Nobody wants to be the first out of The Traitors – something University Challenge host Amol Rajan discovered after he was “murdered” by Richard E Grant and Maya Jama.
Days after his exit from The Celebrity Traitors series two, Rajan has reflected on his “emotionally turbulent” time on the BBC show, “unhappily confirming” that being the first to leave “is a terrible fate” as he felt he’d “let down” his family.
Writing in a newsletter, Rajan said: “Conventional wisdom has it that the worst thing about being first out is the sheer embarrassment. Like, it’s just really galling to be a loser, or pathetic to not even last until a proper roundtable.
“This prevailing notion has it that the second-worst thing is the loss of screen time. You could have been watched by 10, maybe 12, maybe 15 million people for a dozen hours!
“You could have created iconic moments played as social media clips and at award ceremonies for years! If you’re the first out, think of the missed opportunities for your career!”
However, he said the main reason he didn’t like being first to leave the show was because it disappointed his family. “If you have a family, you want to make them proud. My son Winston, who is 10, has watched both of the first episodes. My girls, who are younger, aren’t allowed to watch their Dad lie down in a coffin that is slammed shut. Not yet, anyway. And yes, I do feel I let them down.”
Rajan also revealed that he’s since met up with Oscar-nominated Can You Ever Forgive Me? actor Grant to discuss their time on the show, which is airing now but concluded filming months ago.
It was during this encounter that Rajan asked Grant why he and Love Island presenter Jama had opted to “murder” him as opposed to comedian James Acaster, who they chose to recruit as a Traitor.
According to Rajan, Grant said he wanted to “protect” himself from journalist Rajan’s suspicion. Rajan told him: “If you really wanted protection, you should have recruited me. That would have been a compliment!”
The broadcaster described his Traitors experience as “astonishingly tense, and intense, and heightened, and extreme”, writing: “Yes, it’s a game, but while you’re in the game, a long way from home, in a cold new world, with people you don’t know intimately, disconnected from your family, deprived of your phone, the game is your world.”
Grant was one of the two Traitors picked by Claudia Winkleman in the Celebrity Traitors series premiere – but before he had even joined Jama in the turret for the first time, the actor confessed to a group of his castmates that he’d been chosen.
Some of the celebrities were in the castle’s bar when Joe Lycett asked Grant: “What are you?”
With a giant grin, Grant replied: “A Traitor.” His fellow players were understandably in disbelief at his answer, with Lycett replying: “I think you've just done something that has never happened in the game.”
The Celebrity Traitors airs weekly on Thursdays and Fridays.
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