Celebrity Traitors insider interprets 'insane moment' Richard E. Grant messed up in moments

The producer of Celebrity Traitors has shared her thoughts on the wild moment Richard E Grant decided to out himself as the Traitor within minutes.

The hit BBC show made its very welcome return to our screens this evening with a seriously impressive cast that includes Grant, Maya Jama, James Acaster, and Bella Ramsey.

The first two Traitors have been selected, in the form of Love Island host Jama and Grant.

But while Jama played it cool and decided to use her ‘welcoming energy’ in an attempt to conceal her new status, Grant decided honesty really was the best policy and proudly told a few of his fellow contestants that he was the Traitor.

Fortunately for him, most of them didn’t think that a real Traitor would be so up front and assumed that the legendary actor was pulling their leg.

However, in a confessional, Grant admitted that it ‘may be the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life’. Not ideal.

Celebrity Traitors producer Sarah Fay meanwhile, said the moment left her feeling a bit sick.

Speaking to Digital Spy, she admitted: "It was a mixture of a little bit of sick coming up in my mouth, and a [air] punch at the same time, it was – we’ve never had anything like that happen before. Within five minutes of being out of the Round Table, he’d already mucked up!

"How iconic."

She went on to say that while the show aims to keep fans entertained with its twists and turns no one was quite prepared for this.

"And as producers, you always want to make sure the series is fresh, and new, and we’ve been very lucky so far… Every single series, the cast brings something different,” she continued.

“But never in our wildest dreams did we think that we’d have a Traitor admit they were a Traitor five minutes after the Round Table!"

Claudia Winkleman has also weighed in on the gaff

Host Claudia Winkleman also shared her thoughts on why Grant might have slipped up, revealing that the star was ‘giddy’ to be given the chance to be a Traitor.

“He was just so happy, he just couldn’t believe it,” she said.

“We go into a room after I’ve interviewed them all, and they say, ‘This is what I want to be’. You just couldn’t not give it to him. You couldn’t not, because he wanted it so much, and he was compelling.

“And he’s Richard E Grant, I couldn’t believe that he was actually in the castle.

“He was giddy and about five minutes later, he went ‘Oh!’.

“The genius of the game is everybody plays it completely differently, and he took that to the next level.”

Prior to entering the show, Grant made it crystal clear that he hoped to be a Traitor.

“Absolutely! I would love to be a Traitor,” he said when asked.

“You have no control in real life over anything. Any chance for that would be welcome. And a little bit of mischief is always welcome.”

And it’s safe to say, he’s had plenty of experience playing the bad guy, starring as a villain in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, Logan, and Doctor Who.