Michael Sheen says being an actor is a disadvantage on Celebrity Traitors

Mixed · 2Actor Michael Sheen said he thinks being an actor will be a disadvantage on the second series of The Celebrity Traitors. 1 2 Centre · 1He said people immediately think "he pretends for a living", though he argued that good acting means convincing yourself that what you are doing is true. 1 Mixed · 2Sheen added that he does not know what people think of him beyond his being an actor, so he cannot say whether his persona will help. 1 2

Mixed · 2The series has 21 contestants and launches on BBC One and iPlayer on Thursday 1 October. 2 1 Mixed · 2Other contestants include Miranda Hart, James Blunt, Joe Lycett and Romesh Ranganathan; the Independent also lists Jerry Hall, Amol Rajan and Bella Ramsey. 1 2 Left · 1Fellow actor Richard E Grant made a similar point, saying others assume actors are natural-born liars. 2

Centre · 1Sheen said he took part because he is a big fan of the show and knew the Scottish filming area. 1 Centre · 1The first celebrity series, won by Alan Carr, peaked at 15.4 million viewers and averaged 14.9 million, the biggest TV audience of 2025, according to the BBC. 1 Centre · 1Players compete to win £100,000 for a charity of their choice. 1

Right · 1The Irish Independent headlined its piece with Sheen saying he has "no idea how I'll come across", describing him as a Welsh actor swapping the big screen for light entertainment. 3 Mixed · 2The series opened on BBC One on the evening of 1 October, and Claudia Winkleman chose Love Island host Maya Jama, 32, and actor Richard E Grant, 69, as the first two Traitors, according to the Evening Standard and Daily Mail. 4 5 Mixed · 2Jama said "villain era" had begun, and Grant said he "can't wait to start murdering"; Grant had earlier called himself "utterly ruthless". 4 5

Right · 1The Daily Mail reported that minutes after being sworn in, Grant told Faithful Joe Lycett "A Traitor" when asked what he was; Jerry Hall defended him, saying she did not believe he was a Traitor, and some fans on social media suggested it was a deliberate bluff. 6 Centre · 1According to the Evening Standard, Grant said "I am a traitor" to Lycett, who asked "Are you?"; when pressed he backtracked and said "I'm a faithful", and in his confessional he called it "the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life". 7 Left · 1The Independent reported that Grant told the others he had meant it as a joke, saying "I thought it would be like an 'I am Spartacus!' moment", and that James Acaster was intent on banishing him over it. 8

Centre · 1Winkleman said Grant was "giddy" and "just so happy", that she could not refuse him because he wanted the role so much, and that about five minutes later he went "Oh!"; executive producer Sarah Fay said she felt "a little bit of sick coming up in my mouth and an air punch at the same time" and that a Traitor admitting it so soon had never happened before. 9 Centre · 1Uncloaked host Ed Gamble said Grant seemed to feel "he'd just been given the lead role in a film, and he just had to tell everyone". 9 Centre · 1The Evening Standard noted this series started with two Traitors rather than the usual three; Grant and Jama later agreed to "lock in", and the first episode ended with no murder or banishment, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Joe Lycett given protection from the first murder, and Amol Rajan and James Acaster summoned to the chapel, where one would be recruited and the other murdered. 7

Right · 1The Daily Express, citing Wales Online, listed Sheen among the 21 contestants; it also quoted Grant saying actors may be suspected as "natural-born liars". Episodes air weekly on Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with episode two on 2 October. 10 Right · 1Winkleman also told the pair they could pick a third Traitor the next night from two people who would plead to join; the one not chosen would be killed. 5 Right · 1Before the launch, the Daily Mail cited ActionNetwork.com odds making Sheen the 7/2 favourite to win, ahead of Grant (9/2) and Bella Ramsey (5/1); the Mail described this as a surprise, and the odds are a betting-site estimate, not a result. 11

Centre · 1The Standard says the contestants play at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands for up to £100,000 for charity; these reports of the opening episode do not say whether Sheen is a Faithful or a Traitor. 4 Centre · 1On 2 October, David Tennant, Sheen's Good Omens and Staged co-star, told Radio Times that Sheen is "a chameleon" who "could be a different person every day, in full prosthetics", that he would not "put [reaching the final] past him", and that Sheen would be "thrilled if he's picked or seduced to be a traitor". 12 Centre · 1Tennant said he would find the show "very stressful" and would be "very bad at it because I'm not great at deception"; Radio Times noted that Sheen's knack for disappearing into roles could also arouse suspicion, and it did not say whether Sheen was picked as a Traitor. 12

Right · 1The Daily Express said many fans suspected Sheen could soon join Grant and Jama as the third Traitor; this is speculation, not a reported outcome. 13 Right · 1GB News reported that Grant and Jama picked Faithfuls James Acaster and Amol Rajan, who had named Grant as their top suspect; both argued their case in the church before lying in coffins, with the outcome due in the 2 October episode. 14 Right · 2GB News and the Express added that Rob Beckett told Grant he had done something unprecedented and James Blunt called it "an interesting angle"; the Express said it appeared to fly under the radar as contestants suspected a double bluff. 14 13

Right · 1Comedian Danny Baker, a friend of Grant, tweeted that he went out first in the I'm A Celeb jungle for "less work and the same money" and that Grant had asked him how best to do that; the Express presented this as a hint that Grant wants to be evicted first, which is Baker's joke and unconfirmed. 13 Right · 1The Daily Mail said Grant was performing on opening night of Hay Fever at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End while the episode aired, and that he had earlier quoted his late wife Joan Washington's advice to find "a pocket full of happiness" each day. 15