He’s being surviving in a role he never chose for nine days but the ‘reluctant Traitor’ finally called time on himself in tonight’s episode
First it was Richard E Grant who needlessly declared himself a Traitor on the first day – now James Acaster has followed suit on the eve of the final of The Celebrity Traitors.
His banishment – and the imminent overnight murder – means there will now be two Traitors and four Faithful battling it out for the prize pot, which currently stands at £64,500 but is likely to rise by at least £20,000 during tomorrow’s final.
The comedian’s decision to suddenly out himself as a “reluctant Traitor” at the roundtable appears to fly in the face of the show’s rules, which state that those who wear the green cloak must pledge to lie and deceive throughout the game, commit murders every night and “keep your identity and the identity of your fellow Traitors a secret”.
But James had had enough of not being able to play the game in the way that he wanted – as a Faithful – and decided to throw in the towel and declare his hand while he still could.
Speaking straight after leaving the castle, the 41-year-old argued that his actions had created a far more exciting final for viewers. “Now we’ve got a proper final on our hands. 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?”
Saying he felt good to have made it to the ninth episode, James admitted that revealing himself as a reluctant Traitor to the rest of the group was a desire he’d harboured “through the whole experience”. He said he had to constantly remind himself that the Faithful needed the Traitors to behave badly otherwise the entire game would collapse.
“As a Traitor sometimes, when you see people have real life reactions that are bigger than the game, you feel bad,” he explained. “I would have to remind myself they don’t have a game without you, literally, if no one’s doing this stuff, they can’t play, and they all want to play. So you are doing an important job here.” And he also told himself: “When they catch you, they’ll be really happy and they’ll like it.”
In the episode, when James found himself being quizzed over whether he’d sprayed the perfume that killed Ross Kemp in plain sight, the relief on his face as he gave himself up was plain. “They got me – I’ve been caught,” he declared. “A weight has been lifted.” Romesh Ranganathan, who has known Acaster for more than a decade, felt that trying to play for both sides was a very James thing to do, insisting: “I respect him a lot.”
James, who has reached heart-throb status thanks to the series, said that going into his final roundtable, he hadn’t known that Michael Sheen was going to point to him as being the individual who murdered Ross in the library. “It was a surprise,” he insisted. “But I was glad that they caught me.”
As the group sat dumbfounded at the round table, he told them: “I just want to explain my situation. I was made a Traitor without wanting to be. I’ve had a unique experience on this that no one’s had before where I wanted to be a Faithful – that’s all I wanted to be. I couldn’t just go ‘guys it’s me – vote for me’, so that’s all I can do really.”
And he told the camera in a solo chat: “I’ve been thinking about it long and hard. I was not playing the game that I wanted to. I’m glad I was so Faithful that I couldn’t make it to the end as a Traitor.”
But James’ sudden exit does not leave Maya Jama in a strong position, as most of the Faithful now suspect her for having played a very similar game to him. After James gave himself up, she told the camera that even murdering Michael wouldn’t help her now, sighing: “All roads lead back to me.”
James admitted he could not predict whether the overall victory would now go to the Faithful or to the Traitors. On Maya and King Kenny, he said: “I believe in them, I’ve got a lot of faith in them. They’re excellent Traitors, but James Blunt is ferocious in this game. He is a man possessed.”
At the roundtable it was Blunt who first named James Acaster and Maya as potential Traitors – quickly backed by Michael. But throughout the day James Acaster’s name had come up many times as the remaining players tried to win back some power. Leigh-Anne Pinnock said: “James A hasn’t been brought up at all – he could make a great Traitor.”
In a diary interview, Michael hit the nail fully on the head when he said: “If I was a Traitor, I’d want to be playing like James and Maya – and maybe Kenny as well. Because they’re the least suspected.”
Michael had earlier warned the Traitors over breakfast: “Today is going to be a living hell for you OK? I am going to push and push and you are going to suffer. This is the apocalypse.” And he told Maya: “I think you could be a brilliant Traitor. And if you and Kenny paired up, amazing.”
Romesh said Traitor Maya was “one of the greatest gliders in the game”, with Sebastian ‘Bash’ Croft agreeing she was an “Olympic level glider” – meaning she just coasts through without offering much.
At the start of tomorrow’s episode, viewers will see the Traitors commit one final murder – meaning either Romesh, Leigh-Anne, James Blunt, Michael or Sebastian will not make to into the final day. The remaining four Faithful will then do battle against Maya and Kenny to see whose charity wins the jackpot.
Earlier tonight Joanne McNally became the 10th Faithful to leave the show after being banished at the roundtable and declaring that she was “a hardcore Faithful”. Then Sharon Rooney became the 11th to go after being murdered.
Their exits mean that only two women remain in the game – Maya and Leigh-Anne – and many of the Faithful are correctly convinced that at least one of them MUST be a Traitor.
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