James Acaster Calls Daily Mail 'Traitors' Report 'Completely Fabricated'

Comedian James Acaster has rejected a Daily Mail report claiming he complained about fellow players on "The Celebrity Traitors," calling the story "completely fabricated."

Speaking on Alan Carr's podcast on Monday, Acaster addressed the claim, published a few weeks ago, that he had "complained to producers" about being teased by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan and was made "uncomfortable" by their "macho banter."

"I've never had stuff made up about me before. And you'd think that just going and playing 'Traitors,' surely there's nothing — who cares? But there was something in the papers that said I'd complained because Rob and Romesh had been like, teasing me," Acaster said. "And I was like, I've been friends with those guys for like, over 10 years. They were lovely the entire show. I didn't complain about any of my fellow players. It's so completely fabricated."

What happened before publication?

Acaster said the paper contacted representatives for all three comedians before running the story. Every one of them denied the claim.

"They contacted my agents and Rob and Romesh's agents, all of them said, 'That is categorically untrue.' They're like, 'Cool, printing it tomorrow.' And that was it. And you're like, 'Wow, do people really care that much?'" he said.

The Daily Mail did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.

The BBC, which produces "The Traitors" franchise in the U.K., issued its own denial soon after the story appeared. "Claims of teasing amongst the cast on the show and claims of complaints about teasing are categorically untrue," a spokesperson told Variety. "There were no incidents of this nature and there is no evidence to support these allegations."

How did Acaster's season end?

Acaster appeared as a reluctant Traitor on Season 2 of the show, which aired its finale over the weekend. He refused to lie and declined to take part in some Traitor duties.

Ranganathan ended up winning alongside Sebastian Croft for the Faithfuls. Acaster made headlines with his dramatic exit in the penultimate episode, where he admitted he was a Traitor at a heated roundtable and was voted off.

On the podcast, Acaster told Carr about another confession that never made it to air. Contestant Jerry Hall confronted him face to face during the game.

"Jerry Hall went right up to me, face to face, this close, accused me of being a Traitor. She said, 'I think it's James,'" he said. "I looked her in the eye and said, 'I think it might be me as well, Jerry.' And she went, 'You're very sneaky.' I was like, 'I am sneaky, it could be me.'"

The denial closes a turbulent chapter for Acaster, whose on-screen honesty became the defining arc of his season — and whose off-screen dispute with a tabloid now stands publicly rebutted by two comedians' agents, the BBC and the man himself.