Celebrity Traitors winners spark right-wing backlash after donating £83,000 prize to LGBTQ+ causes
The pair were crowned joint winners of the BBC reality series on Friday 30 October. (BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells)
Celebrity Traitors winners Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan have sparked right-wing backlash online after giving the full £83,000 prize fund to refugee charities, including one that supports LGBTQ+ refugees and displaced people.
The pair were crowned joint winners of the BBC reality series on Friday (30 October), splitting the prize into £41,500 each. TALK presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer criticised the decision in a post on X, arguing that BBC licence fee funds were being used to support refugee causes.
Hartley-Brewer wrote: “The end of #CelebrityTraitors was the most BBC thing EVER,” before adding: “Because of COURSE the two winners are donating their winnings – our licence fee money – to a charity for refugees and a charity for ‘queer’ refugees.” She later posted: “I’m pretty sure the refugee charities don’t need the #CelebrityTraitors winnings.”
Where did the Celebrity Traitors prize money go?
Croft gave his share to Choose Love, a humanitarian organisation that helps refugees and displaced people, especially LGBTQ+ people who have been forced to flee persecution.
Ranganathan donated his share to the Refugee Council, described as supporting people seeking safety and rebuilding their lives in the UK.
The donations followed the series finale, in which Croft and Ranganathan won after a late twist at the fire pit. On 30 October, they were crowned champions after James Blunt’s last-minute decision to banish again backfired and saw him voted out.
Croft is known to many viewers as Ben Hope in Netflix’s Heartstopper, and has been publicly associated with LGBTQ+ inclusive storytelling through the show’s global popularity.
Who criticised the donations and who defended them?
Journalist Charlotte Gill also criticised the choices on X, writing: “Omg Bash gave his money to CHOOSE LOVE – ‘for queer refugees and displaced people’ – and Romesh donated his to the Refugee Council,” adding: “They do not need the money. So many small, struggling charities could have done with the help and publicity!”
Others defended the pair’s decision. Journalist Emily Bashforth praised the outcome in an Emily Bashforth X post: “The entire £83,000 #CelebrityTraitors prize fund going towards supporting refugees and queer displaced people feels bloody wonderful in such wretched times marked by fearmongering and inhumane politics.”
