Celebrity Traitors season 2 starts on Thursday, October 1, 2026, bringing 21 famous contestants to Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. Claudia Winkleman returns to supervise the lies, accusations and increasingly tense breakfasts, with up to £100,000 available for the winner’s chosen charity.

Filming has already finished, but the cast and Winkleman have kept the result quiet. That includes the identities of the Traitors and Faithfuls, so viewers will have to wait for the BBC’s preferred method of disclosure: dramatic cloaks, ominous music and prolonged eye contact.

Expectations are substantial. The first series ended with Alan Carr winning, while its final attracted more than 15 million viewers.

When does the new series begin?

The opening episode will air at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It is an extended instalment, giving the celebrities additional time to make alliances they may regret almost immediately.

New episodes will then arrive twice a week, on Thursday and Friday evenings at 8pm. The BBC has confirmed a ten-episode run, one more than the first series. Based on that schedule, the final should air on Friday, October 30.

Ed Gamble will also return to host The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked. The companion programme examines the contestants’ tactics, reactions and eliminations after each episode airs. It will be available through BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

Who is in the cast?

The second series draws its 21 contestants from acting, comedy, music, broadcasting, modelling and social media:

  • Amol Rajan, journalist
  • Bella Ramsey, actor
  • Hannah Fry, mathematician
  • James Acaster, comedian
  • James Blunt, musician
  • Jerry Hall, model
  • Joanne McNally, comedian
  • Joe Lycett, comedian
  • Julie Hesmondhalgh, actor
  • King Kenny, social media personality
  • Leigh-Anne Pinnock, singer
  • Maya Jama, presenter
  • Michael Sheen, actor
  • Miranda Hart, actor and comedian
  • Myha’la, actor
  • Richard E. Grant, actor
  • Rob Beckett, comedian
  • Romesh Ranganathan, comedian
  • Ross Kemp, actor and presenter
  • Sebastian Croft, actor and singer-songwriter
  • Sharon Rooney, actor

The group will compete as secret Traitors and unsuspecting Faithfuls, attempting to remove one another while avoiding the sort of confident misjudgment on which the programme depends.

What have the contestants revealed?

Very little about the game itself, although several cast members have commented on the BBC’s promotional material.

Rob Beckett was puzzled by his appearance in the official cast photograph. Posting it on Instagram, he wrote: “I think there’s a traitor in the photoshop department... what the f**k has happened to my face?”

Joanne McNally had a different complaint. After noticing that she barely appeared in several trailers, she joked on Instagram that perhaps producers were avoiding showing too much of her because she made such an impact.

“I did do it, didn’t I?” she said. “Imagine if I tried to text Maya Jama now and she’s like, ‘Who is this?’ I was like, oh my god, I made the whole thing up in my head.”

Reports have also suggested that filming became particularly difficult for James Acaster. An unnamed source told The Sun that Acaster became anxious during one scene and that fellow contestants asked the Studio Lambert production team to stop filming. According to the report, production paused the game so he could recover. Neither Acaster nor the BBC has publicly detailed the incident.

Which celebrities are being tipped to win?

No result has leaked, but former winner Alan Carr has identified Miranda Hart as a contestant to watch. Speaking at the National Television Awards, he said Hart reminded him of himself and argued that making her a Traitor would be “TV gold”.

Carr also highlighted Joanne McNally, predicting that her fast-talking style could make her one of the series’ more unpredictable players.

Jonathan Ross, who served as a Traitor in the first celebrity series, revealed that several members of the new cast contacted him before filming. He had a brief conversation with Michael Sheen and longer discussions with Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett and Maya Jama.

Ross survived deep into his series, so seeking his advice was sensible. Whether any of them followed it is another question, especially in a game where appearing too well prepared can be its own problem.

How can viewers watch it?

Episodes will air on BBC One at 8pm every Thursday and Friday, beginning October 1. They will become available on BBC iPlayer at the same time.

With ten episodes scheduled across five weeks, viewers can expect the final at the end of October, assuming the BBC makes no late timetable changes. Uncloaked will accompany the main programme throughout the run, providing further interviews and analysis once each banishment or murder has been revealed.