Who would make the best Celebrity Traitor? Our picks for the turret

October is almost here, which can only mean one thing: Claudia Winkleman is digging out her fingerless gloves, finding her woolliest turtleneck and bonding with a local owl ahead of the return of The Celebrity Traitors.

This year’s series will see 21 stars descend on Ardross Castle in Scotland, ready to turn on one another as the paranoia-inducing game begins.

In the first episode, which airs this week, we’ll see host Winkleman pick her Traitors from the cast. Those selected will then attempt to “kill” off the rest of the competition without being sniffed out by the remaining Faithfuls. If any Traitors are left at the end of the competition, they’ll have won – which is how reigning champion Alan Carr took home £100,000 for his chosen charity Neuroblastoma UK.

With the likes of actor Michael Sheen, Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Industry’s Myha’la, comedian Joe Lycett and singer James Blunt among those taking part this series, the big question is who’ll be donning the green Traitor cloak in Thursday’s episode.

Disclaimer: while I have covered every UK series of The Traitors and The Celebrity Traitors since the original show started in 2023, I have not seen previews for the new season, so am basing my guesses on instinct and history alone.

Ahead of the big launch, here are my top picks for who Winkleman could choose to be Traitors on the forthcoming series – and which stars are the ones to watch in the cutthroat competition.

Miranda Hart

It’s hard to imagine Miranda Hart as a Traitor without picturing her clumsy sitcom alter ego tripping over the green cloak on her way into the turret. “Such fun!” she’d squeal into the camera, breaking the fourth wall in her camp Miranda manner.

But that’s exactly why she’d make the perfect Traitor. The comedian has been out of the spotlight for several years due to health issues, having been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) caused by Lyme disease. As a result, she’s still most famous for playing her socially awkward Miranda character 11 years on – and if her celebrity castmates assume she’s just as hapless as her fictional counterpart, she may just remain undetected as a Traitor. Bella Ramsay has already declared themselves to be a fan, revealing that they grew up watching the sitcom.

We saw during last year’s series how celebrity bias plays a role when banishing contestants; actor Mark Bonnar was accused of treachery partly because he’s excellent at playing baddies on TV, while winner Alan Carr was utterly underestimated as a Traitor thanks to his experience as a disarmingly pally stand-up comic/chat show host/reality show judge. The same could happen to Hart, and it will almost certainly work in her favour.

Rob Beckett

If Rob Beckett were to follow the Alan Carr playbook of being a victorious Traitor, there’s every chance he could succeed as one – particularly as the two comedians are actually very similar. They’re both stand-ups with distractingly large grins and immediately recognisable voices that can cut through the rowdiest of discussions. When tricky questions are being fired at them, they’re quick to lob a grenade of explosive quips right back (a skill acquired by dealing with hecklers and stints on panel shows à la Would I Lie To You?).

Beckett’s only downfall could be his strong association with Romesh Ranganathan, with the pair having hosted the Baftas and their own Sky show Rob & Romesh Vs… together. As fans know from the civilian series, existing friendships and family connections in the game are always viewed suspiciously – hence why contestants try to hide them (lest we forget Diane from series two’s revelation: “Paul isn’t my son… but Ross is.”) Rob and Romesh could be accused of working as a team, giving Faithfuls ammunition to use against them when Traitor hunting.

On the other hand, Beckett could kill Ranganathan off early to throw suspicious Faithfuls off the scent of being a Traitor – much like Carr did with longtime pal Paloma Faith last year – because who would be savage enough to murder their best friend in the competition? Well, Beckett if he’s willing to go after that £100,000 prize for his charity.

Richard E Grant

If we follow Joe Marler’s “big dog theory” from last season – that host Claudia Winkleman is likely to choose at least one hugely respected celeb to be a Traitor – Richard E Grant would be a fairly obvious choice. He, along with Ranganathan, Michael Sheen, Jerry Hall and potentially Ross Kemp, has the necessary gravitas to be ranked in that category. The Oscar-nominated Can You Ever Forgive Me? actor is a big get for the BBC show and so it would make sense to give him a role that comes with guaranteed airtime.

While this may mean that suspicions could be on him from the very start, Grant’s natural charisma and pedigree acting skills could just get him through the competition. We’ve seen the 69-year-old command rooms as a variety of flamboyantly posh characters in Saltburn and Withnail & I, so I’m sure he could do exactly the same as himself at the Celebrity Traitors roundtable, batting off accusations with a piercing stare and a melodramatic monologue. We already know that he’s keen to be a Traitor, having told the BBC: “What’s the programme called?! I would love to be a Traitor. You have no control in real life over anything. Any chance for that would be welcome. And a little bit of mischief is always welcome.”

That said, I’m also tempted to put forward maths whiz Hannah Fry as a Traitor – her brainiac ways could make her the Nick Mohammed of this series, and therefore the Faithfuls’ greatest hope at weeding out those Traitors. Let’s just hope she doesn’t make the same mistake he did in the final, when Carr pulled the wool over his eyes…

‘The Celebrity Traitors ‘begins on Thursday at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer