“It’s all gone wrong”: The 5 most “baffling” Celebrity Traitors blunders so far – and why more are coming

We’re gearing up for the final of The Celebrity Traitors, and we only have one word to describe the series: chaos. Remember Jim Carrey’s 1997 film Liar Liar, where he plays a lawyer who’s cursed with only being able to tell the truth? Some of the contestants have clearly been hit with the same affliction. Forget sleeping potion, they’ve all taken an inability-to-play-the-game potion – and the producers are clearly scrambling to keep up.

Richard E Grant got the game off to a shocking start when he announced he was a member of the secret killing club, while the last Mission saw the Faithful choose all three Traitors as the most trustworthy. To put it lightly, it’s all gone wrong. And the mayhem is only about to be turned up a notch for the penultimate episode. As we prepare for the finale, here's a look back at the five most baffling Celebrity Traitors blunders so far – and why another spectacular slip-up is coming.

Richard E Grant’s ‘I’m a Traitor’

The game got off to an eventful start. In the second episode, the overly enthused Traitor Richard E Grant admitted to being a Traitor. ‘What are you?’ Joe Lycett asked. ‘Traitor,’ Richard said defiantly, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He later doubled-down on the declaration, saying: ‘What’s the point in playing the game if you’re not?’

Since the actor has publicly refuted claims that the admission was part of a risky strategy, speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, he described the move as ‘catastrophically idiotic’.

Although he had some strong defenders (Joanne McNally, Jerry Hall and Myha’la), the never-before-seen blunder ultimately sealed his fate and saw him ousted from the castle. This shock move paved the way for an extremely chaotic game. With Richard removing the cloak of secrecy that drapes over the entire game, the scene was set for the least secretive instalment of The Traitors yet. We have a feeling the unpredictable moves left the producers clambering to keep up.

The Trustworthy Trio

Last week’s Mission saw the stars running around a ‘field of screams’ to untie bags of gold and place them on to pitchforks next to sinister scarecrows, representing themselves. If three bags were placed next to a scarecrow, it would blow up. Claudia revealed that the spared scarecrows could secure a ‘game-changing power’.

Hysterically, the Faithful deduced that the most honest of the group were the three Traitors – Maya, Kenny and James. ‘I had to hold in my laughter,’ said Maya privately afterwards. ‘Of all people, you saved us. I just thought, “Oh my gosh, have we completed this game already? We are trusting. We are unsuspecting. We are killing you all.”’

Claudia shared the game-changing power – a double-dagger for one of the trusted three (oh, the irony). They chose Kenny to have the power, meaning at the Round Table later that evening his vote would count for two.

But eagle-eyed fans noted that in the most recent US version of the show, the same challenge led to the ‘Power of Pardon’, giving a contestant the chance to reverse a banishment. If we channel Poirot for a second, it’s likely that the producers didn’t foresee the Faithful picking all three Traitors and had to change the special power.

Now, we’re waiting for the result of the cliffhanger, with the fate of Sharon Rooney and Joanne McNally hanging in the balance. After an equal split of votes, the contestants had to recast their votes, with the decision left to King Kenny’s double vote. And we don’t have long to wait for the result.

Sharon Rooney’s suspicious stand

In the same Mission, Sharon Rooney got frustrated over the team’s unanimous decision to pick the trustworthy trio. Defeated, she sighed and said: ‘It wouldn’t be my three, but you do what you want.’ She walked away from the boys, visibly annoyed.

‘It’s the majority, do the majority,’ she shouted. She doubled (or more like quadrupled) down on her support of democracy. When Michael Sheen asked who she wanted to pick instead, she refused to say. ‘I’m not going to argue with four other people,’ she stated.

Later, she revealed that she thought James Acaster didn’t want the power after Kenny pleaded with her to share her reasoning. ‘James A was really stressing about it, so I don’t think he wanted it,’ she said. But, for Michael and others, it made her suspicious and has put her front and centre of the Round Table firing line.

We have a feeling poor Sharon was actually embodying the ultimate selfless Faithful. There were rumours that James A had struggled with the intensity of the castle, and that filming had to be paused. A source told The Sun: ‘The show is incredibly intense and during one particular scene at the castle, James became very anxious and panicked.’

According to the newspaper, the production and cast members agreed to stop the cameras rolling so he could calm down. Could this have happened in the run-up to the Mission, making Sharon more protective of her teammate?

Joe Lycett’s ‘recruit me’ campaign

Comedian Joe Lycett desperately begged for the Traitors to recruit him before he was banished. If it was a double bluff, it backfired terribly. After the Faithful banished Hannah Fry, he started his crazy campaign. In the kitchen, he said: ‘I was going to have an alcoholic drink but actually I’m not going to in case I’m recruited,’ he announced to a full kitchen. ‘There’s a beautiful vacancy now!’

He went a step further when he asked Ross Kemp to recruit him. While he’s no stranger to attention-seeking stunts (for example, changing his name by deed poll), this one ultimately didn’t save him from being banished.

However, could he have just been desperate to escape the anxiety-ridden castle and get back to Birmingham? He put his exit down to being a ‘silly billy’. ‘I sabotage myself sometimes.’ He said. ‘I think I did get a very me experience of what it was like to be me on The Traitors.’

Joanne McNally’s hide-and-seek slip

The Irish queen of chaos first came under suspicion in episode 4’s Round Table discussion. Paranoia-ridden hardman Ross Kemp relived the trauma of the hide-and-seek murder game, during which the Traitors killed Rob Beckett.

‘It was horrible, it was,’ she said, despite (apparently) not being present for the game. The admission was met with a chorus of gasps. Some of the fellow Faithful believed she could have been present as a Traitor, and her voting tack record doesn't help.

Rumours are swirling that Joanne’s chaotic gameplay (getting it wildly wrong every time and refusing to vote Hannah Fry out because she was her friend) could point to a twist: that she’s a secret Traitor. Or, the fact that she described being present at the late-night game could point towards an unforeseen change in the game, and another production blunder.

Are more blunders coming?

Naturally, yes. To top off a whirlwind series, there are whispers of a ‘BAFTA-worthy’ bombshell in tonight's penultimate episode. An insider told The Sun: ‘The likes of this has never been seen on the show before, and may never be seen again. It all adds up to make the semi-final an absolutely unmissable episode and the perfect lead into the finale.’

The insider also hinted that the producers didn't predict the turn of events. Could lone-wolf Romesh figure it all out? Could the Traitors turn on one of their own? We don't have long to wait for what could be the game's biggest blunder yet.