Richard E Grant has addressed his jaw-dropping Celebrity Traitors mishap – admitting he has a habit of “getting to the punchline too quickly” as he helped Classic FM announce a record-breaking prize win.
The Withnail and I actor was appearing on the radio station on Friday (2 October), the morning after his hilarious Traitor admission had aired.
Grant, 69, called the competition winner, named Andy, to tell him he had won a massive £1.25million, but the big moment proved somewhat anticlimactic as the actor blurted out the news as soon as he answered the phone.
“I have a tendency to get to the punchline too quickly sometimes,” he admitted.
Andy replied: “I can't believe this. Is this really genuine? We're going to have a big holiday! A family holiday.
“My wife is originally from Mauritius, we're thinking about going next year and visiting some family. We couldn't afford that so it was just a dream, really, we were trying to go there one day, but hopefully that day has arrived!”
Grant was one of the two Traitors picked by Claudia Winkleman in the Celebrity Traitors series premiere – but before he had even joined Maya Jama in the turret for the first time, the actor told 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.”
Grant and Jama later met in the turret to decide on two celebrities to bring to a face-to-face meeting, where one would ultimately be “murdered” and the other recruited to complete the initial line-up of Traitors.
The pair ultimately chose comedian James Acaster to join them on the dark side, sending broadcaster Amol Rajan packing.
Writing in his newsletter, Rajan said he asked Grant why he chose to kill him off first. “To protect myself,” he reportedly replied. “And that’s a compliment!”
When Rajan argued that recruiting him would have been a stronger move, the actor told him: “Ah yes, that makes sense. But I think I just went mad.”
Airing on Thursday (8 October), the next instalment of Celebrity Traitors will reveal whether Grant manages to survive the first roundtable.
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