Going into the Celebrity Traitors semi-final, a win for the Traitors (or at least some of them) felt all but guaranteed. In hindsight, viewers should have known it was never going to be that easy.
Thursday (29 October) night’s penultimate episode was full of twists, turns and slip-ups from the previously oh-so-confident Traitors, culminating in a roundtable the likes of which fans have never seen before, in which comedian James Acaster came clean about being recruited as a Traitor.
After a day in which Michael Sheen promised to root out Traitors and decided to turn his eye to the players whose names hadn’t been mentioned, the roundtable kicked off with all eyes on the Welsh actor.
Acaster pointed the finger at Sheen and singer James Blunt as “loud voices” who could be “steering” the game by being vocal about their theories, with boxer King Kenny backing him up.
Blunt admitted that he’d often been wrong, but said that they should be looking at the quieter players, before listing Acaster and fellow Traitor Jama as potential suspects.
Jama defended herself, arguing that she had spoken to Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Kenny and that she was “90-whatever per cent sure” Kenny was also a Faithful.
Sheen agreed with Blunt on Acaster and Jama, then returned to the murder in plain sight, in which the Traitors were tasked with killing another player by spraying a perfume bottle and then yawning. (This is how Ross Kemp was indeed knocked off by Acaster.)
While Sheen initially returned to his theory that Leigh-Anne Pinnock had been involved in the murder, he pointed out that Jama, Kenny and Acaster were the only remaining players who had been in the library that evening.
Jama and Kenny pointed out that it was “not a fact” that this was how Kemp was murdered, until Sheen deduced that the murder must have been enacted when everyone was leaving and only Acaster remained.
While Acaster initially tried to defend himself, the comedian later admitted in his post-show interview that the Faithful had “got him”.
“I just want to explain my situation,” he told the table, before admitting that he “was made a Traitor without wanting to be”.
While the Faithful reacted with surprise and support – although an editing blunder makes it clear that Ranganathan’s gasp was actually taken from during the vote itself – his fellow Traitors looked annoyed, with Kenny saying: “Who would have thought?”
All the players then voted for Acaster, who was banished and officially revealed his identity as a Traitor.
Weeks before the final, The Sun reported that Acaster had grown distressed during one roundtable, which led to producers, who had previously given him a welfare check, pausing production to calm him.
Following the episode airing, the BBC issued a statement, saying that safety and welfare of those taking part was their “highest priority” and that “players are closely monitored and supported throughout by production which includes a dedicated and experienced welfare team”. Acaster has not commented on these reports.
Acaster’s move divided Celebrity Traitors viewers; some argued that he had played selfishly and had spoiled not just the game by breaking his Traitors’ vow to keep his identity a secret, but ruined Jama and Kenny’s chance of winning too.
Yet some were more defensive of the comedian, arguing that he had never wanted to be recruited and had played a good Traitor game, but had cracked under the pressure at the final hurdle.
Others pointed out that Acaster has discussed his struggles with his mental health in the past and recently spoke about being autistic in an interview with Clash, which could contribute towards him struggling to lie in the game.
There’s also been some disagreement over whether Acaster really did ruin things for the Traitors; while Jama already had a lot of suspicion around her, Acaster has technically taken blame for the murder in plain sight, while Kenny has virtually no heat on him.
But will it be a win for the Traitors or the Faithful? Only tonight’s final will tell.
The Celebrity Traitors concludes Friday 30 October at 8pm on BBC One. Follow The Independent’s live blog here.
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