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Cackles of evil laughter, squeals of excitement, and bloodthirsty whispers can be heard from the turret in Ardross Castle, and that can only mean one thing – the first Celebrity Traitors of 2026 have been chosen and the “killing” is about to begin.
This year’s lineup of stars on the BBC One hit includes award-winning actors, chart-topping musicians and no less than five comedians – but who has host Claudia Winkleman chosen to serve as Traitors from the very start?
Read on to find out the names of those hoping to emulate the success of 2025’s winner Alan Carr, who despite buckets of sweat and non-stop giggling, managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the Faithful all the way through the game…
Maya Jama
“I’m so excited,” Love Island presenter Jama told the cameras after she was selected as a Traitor. “I wanted to bring a different side of me out, and here she is. My villain era has begun!”
Jama is hoping to throw people off the scent with the “welcoming energy” she has honed as a TV host, saying she wants to be an “unassuming, warm, misleading and manipulative Traitor”.
She already seems to be popular with the other players, and gives off kind, sweet vibes, bringing to mind the winner of this year’s civilian series, Stephen Libby, who won the show as a Traitor with Rachel Duffy.
But Jama has her work cut out already, given her fellow Traitor wasn’t exactly very subtle during his first evening in the castle…
Richard E Grant
When Grant gave the three words he would use to describe how he’ll be as a Traitor, he told Winkleman: “I’m. Utterly. Ruthless.” But how about: “I’m. Utterly. Screwed?”
In unbelievable early scenes in episode one, the Withnail & I star gleefully told comedian Joe Lycett and other contestants that he was a Traitor, just moments after being selected at the top-secret roundtable.
He then spent the rest of the episode trying to dig himself out of that hole, insisting he had said it as a joke. “I thought it would be like an ‘I am Spartacus!’ moment,” he told his fellow players.
In reality, it appears that Grant was just so overflowing with excitement at being picked as a Traitor – something he’d previously said would be a “dream come true” – that he slipped up.
It seems that he will be just as unpredictable and risky as a Traitor as Alan Carr was in the last series – he’s certainly cackling away just as much as Carr was – and that could, counterintuitively, put him on the path to victory.
“I cannot wait to start murdering them,” Grant told the cameras. “I cannot wait.”
The third Traitor
In a new twist to the format, Jama and Grant were able to select two contestants they could force to beg for their lives, and join them as a third Traitor.
The closing moments of episode one saw comedian James Acaster and broadcaster (and former Independent editor) Amol Rajan pleading to be selected as Traitors. Whoever doesn’t get picked will be murdered.
It seems most likely that Acaster will survive and end up donning the green cloak, especially given how intent he was on banishing Grant after he heard him admit he was a Traitor. “I want us to home in as close to facts as we can get,” Acaster said. “He said he was a Traitor. He said it out loud!”
