The second series of Celebrity Traitors enters its final week with just ten famous faces left standing in the Scottish Highlands, after a month of banishments and murders that has already claimed eleven casualties at Ardross Castle.
The BBC One show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, airs its final two episodes on Thursday and Friday at 8pm, with the Traitor trio of Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny still hiding in plain sight among the Faithfuls. According to Metro, which has tracked every departure, the drama has come thick and fast since Richard E. Grant's early blunder set the tone for the series.
Who is left in the game?
Three Traitors survive into the endgame. Maya Jama, 32, has embraced her villain era with barely a flicker of suspicion from her fellow contestants. James Acaster, 41, wanted to play as a Faithful but was seduced into the dark side early on and has had to improvise ever since. King Kenny, the 29-year-old YouTuber with 2.2 million followers, was recruited in week three after proving a formidable Faithful.
The seven remaining Faithfuls are a distinctly British affair: Michael Sheen, 57, labelled the 'Dad' of the castle; Romesh Ranganathan, 43; Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 34; comedian Joanne McNally, 43; James Blunt, 52, beloved for his sarcasm; Sharon Rooney, 37, who calls herself the Poundland Poirot; and Sebastian Croft, 24, another Game of Thrones alumnus.
The banished: how Richard E. Grant made history
Richard E. Grant's departure was the story of the opening week. The 69-year-old Withnail and I actor entered the castle with one ambition: to be picked as a Traitor. When Winkleman finally tapped him on the shoulder, he could barely contain himself, and when Joe Lycett asked what he was, he simply answered: Traitor.
The nonchalance put an early target on his back, and Grant became the first person banished from the castle. He also made Traitors history: it was the first time a Traitor was banished at the very first roundtable. The BBC reports the actor said he was 'absolutely exhilarated' by the selection, having heard 'panic breathing from Miranda Hart' during the choosing ceremony.
Myha'la, the 30-year-old Industry star, followed after winking at Grant as she wrote his name on her chalkboard, an act of mischief that doomed her at the next roundtable. Coronation Street's Julie Hesmondhalgh, 56, was banished third after refusing to share murdered contestant Bella Ramsey's theories.
'I have to say it's harder than I thought,' Hesmondhalgh told Ed Gamble on the companion show. 'When you get thrown under the bus...! I was ready for it, but it was a bit hard.'
The mathematician who was too clever to live
Professor Hannah Fry, the Cambridge mathematician, was recruited as a Traitor but could not survive the suspicion. As HELLO! magazine reported, she became the second Traitor banished from the castle, with many reasoning that such a formidable intelligence would never have been kept in the competition as an ordinary Faithful.
Joe Lycett, 38, banished himself in all but name. The comedian repeatedly told anyone who would listen that he longed to be recruited, and when the Traitors chose King Kenny instead, Lycett's begging marked him for a swift exit. Jerry Hall, 70, followed in episode seven, banished for having, as The Scotsman put it, too many questions swirling around her.
'It was a lot harder than I thought,' Hall said. 'It looks so much easier on TV, you know. The challenges were quite hard, I feel it was an achievement that I managed to get through so long.'
The murdered: from Amol Rajan to Miranda Hart
Amol Rajan, the BBC journalist, was the first to meet the Traitors' blade. Brought before the Traitors alongside Acaster and told to plead for his life, Rajan lost out, and Acaster was recruited in his place. Bella Ramsey, 23, the youngest contestant in the castle, was next.
'I think the Traitors killed me off because they knew that I was maybe going to start doing that and get to the bottom of things,' Ramsey told Gamble after their murder.
Rob Beckett, 40, was selected from a crypt containing Ross Kemp and the protected Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Kemp, 62, the EastEnders hard man, followed after being murdered in plain sight through a yawning stunt. 'The fear of failure on this is not comparable to anything,' Kemp said. 'Whether you're an actor, or in a hostile environment where you could be killed, you don't let people down.'
Miranda Hart, 53, was the latest victim, murdered in episode eight after proving too active an investigator. The sitcom star, who has lived with chronic fatigue syndrome, said the offer had made her 'jump about like a schoolgirl with joy' after years of ill health.
What happens in the final?
Everything now rests on Friday's final. If the Faithfuls banish all three Traitors, they share the prize fund for their charities. If even one Traitor survives to the end, the Traitors take the lot. With Sharon Rooney facing a banishment cliffhanger and 20 pairs of beady eyes fixed on every twitch at the roundtable, the last two episodes promise a denouement worthy of the licence fee.
The Celebrity Traitors series 2 concludes on BBC One on Thursday and Friday at 8pm.
FAQ
Who are the remaining Traitors in Celebrity Traitors series 2?
Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny are the three Traitors still in the castle going into the final week.
Who was the first person banished from Celebrity Traitors series 2?
Richard E. Grant was banished first, making history as the first Traitor ever to be eliminated at the opening roundtable.
When is the Celebrity Traitors series 2 final?
The final airs on Friday on BBC One at 8pm, following Thursday's penultimate episode.