James Acaster has to be one of the most unique Traitors we’ve seen on Celebrity Traitors series 2, if not the entire franchise. His ‘Faithful Traitor’ approach has caused much discussion both inside and outside the castle but, so far, his aversion to lying, cheating and essentially all things Traitors has served him well.
With the final just on the horizon, and little to no heat on him, a win might just be insight for this comedian. However, we think we’ve spotted his biggest threats – and he must remove them to make it to the end. Despite his seeming inability and genuine discomfort related to his role as a Traitor, he’s going to have to finally get serious – as this Mr Nice Guy approach may have landed him in some hot water with more than one player.
Here are the three players James must knock out to ensure his win.
Maya Jama
On the surface, fellow Traitor Maya Jama should be an ally to James Acaster – but we know better than to believe that. Traitor-on-Traitor crime, especially this close to the final, is far from uncommon in this TV show, and Maya’s behaviours and words suggest she may already be eyeing up James’s head for the chopping block.
Maya has already shown she’ll cut a fellow Traitor loose when it suits her: she’s the only original Traitor still standing after Richard E Grant and Hannah Fry were banished, in part by her hand. And she’s given James reason to worry he could be next. When she and Kenny recruited him, she called him a ‘Faithful Traitor’. After he sat out the sabotage mission, she said, ‘James, you did leave us out to dry,’ – a pointed hint that she no longer sees him as a reliable partner. With Kenny seemingly following Maya’s lead and her patience with James wearing thin, he may need to betray her before she gets the chance to do it to him.
Romesh Ranganathan
Romesh’s deadpan, laid-back manner may help him blend in, but James shouldn’t mistake that for passivity. Romesh has been vocal at the Round Table, making very excellent points here and there: in episode 8, he told Michael he would have been a murder target because ‘for the morale of the group, you not being here would decimate us’. That shows he’s thinking about which Faithfuls pose a real obstacle to the Traitors.
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But Romesh is a more personal threat to James because he knows him well. Working the same comedy scene for years, appearing on panel shows, podcasts and comedy festivals together. James even called out this threat himself early on in Celebrity Traitors, saying, ‘Romesh, Joe, and Rob know me really well. They all know that I don’t change my mind overnight.’ That gives Romesh a sense of what’s normal for James. We’ve already seen James go from refusing to sabotage the Faithfuls’ shields to helping carry out a murder in plain sight. If he keeps shifting from reluctant Traitor to more active player, Romesh may be better placed than most to notice the change in his behaviour.
Romesh hasn’t publicly suspected James so far. That trust is keeping James safe for now, but Romesh’s familiarity with him could make him the Faithful most likely to see through the act.
Michael Sheen
The Welsh actor has become something of the castle’s dad: calm and measured, but increasingly influential at the Round Table. Episode eight showed just how much the others listen to him. With no clear Traitor theory to follow, Michael suggested they think about building ‘the strongest Faithful team we can have’. The group took that steer and voted out Jerry Hall, who turned out to be Faithful. It showed Michael can set the room’s direction, even when he gets it wrong – imagine what would happen if he was on to an actual Traitor.
He has yet to voice suspicion of James, and the other players recently named James, Maya and Kenny the most trustworthy people in the castle. But Michael’s influence is exactly what could make him dangerous: if he starts asking questions about James, he has the authority to get others listening. We’ve already seen him keep pressing a theory, returning to his suspicions of Sharon at the Round Table after questioning her about her behaviour during a mission. For James, Michael may be a bigger threat than someone openly suspicious of him: he’s a trusted Faithful who could turn the whole group’s attention his way.
