Richard E. Grant's appearance on The Celebrity Traitors UK described as chaotic

When host Claudia Winkleman and the producers of this smash-hit reality series picked Richard E. Grant to play a traitor this season, it would have seemed like a slam dunk. The famed actor is the first Oscar-nominated participant to appear on any version of the international franchise. And what’s more – from his villainous roles in everything from Logan to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – he’s renowned for his Machiavellian glee.

No one would have expected it, then, when this legend of stage and screen proudly outed himself as a traitor literally five minutes after being recruited. It might have entirely cooked his game and ruined the premise of the show, but we’re all the richer for it.

This was the best reality-TV moment of the year and we’re not even halfway through the first episode.

If you’re yet to discover the utter joys of Celebrity Traitors and are wondering why someone of Richard E. Grant’s stature is doing reality TV at all, you’re in an ever-shrinking minority. This variant of the hugely popular competition series – essentially a game of Mafia set in a Scottish castle – has transfixed audiences around the world, bringing together a mix of musicians, authors, journalists, comedians, actors and a handful of people famous for being famous. The first celebrity season was the most popular show in the UK for 2025, buoying producers’ hopes for the very future of broadcast TV with a live audience of more than 11 million.

The highlight of that season was the ridiculous giggling mischief of comedian Alan Carr, offset by the deadpan investigative efforts of Stephen Fry, Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed and former rugby player Joe Marler. The returning season looks set to recreate the magic.

Grant is an obvious delight, not just for his epic gaffe but his complete elation with the role he’s been given. (“My wife said to me, four days before she died: ‘Richard, try to find a pocketful of happiness in each day. And I feel like I’ve got a wheelbarrow-full and then some’,” he says, deliriously.) And the faithful – including James Blunt, Michael Sheen, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Jerry Hall and Miranda Hart – so far offer a good mix of strategic insight and comedic relief.

Comedian James Acaster is poised for greatness (anyone who’s watched Bake Off knows the incredible TV he can make when put under pressure). And Ross Kemp is another standout after the first episode. The renowned hard man, who has filmed in active war zones and come face-to-face with terrorists, immediately unravels with paranoia because pint-sized Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey popped a sailor’s hat on his head, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock from Little Mix touched his arm.

There are tweaks to the usual formula in these opening episodes that work to varying degrees of success. As in the recently premiered US series The Traitors: New Blood, this season begins with just two traitors, who are quickly tasked with appointing a third. It’s a move that gives the players added agency and provides further intrigue to the game. Without spoiling the results of that pick (revealed in episode two), it also results in further comedy.

The ending of that episode, however, is a real disappointment. While every instalment of this twisty reality show is structured around cliffhangers, the decision to end an episode before a single vote is cast at the round table is excruciating. I suspect, however, it’s a move made to keep the ludicrous Richard E. Grant on our screens for as long as possible. So, hey, I can’t be too mad.

The Celebrity Traitors UK airs at 7.30pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays on Ten. New episodes are available on 10Play the Saturday and Sunday before broadcast.

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