Daisy May Cooper has spoken for the first time about dropping out of Celebrity Traitors last year, with the comedian saying that the job wasn’t “enough money” for what she’d be put through.
The star of This Country was rumoured to have signed up to the first series of the BBC celebrity spin-off with her brother Charlie, with reports later emerging that the pair had backed out of filming.
Speaking to The Independent, Cooper confirmed that she and her brother were originally meant to compete in the series, but withdrew after hearing about the living conditions.
“We panicked,” she said. “We were going to do it and then they said, ‘Basically, you’re going to stay in a s*** hotel,’ and I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can do it.’”
Another factor in her decision was the fact that she would not be able to regularly speak to her family for two weeks. Cooper shares two children with her ex-husband, and a two-year-old son with partner Anthony Huggins.
“It just sounded like a f***ing nightmare. I haven’t really watched the show before and I thought me and Charlie would be able to share a room,” said Cooper. “They said, ‘No, you won’t be able to do that.’ I thought, ‘F*** it. It’s not enough money.’”
The first series went ahead with the likes of Jonathan Ross, Nick Mohammed, Paloma Faith, Joe Wilkinson, and Sir Stephen Fry competing. Comedian Alan Carr went on to win it.
The second series is currently airing on BBC One, with just 10 stars left in the competition, including James Acaster, Maya Jama, James Blunt, and Michael Sheen to name a few.
While Cooper may not be on Celebrity Traitors this year, she did return to Last One Laughing UK for its Halloween special.
The short series sees a line-up of comedians, some new and some returning, attempt to make it through several hours in one another’s company without laughing or screaming.
Speaking to The Independent, Cooper said that she told her agent to clear her schedule so she could take part in the show, having previously competed on the first series.
“It’s my favourite job that I’ve ever had. There’s nothing more fun than that. I was more switched on this time – I knew what was going on so it was easier to see when other people were going to f*** up,” she said.
The Halloween spin-off sees Cooper go up against the likes of Jack Dee, Phil Wang, Reece Shearsmith, Harriet Dyer, Tom Allen and Lou Sanders – with cameos from David Mitchell, Catherine Tate and Steve Pemberton.
Last One Laughing UK: Halloween’s first three episodes are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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