James Blunt says he felt 'betrayed' by Romesh Ranganathan but denies a feud
After the Celebrity Traitors final, James Blunt said in radio interviews that Romesh Ranganathan's vote against Blunt felt like a betrayal, while insisting the two are good friends and there is no feud.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 1James Blunt, 52, has addressed rumours of a feud with Romesh Ranganathan, 48, after the final of the BBC's The Celebrity Traitors, saying he felt "betrayed" by the comedian but that there is no bad blood between them. Evening StandardN “James Blunt has said he thought Romesh Ranganathan “betrayed” him during the final of The Celebrity Traitors.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Evening StandardN “James Blunt has addressed rumours of a feud between him and his Celebrity Traitors co-star Romesh Ranganathan.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Left · 1Blunt, Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft, 24, reached the final three. All three were faithfuls, but Ranganathan, believing Blunt to be a traitor, voted for Blunt to leave, and Blunt then voted for Ranganathan to be banished. The IndependentLC “Believing Blunt was a traitor, Ranganathan then voted for him to leave.”“In the end, Blunt was banished, and Ranganathan and Croft won the show. All three men were faithfuls.” Read at The Independent ↗ Centre · 1The Evening Standard reported that Ranganathan's suspicion arose after Blunt dismissed as "nothing" Maya Jama's parting words, "Good luck, you’re going to need it!", before her banishment. It said Ranganathan first voted to banish Blunt, was talked out of it by Croft and banished Kenny instead. Ranganathan and Croft then voted for endgame, which would have let all three win, but Blunt, who appeared angry at being suspected, voted for a further banishment and so went out himself. Evening StandardN “After Blunt claimed it was “nothing”, Ranganathan voted to banish him, before changing his mind when Bash talked him out of it and banishing Kenny instead.”“But Blunt, who appeared angry at coming under Romesh’s suspicion, voted for a further banishment - which resulted in his own exit.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Mixed · 2On BBC Radio 2's The Sara Cox Breakfast Show, Blunt said he had proven he was a faithful and "Everyone knew it", so when Ranganathan "pulled his card out" he thought "hang on". Blunt called Ranganathan "a little underhand(ed)" and said he had to "chuck in a final red because he's done something very treacherous there". Evening StandardN “I think Romesh was being a little underhand(ed). I had to chuck in a final red because he’s done something very treacherous there, hasn’t he?”” Read at Evening Standard ↗ The IndependentLC “Everyone at the roundtable said he’s obviously a faithful, so when Romesh pulled his card out, I was like, hang on.” Read at The Independent ↗ Centre · 1Blunt also said "It was the perfect finish, I really enjoyed it" and "I promise we're really good friends". In an earlier interview on Hits Radio, reported by the Standard, Blunt called Ranganathan "a very very sweet human being". Evening StandardN ““Romesh and I are really close actually, I promise we’re really good friends.”” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Evening StandardN “Speaking on Hits Radio, James said: “Romesh is a very very sweet human being, and I promise he and I get on very very well.”” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2Blunt said on Hits Radio that Ranganathan had donated money to Blunt's chosen charity, the Blue Marine Foundation, given how close Blunt came to sharing the prize pot. Ranganathan and Croft split the £83,000 winnings between Choose Love and the Refugee Council. Evening StandardN “He also revealed Ranganathan donated some money to his chosen charity, Blue Marine Foundation, considering how close Blunt came to getting the prize pot alongside him.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ The IndependentLC “The winning pair split the £83,000 prize money between their two charities, Choose Love and the Refugee Council.” Read at The Independent ↗
Mixed · 2On LBC's Nick Ferrari At Breakfast, Blunt said filming lasted "22, 23 days". Blunt said he had no interest in reality shows, his manager never told him about the offer, and his wife signed him up, which he joked might have been to get him out of the house. Blunt said he bonded with content creator King Kenny. Evening StandardN “Speaking on LBC’s Nick Ferrari At Breakfast, Blunt said filming lasted for “22, 23 days” from the first day to the final.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ The IndependentLC “My wife walked in one morning and said, I’ve signed you up to Traitors.” Read at The Independent ↗ Mixed · 2According to the BBC, the final drew an average overnight audience of 11.2 million, peaking at 11.6 million on BBC One with a 62.9% share. That made it the most-watched episode of the celebrity spin-off so far, ahead of last year's final at 11.1 million. Evening StandardN “The final attracted its highest average overnight audience yet, with 11.2 million viewers tuning in.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ The IndependentLC “According to the BBC, the episode also peaked at 11.6 million on BBC One, the highest of the series, alongside a 62.9 per cent audience share.” Read at The Independent ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- The Independent leads on Blunt saying he felt 'betrayed', then adds his denial of bad blood, the story of how he was signed up, and the ratings record.
- Emphasis
- Blunt's 'betrayed' quote, the show's backstory and viewing figures.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not include the Hits Radio comments, the charity donation from Ranganathan, or the detail of how the final roundtable unfolded.
- Charged language
- “betrayed”“shocking finale”
- For example
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“James Blunt has admitted he felt “betrayed” by Romesh Ranganathan during the final of The Celebrity Traitors.” — The Independent
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- The Evening Standard ran two pieces: first a 'breaks silence' item on 'feud' rumours that stresses Blunt's reassurances, then a follow-up led by the 'betrayed' quote, with the same ratings details.
- Emphasis
- The feud rumours and Blunt's denial, the charity donation, the roundtable sequence, and the 'betrayed' quote.
- Leaves out or plays down
- The first piece does not carry the 'betrayed' and 'underhand' remarks; the second does not repeat the charity detail.
- Charged language
- “breaks silence”“tense showdown”“betrayed”
- For example
-
“James Blunt has addressed rumours of a feud between him and his Celebrity Traitors co-star Romesh Ranganathan.” — Evening Standard
“James Blunt has said he thought Romesh Ranganathan “betrayed” him during the final of The Celebrity Traitors.” — Evening Standard
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Blunt, Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft reached the final three of The Celebrity Traitors and all were faithfuls.
- Ranganathan voted for Blunt to leave and Blunt was banished; Ranganathan and Croft won.
- Blunt said he felt 'betrayed' but that they are good friends.
- The final drew 11.2 million average overnight viewers, a series high.
James Blunt person
Says Ranganathan's vote felt treacherous and 'underhand(ed)', but insists they are good friends with no bad blood.
““Romesh and I are really close actually, I promise we’re really good friends.”” — Evening Standard
“I think Romesh was being a little underhand(ed).” — Evening Standard
Romesh Ranganathan person
Became suspicious of Blunt because he was so unsure who the traitors were that he read meaning into small details.
“admitting he felt so clueless as to who could be a Traitor that he had started picking up on every minute detail as a potential sign.” — Evening Standard
Sebastian Croft person
Shared the win with Ranganathan, played for the Refugee Council and called the win possibly 'the best day of my life'.
“This might actually be the best day of my life.” — Evening Standard
Left2 articles
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James Blunt says he felt 'betrayed' by Romesh Ranganathan on Celebrity Traitors
Mixed Leads on Blunt's admission of feeling 'betrayed' and covers his friendship claim, show backstory and ratings.
-
Centre2 articles
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James Blunt breaks silence on 'feud' rumours with Celebrity Traitors co-star Romesh Ranganathan
Mixed Frames Blunt as 'breaking silence' on feud rumours, then reassures that there are no hard feelings, with charity and winners' details.
-
James Blunt: I felt betrayed by Romesh Ranganathan on Celebrity Traitors
Mixed Leads on Blunt feeling 'betrayed' while quoting his insistence on friendship, and adds ratings.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 4 Nov 12:09 First Evening StandardN James Blunt breaks silence on 'feud' rumours with Celebrity Traitors co-star Romesh Ranganathan
- 5 Nov 11:01 +22h 52m Evening StandardN James Blunt: I felt betrayed by Romesh Ranganathan on Celebrity Traitors
- 5 Nov 12:25 +24h 16m The IndependentLC James Blunt says he felt 'betrayed' by Romesh Ranganathan on Celebrity Traitors
- 6 Nov 11:39 +47h 30m The IndependentLC James Blunt breaks silence on Celebrity Traitors 'betrayal' after dramatic final
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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