Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog! If you have been keeping up with the latest television obsession, you already know things are getting seriously intense on our screens. We are zooming in on the dramatic developments from episode nine of the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, and trust me, there is plenty to unpack as the remaining contestants race toward the much-anticipated final.
Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane to see how we got here. The traitors were practically riding high after the previous episode, leaving many to wonder if they were just going to coast all the way to the end without meeting any real resistance. But reality quickly caught up with them. Armed with the metaphoric power of the double dagger, King Kenny held all the cards. He decided to use his special double vote to send another faithful packing.
As far as cliffhangers go, it wasn’t the most mind-blowing moment for viewers watching from home. After all, the two people up for banishment were Sharon Rooney and Joanne McNally, meaning both were loyal faithfuls. Even so, it landed a heavy blow on the faithful crew, who suddenly realized the traitors had slipped another one past them just days before the Friday final.
Frustration was clearly setting in. Faithful Michael Sheen voiced what everyone was thinking, declaring that they desperately needed to pull something out of the bag. Meanwhile, Joanne said a teary goodbye, joking that she was premenstrual before proudly confirming she was a hardcore faithful to the end. Maya chimed in to describe her as a total ball of fun, while Kenny put on an absolute masterclass in acting, pretending to struggle with the heavy burden of the deciding vote and even comforting a tearful Sharon. Honestly, give that man an Oscar already!
As for James Blunt, he seemed less worried about game strategy and more on the hunt for some hard liquor like a teenager at the end of a house party, asking himself where they kept the stiff stuff before discovering only a tray of empty glasses.
Inside the Turret and More Castle Chaos
Before long, murder was back on the agenda. The dastardly trio of Kenny, Maya, and James A trudged up to the turret to plan their next move. Maya noted that the life of a traitor definitely is not for everyone. That statement probably applied heavily to James A, though to be fair, he did manage to show a bit more enthusiasm for some pantomime villainy over the last couple of episodes. “Let’s have faith,” King Kenny remarked without a single hint of irony.
Things were equally chaotic down in the dining room the next morning. Sharon—affectionately dubbed Poundland Poirot—was nowhere to be seen, having been sent to the chopping block shortly after narrowly escaping banishment. Her absence threw the rest of the faithfuls into even deeper confusion, though given how stressed she had been getting, a break was probably for the best.
Michael was not about to let the traitors off easy, delivering a rousing speech that felt like his most intense piece of oratory since his famous motivational speech for the Welsh football team ahead of the 2022 World Cup. Warning the traitors that the day was going to be a living hell, he promised to push them relentlessly until they suffered, calling it an absolute apocalypse.
Theories were soon flying in every direction. Bash pointed a suspicious finger right at the head of the round table, Michael himself. Kenny tried to cast doubt on James B, while Romesh shockingly targeted actual traitor Maya. On top of all that, the bizarre obsession with the peacock perfume wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Eventually, Michael—earning his new moniker of Vengeful Daddy—seemed to be getting dangerously close to the truth. In the kitchen, he dropped a massive hint to a visibly shell-shocked Maya, telling her straight up that she would make a brilliant traitor and that her pairing up with Kenny would be amazing.
A Bizarre Mission and Mounting Suspicion
Thankfully, the heavy tension was briefly interrupted when the jeeps arrived to take everyone on another wild day trip. Romesh perfectly captured the collective mood of the group with his hilarious reaction to yet another insane mission cooked up by host Claudia Winkleman.
Told that they had to track down the severed heads of some murdered celebrities and reunite them with the heads of their buried bodies, Romesh couldn’t stop giggling, admitting that while it was completely ridiculous, he absolutely loved it. Meanwhile, James B tried to get one of the groups in the Frankenstein-style lab to sing along to his classic hit “Beautiful.” While Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Michael happily bopped along, Kenny wore a look of total confusion, clearly having never heard the song before. Awkward!
The challenge itself felt like a throwback to the wailing in the well task from the first series of Celebrity Traitors, with Claudia playing the role of an enthusiastic headteacher cheering—or rather, shouting—the teams across the finish line. Digital versions of the fallen celebs were kept in bell jars and had to be correctly matched to gravestones scattered around the castle gardens. Michael even quipped that simply seeing Ross Kemp’s living face was enough to give someone pause, let alone staring at his dismembered head through a pickle jar.
Back at the castle, the heat on Maya was dialed up even further. Romesh and Bash decided she had been gliding under the radar for far too long, with Bash playfully comparing her gliding skills to an Olympic level. King Kenny was also firmly in their crosshairs.
The Round Table and the Ultimate Confession
All roads led to the penultimate round table, where Claudia stunned everyone by rocking a brilliant sequin-tastic midnight blue trouser suit. Michael found himself in the hot seat first, thanks to his commanding presence, sharp intelligence, and status as the unofficial father of the table.
Never one to back down, Michael quickly shifted the focus back to his earlier suspicions of Leigh-Anne from the night of the murder in plain sight, accusing her once again of using her dance routine with Miranda as a clever distraction. Romesh then turned the heat onto James B, pointing out his vocal accusations were frequently wide of the mark.
Soon, the quieter players—traitors James A and Maya—were interrogated by Michael and James B. Piecing together the clues from the murder in plain sight, they correctly deduced that Maya, Kenny, and James A had all been lingering in the library when Ross was taken out. Vengeful Daddy was officially in the zone, and James B was finally on the money. Credit where credit is due!
And then came the moment that changed everything—a bombshell confession unlike anything ever witnessed in the history of the show.
James A, utterly failing to defend himself against Michael’s sharp accusations, simply reached his breaking point and confessed right there at the round table that he was indeed a traitor.
Admitting that he was made a traitor without ever wanting the role, he explained that he had gone through a completely unique experience that no one else on the show had faced. He confessed that all he ever wanted to be was a faithful, but he couldn’t just stand up and openly tell everyone to vote for him.
At least it made the voting process straightforward, as every single person at the table quickly wrote his name down on their boards.
As the dust settled, Michael and Maya stood together near the firepit before heading off to their respective quarters—bed for him, the turret for her. Maya suddenly looked like a dead woman walking, and with Detective Inspector Sheen firmly on her case, her days in the castle might be numbered.
Make sure to catch the dramatic conclusion of The Celebrity Traitors when the grand final airs on BBC One and iPlayer. Until then, stay tuned for more updates, and let us know who you are rooting for to take home the crown!
source: feeds.bbci.co.uk (www.bbc.co.uk)