Richard E. Grant Reveals He's a Traitor Minutes Into Celebrity Traitors Premiere

Richard E. Grant outed himself as a Traitor in the first episode of the new season of "Celebrity Traitors" — a slip he calls the "biggest mistake I've made in my life."

The U.K. reality competition selected Grant and "Love Island" host Maya Jama as its first two Traitors. Minutes later, Grant revealed his role to a room full of fellow contestants.

Before the selection, both new Traitors had made their pitches to host Claudia Winkleman. Jama said she wanted to be an "unassuming, warm and misleading traitor." Grant went the other way. "If I was lucky enough to be a traitor, it would be a dream come true," he said. "In this game, the only power you have is being a traitor."

He had also promised to be "utterly ruthless" and to feel no guilt.

Then came the collapse. Asked about his status, Grant blurted out to several contestants that he was a Traitor. Their reaction: shock. "What's the point in being in the game if you're not?" Grant asked. U.K. TV journalist and Variety contributor Scott Bryan posted the scene on X.

Comedian Joe Lycett urged Grant to walk the statement back and tell the group he was a Faithful making a joke. "I think you've done something that's never been done in the game," Lycett said. "It's a bold strategy."

Grant grasped the scale of his error quickly. "That may have been the biggest mistake I've made in my life," he told the camera. "I was so thrilled to be chosen that in my excitement I said I was a Traitor. I need to defuse all of the heat coming in my direction."

He said he was "absolutely convinced" he would be going home. Model and actress Jerry Hall, who has known Grant for more than 30 years, read the moment differently. "He says and does eccentric things," she said. "I think he is acting out because he hasn't been chosen."

Grant survived to the end of the episode. The two Traitors were then given a choice: recruit another contestant and kill one at the same time.

They shortlisted comedian James Acaster and University Challenge presenter Amol Rajan, who met with Grant and Jama to plead their cases. Both argued they could deflect attention after Grant's earlier mistake. The episode ended on a cliffhanger before the decision.

The season's cast also includes actor Bella Ramsey, singer James Blunt, actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, content creator King Kenny, Little Mix's Leigh-Anne Pinnock, actor Michael Sheen, actor Myha'la, broadcaster and math professor Hannah Fry, actor and presenter Ross Kemp, musician and actor Sebastian Croft, actor Sharon Rooney, and comedians Joanne McNally, Miranda Hart, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan.

The contestants are hunting the murderous Traitors among them for a £100,000 prize, donated to a charity of the winner's choice, at Ardross Castle in the Highlands. The first season of "The Celebrity Traitors" aired in October 2025 and later streamed in the U.S. on Peacock — which means American viewers will eventually watch Grant's self-sabotage play out in full.