Celebrity Traitors fans think show made massive mistake in choosing Richard E Grant as Traitor

The BBC’s Celebrity Traitors has kicked off with its first episode, bringing together arguably the most iconic cast of any TV series in UK history.

In the first episode Maya Jama and Richard E Grant have been picked as the Traitors, with a mysterious third name remaining unpicked.

The pair were then offered the chance to invite two faithful to a ‘face-to-face meeting’ where they will be forced to choose a third Traitor to join their villainous team.

Richard E Grant ‘threw the cat amongst the pigeons’ for Celebrity Traitors season two when he announced himself as a traitor minutes after being picked for the role, but fans think that the BBC made a mistake in picking him for the role.

Grant put himself forward for the role in his interview with Claudia, stating that he was desperate to be made a Traitor. Fans online however were less than convinced by the decision to make arguably the most high profile actor in the history of the show a traitor.

Fans slam Richard E Grant decision as 'obvious' as they criticise BBC over casting

Richard E Grant may be the first name you think of when you think of a villain, but this was exactly why many fans watching Celebrity Traitors were less than convinced about him being invited into the turret.

The actor is set to be joined by either James Acaster or Amal Rajan as the third traitor, alongside Jama, but according to fans watching the series there was a pretty clear and obvious error in selecting Grant to be one of the original traitors.

One fan on X added a laughing emoji, saying: “Richard E. Grant is sooo gonna be caught as a traitor within days.”

Another said: “As legendary as he is Richard E Grant is too obvious to be a Traitor.”

A third added: “I picked these 2 out of 3 selections. Both were obvious picks. Richard E Grant gets nailed through big dog theory.”

Fans across social media were all in agreement that the actor was a terrible choice, not because he wouldn't make a good Traitor, but because he made such a great Traitor that it made him an incredibly obvious choice.

Whilst it is worth keeping in mind that Alan Carr was called the ‘worst traitor ever’ in his first episode of season of Celebrity Traitors, weeks prior to winning the whole thing, all signs seem to be pointing towards Grant being a fairly obvious pick as a traitor in the show.

Claudia speaks out about Grant being picked as the Traitor for the show

Winkleman spoke about the reaction from Grant to being picked as a Traitor, saying: “He was just so happy, he just couldn’t believe it.

“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.”

Comedian Ed Gamble, who hosts spin-off show Uncloaked, said: “It was absolutely incredible. He was just vibrating with excitement in the turret as well.

“It felt like he’d just been given the lead role in a film, and he just had to tell everyone. Such an insane moment to start a brilliant series.”

Richard E Grant, who has played villains throughout his career, spoke in a pre-show interview about why he wanted to be a Traitor

Speaking to the BBC prior to the show’s release Grant said of the possibility of becoming a Traitor: “Absolutely! I would love to be a Traitor. 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.”

Continuing he addressed the idea of whether he would rather be ‘wrongfully accused’ or secretly having to deceive others, adding: “Wrongfully accused. It's a game. It's a game. It's a game. However, when you're so immersed, and if you know you're innocent, that might be tricky.”

Grant has played villains throughout his career, appearing in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, Logan, and Doctor Who as a evil characters in each film. Speaking to Collider about playing the villain, the actor said: "The key to playing any bad guy is that they don't think that they are bad. They think that what they are doing is completely justified and for the greater good. So you have to play them with absolute sincerity and conviction."