Celebrity Traitors set for new run

What's happened

The second series of Celebrity Traitors has launched with 21 stars entering Ardross Castle in Scotland. Host Claudia Winkleman introduces a larger cast, extended episodes, and new twists as Richard E. Grant and Maya Jama are revealed as Traitors. The series streams on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, with international options via Peacock in the US.

What's behind the headline?

Brief

• The narrative centers on a high-profile UK reality format returning with a larger cast and new twists. The angle remains celebrity-driven competition in a castle setting.
• The launch page and early coverage emphasize star power and platform strategy (BBC One/iPlayer; Peacock for US). This underlines an agenda to broaden audience across borders while keeping UK fanfare intact.

What’s changing

• A bigger cast and longer first episode signal heightened stakes and more complex interactions.
• Public-facing streaming guidance is reinforced across platforms, suggesting a deliberate cross-border distribution push.

Implications

• Expect renewed media attention, social media buzz, and cross-market viewing. The show’s appeal hinges on recognizable names and the glamour of the ‘Traitors’ premise translated to a larger stage.
• The presence of big names could drive higher ad revenue and syndication interest, affecting related entertainment coverage and streaming deals.

How we got here

Series 2 follows the 2025 run in which Alan Carr won. This season features 21 celebrities including Richard E. Grant, Ross Kemp, Bella Ramsey, Maya Jama, James Acaster and Michael Sheen. BBC One returns as the broadcast home with live and on-demand streaming on iPlayer; international rights are handled by Peacock in the US.

Our analysis

BBC coverage confirms the extended format and cast for Celebrity Traitors Series 2 with Claudia Winkleman returning as host. The Scotsman and Business Insider UK provide context on cast composition, streaming arrangements, and international rights, highlighting the cross-platform rollout and viewer expectations.

Go deeper

• Which new twists are most likely to redefine the game this season?
• How will international viewers access episodes beyond the UK premiere?
• Which stars are generating the most buzz ahead of the launch?

More on these topics

• Richard E. Grant - British actor

  Richard E. Grant is a Liswati-British actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I and has had prominent roles in films such as How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Hudson Hawk, The Player, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Ag

• Maya Jama - Television presenter

  Maya Indea Jama is a British television and radio presenter. She has co-presented Trending Live! on 4Music from 2015 until 2017, Cannonball on ITV in 2017, the MTV show True Love or True Lies with Danny Dyer, and the first series of The Circle on Channel

• Michael Sheen - Actor

  Michael Sheen is a Welsh actor and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s and made notable stage appearances in Romeo and Juliet, Don't Fool With Love, Peer Gynt, The

• Isabella May Ramsey - Actor

  Isabella May Ramsey is an English actor. She is known for her breakthrough role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and subsequent television roles as Mildred Hubble in the 2017 CBBC series The Worst Wi

• Amol Rajan - British journalist and broadcaster

  Amol Rajan (, ə-MOHL; born 4 July 1983) is an Indian–British journalist, broadcaster and writer working in the United Kingdom. Formerly the media editor of BBC News, he has been a presenter on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 since 2021 and Universi

• James Acaster - Comedian

  James William Acaster is an English comedian originally from Kettering, Northamptonshire, who now lives in London. He has performed for several consecutive years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has been nominated for Best Show five times.

• Alan Carr - British comedian and television personality

  Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, writer, and television personality. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the City Life Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career.

• Scotland - Country of the United Kingdom

  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96 mile border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and w

• Romesh Ranganathan - English comedian

  Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan is an English stand-up comedian, presenter and actor. He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2013 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. A BAFTA best feature was awarded for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan.

• Nick Mohammed - British actor

  Nicholas George Mohammed is a British actor, comedian and writer.

• Ross Kemp - English actor

  Ross James Kemp is an English actor, presenter, author and investigative journalist. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

• Celia Imrie - Actress

  Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress and author. She is known for her work with Victoria Wood, including Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, the sitcom dinnerladies and Acorn Antiques: The Musical, for which she won the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Per

• Jonathan Ross - Broadcaster

  Jonathan Stephen Ross OBE is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2 from 1999 to 2010, and s

• Stephen Fry - British comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist

  Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is a British actor, broadcaster, comedian, and writer. He began his career on the sketch comedy series Alfresco (1983–1984) and the sitcom Blackadder (1986–1989), before gaining recognition as part of the com

• Joe Lycett - British comedian

  Joe Harry Lycett is a British comedian and television presenter. He has appeared on TV shows including Live at the Apollo, Taskmaster, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, 8 Out of 10 Cats, QI, as the announcer on Saturday BBC One show Epic Win, the narrator for Ibi

• British Broadcasting Corporation - Broadcasting company

  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Headquartered at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London, it is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees.

• Joanne McNally - Irish comedian

  Joanne McNally is an Irish stand up comedian, writer, and actor. She is a native of Killiney, County Dublin. She was the co-host of Republic of Telly for RTÉ and has also appeared on The Late Late Show, The Afternoon Show, Ireland AM, Two Tube and The Co

• Jerry Hall - American model

  Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress.

• BBC One - Television network

  BBC One is the first flagship television network of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands.

• Rob Beckett - English stand-up comedian

  Robert Joseph Anthony Beckett is an English stand-up comedian, presenter and actor. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! from 2012 to 2014.

• Hannah Fry - Mathematician

  Hannah Fry is a British mathematician, author, lecturer, radio and television presenter, podcaster and public speaker. She studies the patterns of human behaviour, such as interpersonal relationships and dating, and how mathematics can apply to them.

• James Blunt - English singer-songwriter (born 1974)

  James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is known for his songs "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover". As a British Army captain in the aftermath of the Kosovo War, Blunt was involved in the British refusal to engage Russian troops at Pristina Airport. After leaving the army, he rose to fame in 2004 with the release of his debut album Back to Bedlam, achieving worldwide fame with the singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover". His first album had sold over 12 million copies worldwide by December 2009, topping the UK Albums Chart and peaking at number two in the US. "You're Beautiful" reached number one in thirteen countries, including the UK and the US. Back to Bedlam was the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, and is as of 2018 one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Blunt's second album, All the Lost Souls, released in 2007, reached number one in twelve countries. He went on to release a further five albums, at intervals of approximately three years: Some Kind of Trouble (2010), Moon Landing (2013), The Afterlove (2017), Once Upon a Mind (2019) and Who We Used to Be (2023). As of 2021...