be making Richard feel comfortable enough to carry on with his dangerous tactic, so he’s the one who slips up.

If Maya wanted to help Richard stay under the radar, she could have a frank conversation with him and tell him to be more subtle. We’ve seen Traitors do this before. In series 3, Armani told Minah and Linda they needed to be more assertive, while Minah privately felt Armani was already doing too much. Advice she kept to herself, which subsequently resulted in Armani’s banishment. Maya could face the same choice now: rein Richard in or let him keep drawing attention to himself.

The more suspicious Richard seems, the less likely the Faithful are to look closely at Maya, so her warmth towards him may not be a sign that she’s protecting him at all. She could be encouraging him to keep making himself a target, while she stays comfortably out of the spotlight.

She seems to be enjoying Richard's strange reverse-psychology tactic. She giggled her way through discussing his shocking statement. Making him feel comfortable, even clever. She then said, 'Genuinely, you threw me off by running around and saying that you're a Traitor. It completely threw me.’ A statement we think is a lie. His actions directly put him into so many players' suspicions. Why would it have the opposite impact on her? Perhaps because she wants him to keep doing it. She even referred to him as an ‘unhinged uncle running around the castle’ suggesting she actually thinks his approach is far from clever.

The more attention Maya can encourage Richard to get, the more likely he is to get caught. Maya could even double-cross him eventually to help make herself look like a Traitor hunter and confirm her own 'innocence'. Not only is she protecting herself by getting rid of the only person who could reveal her identity, she’s also ensuring a much larger percentage of that prize pot.

More signs she’s going to backstab him

He lets her pick who they’re going to recruit

At the very end of last night’s episode, we see Richard and Maya deciding between James Acaster and Amol Rajan on who they’re going to recruit and who they’re going to kill. Maya initially seems very torn when selecting, but Richard insisted that the decision is hers, saying that ‘I’ve got it completely wrong, so I'm going with what you say.’

She could heavily use this to her advantage to displace Richard in order to save herself. She even says this decision is the only way they can clear Richard's name. If she were to kill James, that would certainly point fingers at Richard, as James has been one of the loudest voices in raising suspicion of the actor. But if they recruit him, he could help put out the flames. The power is all hers.

She likes control

In her discussion with Claudia about why she wanted to be on the show, and specifically to be a Traitor, Maya said, ‘I always said I’d feel nervous going into any kind of experience where I’m not the host.’ Used to pulling the strings on her other TV shows, Maya could be struggling with the lack of control she has over Richard and the ways he could implicate her. She goes on to say, ‘But this one's fun and it’s a game. And you can mess with people, and be a little meddler.’ Foreshadowing Traitor-on-Traitor crime, perhaps?

She wants to play the villain

She admitted to Claudia that she would ‘love’ to be a Traitor, even thinking about what shoes she’d match to the famous green cloaks. She goes on to say she’d love the chance to play a villain – and what’s more villainous than sacrificing your own?

She thinks he’s a bad Traitor

When discussing the type of person they want to recruit for the next Traitor, Maya stated she thinks they need ‘someone who's going to slip under the radar’ – something Richard is definitely not doing. This means she thinks his approach is a bad one, all the more reason to betray him.