The penultimate episode of The Celebrity Traitors season two delivered one of the most jaw-dropping moments of reality television when Traitor James Acaster revealed his identity at the round table. But according to James, his secret almost came to light in an earlier confrontation that never made it to our screens.
Speaking to season one winner Alan Carr on his Life's a Beach podcast, James revealed that Jerry Hall accused him to his face of being a Traitor during their time in the castle.
"Jerry Hall went right up to me face to face, this close, accused me of being a traitor," the comedian recalled.
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry"I looked her in the eye and said, 'I think it might be me too, Jerry,' and she said, 'You're very sneaky'. And I told her I was very sneaky and it might be me." While James thought the moment would "surely" make it to the final edit, fans never got to see the interaction play out on screen before Jerry was banished in the seventh episode.
What we didn't see on Celebrity Traitors
Earlier in the podcast episode, James admitted that he said "a lot more" at the round table than fans got to see in the edit.
"I had it in my head that all the Traitors are the quiet ones around the round table. So I went for it."
He added: "Most of the time, they want to keep how the Traitors vote as a surprise. They don’t want to be like there’s hints that I might go one way or the other. So a lot of the time what I said at the roundtable is cut out."
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan CherryA riveting finale
After five Traitor banishments, the series came to a smashing conclusion on Friday night with Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan pulling off a win for the Faithful. Following James' banishment the episode before, the last two remaining Traitors – King Kenny and Maya Jama – were both voted out by their fellow contestants at the final hurdle.
Speaking on The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked following his exit, James told his friend and host Ed Gamble: "I feel pretty good getting to episode nine, and now we’ve got a proper final on our hands."
© CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry"With three Traitors, it would have been a foregone conclusion that we were going to win. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was hilarious at one point that we were just going to walk our way to the final and win the whole thing, but this is much better, isn’t it?"
A Daily Mail report claimed production paused filming during one episode when "the pressure got to" James, who has been open about his mental health struggles in the past.
A spokesperson for the BBC shared a statement to Metro in response to the claims: "Our highest priority is always the safety and welfare of everyone taking part. Players are closely monitored and supported throughout by production which includes a dedicated and experienced welfare team."
