The Celebrity Traitors connections: who knows who in the castle

The Celebrity Traitors is built on betrayal, but this year the players are also betraying friends. BBC News culture correspondent Noor Nanji reported that, unlike the civilian version, many of the celebrities in the castle already know each other outside the show. Some have worked together, and some are close friends, and those links are already shaping how the game plays out.

Spoiler warning: this article reveals details from the first two episodes of The Celebrity Traitors.

Key facts about the Celebrity Traitors connections

Link	What BBC News reported
Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan	Close friends who have worked together for a decade, including on Rob & Romesh Vs
Joe Lycett and James Acaster	Friends who worked together on Travel Man
Jerry Hall and Richard E Grant	Neighbours of 30 years who acted together in the film Tooth
Ranganathan and Julie Hesmondhalgh	He hosts The Weakest Link and she is its voiceover narrator
Bella Ramsey and Sebastian Croft	Both starred in season six of Game of Thrones
Next episodes	Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer

Rob and Romesh: friends who cannot trust each other

The episode one line that sums up the theme came from Ranganathan, who said of Beckett: “I know Rob very, very well. I mean, I’ve sat next to him as he’s had a colonic.” BBC News said the dynamic between the pair is one of the most enjoyable of the series to watch.

They are great friends in real life and have worked together repeatedly, including on their travel show Rob & Romesh Vs, as well as joint appearances on panel shows such as Mock the Week. Yet Ranganathan said before the series that friendship might count for nothing in the castle. “Rob is one of my best friends, and we’ve worked together for a decade now, but I still won’t be able to trust it,” he said. “He’s just as easily going to be on my side as he is going to twist the knife in my back given the opportunity.”

So many comedians

According to BBC News, there are a great many comedians in this series and they are all likely to know each other. Joe Lycett has said publicly that he is friends with James Acaster, and the pair have a running joke about everyone confusing them. They have also worked together on Travel Man. Lycett is also friends with Joanne McNally, whom he has described as “one of my favourite people in the world”.

Those loyalties could be tested now that Acaster has been recruited as a traitor, the BBC noted, recalling how things panned out for “good friends” Alan Carr and Paloma Faith. Lycett also appeared on Last One Laughing with Beckett. McNally and Ranganathan were on the game show Unacceptable together, and Acaster has been a guest on Ranganathan’s hip hop podcast.

McNally insisted before the show that the comedians “haven’t been in cahoots at all”, adding: “We know that we’re more than willing to throw each other under the bus.” Acaster, for his part, admitted the other comedians are his “biggest threat” when it comes to being detected as a traitor. “Romesh, Joe, Rob know me really well,” he said, as he pondered whether to help fellow traitor Richard E Grant clear his name.

The broadcasters and the stars they have met

It will not surprise anyone that the group’s two broadcasters, Maya Jama and Amol Rajan, have met plenty of the other players. BBC News said Rajan has hosted Michael Sheen and Joe Lycett on the Radio 2 Breakfast show, interviewed Ranganathan on BBC Asian Network, and been joined on The One Show by Ross Kemp, Miranda Hart and James Blunt. But Rajan became the first player to be murdered, before the impact of those connections could be seen.

Jama is best known for hosting Love Island, but the BBC said she has also appeared alongside others from the cast. She presented an award with James Blunt at this year’s Brit Awards, has been on Ranganathan’s hip hop podcast, and attended Milan Fashion Week with Leigh-Anne Pinnock. She, Lycett and Acaster also all appeared on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Bella Ramsey, Sebastian Croft and the younger players

BBC News said younger celebrities in the castle tend to know fewer people, but Bella Ramsey is well connected. Ramsey and Sebastian Croft both starred in season six of Game of Thrones. Ramsey also worked with James Blunt on the film Sunny Dancer, was interviewed by Acaster on his Off Menu podcast, and chatted about a “vegan-ish” diet with Ranganathan on The Jonathan Ross Show.

Croft said before the show that he did not know many people apart from Ramsey. “This will be the first time I’m playing with people who, on the whole, don’t know me and don’t know how I work,” he said.

Jerry Hall and Richard E Grant: neighbours with history

“I just don’t believe Richard’s a traitor. I’ve known him 30 years and he’s my neighbour.” Those were Hall’s words after Grant came under self-inflicted pressure in the opening episode, according to BBC News. The pair are linked in several other ways: BBC News said Grant was pictured leaving Hall’s wedding to Rupert Murdoch in 2016, they were pictured together at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2003, and they acted together in the children’s film Tooth in 2004.

“It was ridiculous,” Hall said of the film. “We had such a laugh, and I went on holiday with him earlier this year, just after Christmas to Africa with some friends. And we danced all night.” She added that they could never have known they would both end up on Celebrity Traitors.

Another link: The Weakest Link

Ranganathan hosts The Weakest Link, and BBC News said actor Julie Hesmondhalgh is the quiz show’s voiceover narrator.

What about the players with few friends?

Some celebrities have known each other for 30 years, while others have no friends in the castle at all. BBC News named Sharon Rooney and Myha’la as having fewer connections than the others, which can be a disadvantage. It recalled that last year, after Niko Omilana and Ruth Codd were banished early, a theory spread on social media that they were voted out because the others did not know them well.

Pinnock thinks it might actually help her: “People just know me as Leigh-Anne from Little Mix, and they don’t really know my personality that well.” TV reporter Siobhan Synnot told the BBC the connections are “exactly the sort of thing” that makes the show fascinating, but agreed that lots of friends do not always help. “Quite often in The Traitors,” she said, “that familiarity becomes a disadvantage”.

When is Celebrity Traitors next on?

New episodes air every Thursday and Friday. BBC News said the next is on Thursday 8 October at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with another at the same time on Friday 9 October. Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked follows on Thursday 8 October at 9.05pm.

Frequently asked questions

How do the Celebrity Traitors contestants know each other?

BBC News reported that many of the celebrities know each other outside the show. Some have worked together on TV, podcasts and panel shows, and some are friends, such as Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan.

Are Jerry Hall and Richard E Grant friends?

BBC News reported that they are neighbours of 30 years, according to Hall, and acted together in the 2004 children’s film Tooth. Hall said she does not believe Grant is a traitor.

When is the next Celebrity Traitors episode?

BBC News said the next episode is on Thursday 8 October at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with another at the same time on Friday 9 October.