Richard E Grant may have some explaining to do after appearing to accidentally reveal his secret Traitor status just minutes into the opening episode of The Celebrity Traitors this evening.
The Avening-based actor was one of the first two celebrities chosen by Claudia Winkleman as a Traitor alongside Maya Jama.
But after Joe Lycett began asking the celebrities whether they were Faithfuls or Traitors, Grant appeared to forget the golden rule of the game.
Grant’s apparent slip came soon after, when Lycett asked him: “What are you?” and Grant replied: “A Traitor”. Grant later reflected on the moment, saying: “That may be the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. I was so thrilled to have been chosen as a traitor that in my unguarded excitement, I said, ‘Of course I’m a traitor’. I clearly need to defuse all the heat that’s coming in my direction.”
The stunned reaction around the bar was immediate, with Joe Lycett admitting he had just witnessed something that had never happened before on the show.
Grant then attempted to backtrack, suggesting he was actually a Faithful and that the admission had been part of a bluff.
But was it a genius piece of psychological warfare – or simply a spectacular slip-up?
For Stroud Times reporter Faye Hatcher, who has been following Grant’s journey from his home patch in Avening, the verdict is in.
“Richard E Grant has either just played the greatest Traitors bluff ever – or completely forgotten how the game works!”
Whatever the answer, the Avening actor has certainly made himself one of the biggest talking points of the opening episode.
The pair were given a choice between broadcaster Amol Rajan and comedian James Acaster.
But there was a deadly twist.
One would be recruited as a Traitor, while the other would be murdered.
The episode ended with Rajan and Acaster awaiting their fate in coffins, leaving viewers desperate to discover who had been chosen.
