Richard E Grant denies claim he ‘staged’ Celebrity Traitors blunder: ‘Categorically false’
Richard E Grant was banished on Celebrity Traitors (BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Richard E Grant has denied rumours that he “staged” his Celebrity Traitors reveal to get out of filming, calling the suggestion “categorically false” in an Instagram Story.
“I usually wouldn’t comment on things like this, but I’ve been made aware some press outlets are suggesting I ‘staged’ my Traitors reveal to get out of filming,” Grant wrote. “This is categorically false. I’m an avid fan of the show and have been since it first aired.”
The denial follows a claim by The Sun that some production staff suspected Grant deliberately engineered an early exit to avoid weeks of filming.
A source claimed to the publication: “Watching how it played out on the set, we’re all convinced he staged it. He was there for a good time, not a long time and what a way to go.”
They continued: “Obviously he kept talking about his love of the show and had a brilliant time but Richard E Grant is not a stupid man.”
What happened on The Celebrity Traitors?
In the opening episode of the new series, Grant was selected as a Traitor alongside Maya Jama. Shortly after being chosen, he inadvertently confessed his secret role to several people, suspicion spread quickly, and he became the first celebrity banished at the roundtable.
At the roundtable, Grant received votes from a majority of contestants, including Jama and comedian James Acaster. When it came time to confirm his identity, he told the room: “I am… an unfaithful traitor.”
After leaving the show, Grant described the slip-up as a “catastrophically idiotic thing to do”.
‘An absolute dream’
In his Instagram Story, Grant insisted there was no strategy behind the blunder, adding: “Being picked as a Traitor when I was convinced I’d be a Faithful was an absolute dream and a sheer shock to the system.”
He also said his daughter warned him before filming that he would be “slaughtered” because he was “incapable of hiding what you feel about people or anything”.
The Celebrity Traitors continues Thursday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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