When host Claudia Winkleman and producers picked the veteran actor Richard E. Grant to play a traitor in season two of The Celebrity Traitors UK, it seemed like a sure thing. Grant is the first Oscar-nominated participant to appear on any version of the international franchise, and his villainous roles in films including Logan and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have made him renowned for Machiavellian glee.
Yet no one expected what followed. Within five minutes of being recruited, Grant proudly outed himself as a traitor, a move critic Meg Watson writes may have "entirely cooked his game and ruined the premise of the show."
"We're all the richer for it," she adds. "This was the best reality-TV moment of the year and we're not even halfway through the first episode."
The show, described as "essentially a game of Mafia set in a Scottish castle," brings together musicians, authors, journalists, comedians, actors and people famous for being famous. The first celebrity season was the most popular show in the UK for 2025, and the review gives season two a four-star rating.