Welcome to the castle - When your fears subside, and the shadows still remain…| 2026 Celebrity Traitors Thread 7 [TV Pace]

[CaveMum]

Oh my god, how did you lot fill that last thread up so fast?!

Previous thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5592483-welcome-to-the-castle-we-got-everything-you-wantwe-know-the-names-2026-celebrity-traitors-thread-6-tv-pace?page=1

This is a tv pace thread so make sure you’re up to date with the live broadcast and yes, previous series (regular and celeb) will be discussed!

Please no spoilers if you read them online!

The story so far (as at end of episode 9)

Traitors (still active)
Maya Jama
King Kenny (recruited)

Faithful
James Blunt
Leigh-Anne Pinnock
Michael Sheen
Romesh Ranganathan
Sebastian Croft

Murdered
Amol Rajan
Bella Ramsey
Rob Beckett
RossKemp
Miranda Hart

Sharon Rooney

Banished
Richard E Grant (Traitor)
Myha’la
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Professor Hannah Fry (recruited Traitor)
Joe Lycett
Jerry Hall
Joanne McNally
James Acaster (recruited Traitor)

For these that want to keep up with Claudia’s outfits: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a73628412/celebrity-traitors-claudia-winkleman-outfits/

Bring it on!

Im so looking forward to tonight's episode.

The last two series' have had great finales, from Nick Mohammed's "oh F**K!" when Alan revealed himself as a traitor, and Alan's ensuing breakdown, to Rachel and Stephen's emotional joint victory "Traitors, but always loyal to each other".

In hindsight it's probably a good thing James A has gone, because if he couldn't cope with the tension of that round table, he definitely wouldn't have been able to cope with the tension of the end game, and he might have really ruined things there.

I thought Michael put on a great show when he did his poirot bit at the round table about Ross's murder. He turned to James and said 'the only one left in that room was you'

Maya has pretty much been outed now, she was far too vocal trying to deflect last night and surely the faithful will turn on her tonight. I think the only survivor will be Kenny.

Lesson to all future traitors contestants, sitting back and minding your business will get you caught in the end.

Couldn't agree more.

Yes please but not with Kieron - I think he ruined it and the useless ones won because of him

I rather cringed at Michael Sheen's vengeful daddy comment.

James A has been great in the castle, I'm really glad he went in it.

I do feel for James A reading about his mental health struggles and that he felt suicidal a few years ago. I do think there may need to be better screening in future though. He didn’t look well at the end.

I guess his agent is pushing him to do all these TV shows but you don’t really see the best of him. I have a huge respect for anyone that can stand up and do live comedy and he comes across so well and hilarious in his gigs. This hasn’t come across on TV.

I don’t think the traitors have been great with their choices of who to murder so I don’t want them to win (I did initially). I now want Romesh to win and maybe split it with James B. I think there’s something about him being so obviously faithful that deserves recognition and he got the balance right. Not too pushy but not under the radar either.

Michael has been a bit too forceful for my liking.

I think Michael’s done a good job on this and wouldn’t berate him for acknowledging that he’s one of the most ‘senior’ celebs there. He is, just as Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross were last time.

Also, Hannah Fry (who is great) didn’t indulge in any false modesty when it was frequently suggested she’d have been quickly recruited as a Traitor on account of her intelligence. In fact she pretty much said the same herself and I don’t think there was much criticism on the thread about that.

Obviously Michael having a much younger partner is a bit off putting but he’s hardly the only famous man to be in that position.

Kieron was a precursor of REG in a way, but it didn't ruin it for me - I loved that drama. However, those were innocent times when the whole format was brand new

Michael didn't really make much of an impression on me one way or the other until yesterday's episode. And on the one hand it was slightly off-putting him going in so hard, but on the other hand...it was clearly the right tactic to start putting unrelenting pressure on the quiet ones, and it's the most effective traitor hunting anyone's done all season.

I haven’t watched the update video yet on whether Hannah’s theories would have worked, but sharing here for others to watch:

I'm sorry to go there, each to their own, but the lighting in the round table room really does no favours to the ladies that have had a lot of cosmetic surgery. It highlights everything

But the show doesnt last long, they don't sleep in the castle they literally pitch up every day for breakfast do a very easy mission then spend a bit of time chatting about who could be a traitor.

The editing with eerie music makes it all seem a bit intense but it must be the easiest reality show of them all to partake in.

They all needed to lighten up. Can you imagine James A in panto 'I'm sorry I cannot play the villain as it is too stressful and goes against all my beliefs' .

JA complained about only being allowed one FaceTime every day with one loved one and a production crew member listening in, in case spoilers were dropped.

Civilians don't get to make any calls.

Again, he would have known this in advance and could have easily said, 'No, not for me.'

He's too sensitive for this and he and his agent/manager should have seen this especially after Bake Off, since the show's not a new thing.

When they're not in the castle or on missions they're alone in their hotel rooms.
The castle itself is a stressful environment IMO; I feel stressed watching it! No one ever seems to settle; they're always in and out of rooms, hovering in corridors, perching on stools, hunching up to eat their dinner off their laps or low tables...
In any conversation, whether they're trying to bond with someone, have a laugh, or talk about who might be a traitor, they never know who might walk in and overhear or misconstrue something. They also must be somewhat aware of the possibility of a murder in plain sight.
Panto, where you get up and perform for a set time and then go home every night, seems to me like it'd be much less stressful.

Also, Hannah Fry (who is great) didn’t indulge in any false modesty when it was frequently suggested she’d have been quickly recruited as a Traitor on account of her intelligence. In fact she pretty much said the same herself and I don’t think there was much criticism on the thread about that.
I find it a refreshing change when a woman is upfront and unapologetic about her brains!

To be fair, he was addressing it (hypothetically) to his daughter. Just before that bit he says something like "Sorry Mabli, I'm not going to be nice daddy today".

Can't link due to some snafu with my copy and paste, but James Acaster quoted in Radio Times as saying he always intended to out himself as a Traitor, the minute he was picked.

Very Sydney Carton.

That makes him an even bigger bellend than before and shows he doesn't understand the basic rules of the game, or actually he does and thinks he's better than them

Agree. And the fact that he was meant to be playing for charity makes it stick in the throat even more.

I think so too. she will then try to get the faithfuls to consider the murder in plain sight solved. But she will need to quietly plant some seeds on someone else or she will be banished before the end game.

My prediction for tonight:
Whether there are one or two traitors left at the end game, Rom will be smart enough to know how it works. He was shown last week saying to Bash that he believes Bash is faithful (and Rom is confirmed faithful by Sharon as he sniffed constantly in the blindfold task) so they will team up and vote as a bloc. They will need to have a third bloc member - James B or Leigh Anne? - who helps them get the other two players out before Rom and Bash then turn on him/ her. It’s too risky to end the game with three players left. So Rom and Bash will banish till there is no one else left.

And also that he doesn’t give a shit about the charity he was supposedly doing it for! Hope he makes a donation privately for an equivalent amount to that which he could have won.

I couldn't link to the Radio Times report- sorry- but this is the headline.

"James Acaster says his roundtable confession was always the plan and it set up for a tighter finale".

None of them do. Ok, almost none of them do. These celebrities are usually self-centred bellends. This show has highlighted it very well. I suppose they wouldn't do the job they do, if they weren't.