Nick Mohammed says his calls to his children were monitored during Celebrity Traitors
Nick Mohammed told the Table Manners podcast that producers listened to his daily FaceTime calls with his children while he filmed the 2025 series of Celebrity Traitors. A separate Hollywood Reporter interview covers his career and the show's effect on it.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 1Nick Mohammed, the Ted Lasso actor, has said he was allowed only one call a day with his children while filming the 2025 series of the BBC's Celebrity Traitors, and that a producer always listened in. Evening StandardN “Nick Mohammed has revealed he was allowed only one call with his children each day while filming Celebrity Traitors – and a producer was always listening in.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1Speaking on the Table Manners podcast, Mohammed said he could FaceTime his children once a day "but only with the producers listening into the phone calls", because "if anything gets out, the game was over". Evening StandardN “I was allowed once a day to FaceTime them (his children), but only with the producers listening into the phone calls.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1He called this the hardest part, along with being unable to tell his family when he would leave the show, since he could have been out within 48 hours or gone for three weeks, which he said turned out to be the case. Evening StandardN “I could be back in 48 hours, I could be gone in three weeks, which turned out I was.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1Mohammed also said contestants were held in a "holding area" each evening and dismissed at random, so they could not tell whether someone had been sent away early. He said the cars shown leaving the castle on screen are a more elaborate way of stopping players seeing who goes in which direction. Evening StandardN “You’re actually in a holding area and dismissed at random, so you have no way of knowing whether someone’s been dismissed early and what that might mean.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2Mohammed, 46, reached the final of the first celebrity series, in which Alan Carr was revealed as a traitor. The Evening Standard says Carr beat him at the end, and the Hollywood Reporter describes the moment as one the whole country reacted to. Evening StandardN “reached the final of the 2025 series of the popular BBC show, beaten at the end by traitor Alan Carr.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “The entire country effectively shouted, “Oh, fuck!” along with Mohammed when Alan Carr declared himself a traitor in the final” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ Centre · 1The Evening Standard reports that the cast has kept in touch through a WhatsApp group. Jonathan Ross organised a reunion that Mohammed could not attend, and he has since seen Joe Marler and Claudia Winkleman. Evening StandardN “We have a WhatsApp group, which is great.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1The Standard adds that his Ted Lasso co-star Hannah Waddingham said on The Jennifer Hudson Show that she turned down the show because of "the hoods and burying people alive". Evening StandardN “This whole thing with the hoods and burying people alive – I don’t care whether there’s a crew there or not – hell no.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2The Standard puts the first series' finale peak at 15.4 million viewers, the biggest TV audience of 2025. The Hollywood Reporter gives an average of 11.1 million for the final and calls it the biggest live audience of 2025 for a single TV show. The Hollywood ReporterLC “watched by an average of 11.1 million people (the biggest live audience of 2025 for a single TV show)” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ Evening StandardN “its nail-biting finale hitting a peak of 15.4 million viewers – the biggest TV audience of 2025.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Left · 1In a Hollywood Reporter interview, Mohammed said the show changed his career, that he can judge offers "pre-Celebrity Traitors and after", and that hosting this year's Olivier Awards came because he was on it. The piece does not mention the call monitoring in the text available. The Hollywood ReporterLC “I can definitely judge pre-Celebrity Traitors and after in terms of the things [I’m offered],”” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗
Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter notes that the second celebrity series is due to end with its finale on Friday, and that Mohammed has filmed an Uncloaked episode that is yet to air. The Hollywood ReporterLC “Set to wrap up in a nail-biting finale this Friday”“the star has filmed an Uncloaked episode still to air” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗
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
- A long, admiring profile of Mohammed, headlined as 'the Nicest Man in British Film and TV', that treats Celebrity Traitors as one step in his career.
- Emphasis
- His magic background, Mr. Swallow, Ted Lasso, the new Sky thriller War, and how Celebrity Traitors raised his profile.
- Leaves out or plays down
- In the text available, the claim that producers listened to his calls with his children is not mentioned.
- Charged language
- “Nicest Man in British Film and TV”“yet-to-be-topped Celebrity Traitors”“undeniably one of the best pieces of reality TV Britain has seen in recent years”
- For example
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“undeniably one of the best pieces of reality TV Britain has seen in recent years” — The Hollywood Reporter
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- A short entertainment-news item built around Mohammed's podcast remarks about the secrecy rules on Celebrity Traitors, with the monitored calls as the lead.
- Emphasis
- The monitored daily FaceTime calls, the holding area, the cast's reunion and WhatsApp group, and Hannah Waddingham's comments on declining the show.
- Leaves out or plays down
- The show's effect on Mohammed's career and any response from the BBC or producers to the monitoring claim.
- Charged language
- “nail-biting finale”
- For example
-
“Nick Mohammed has revealed he was allowed only one call with his children each day while filming Celebrity Traitors – and a producer was always listening in.” — Evening Standard
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Nick Mohammed, 46, reached the final of the 2025 series of Celebrity Traitors.
- Alan Carr was revealed as a traitor in that final.
- The first celebrity series was one of the biggest TV audiences of 2025.
Nick Mohammed person
Mohammed describes the call monitoring and being kept in the dark about his exit as the hardest parts of filming, and says producers did it so nothing would leak. He also says the show has helped his career.
“Because if anything gets out, the game was over, really.” — Evening Standard
“It absolutely became another notch in my career,”” — The Hollywood Reporter
Left1 article
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Celebratory Flattering career profile that presents Mohammed as likeable and successful and Celebrity Traitors as a high point.
Centre1 article
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Nick Mohammed: Phone calls with children monitored during Celebrity Traitors
Neutral Straightforward news report of Mohammed's podcast remarks, with added context on Waddingham and viewing figures.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 28 Oct 09:42 First Evening StandardN Nick Mohammed: Phone calls with children monitored during Celebrity Traitors
- 28 Oct 11:30 +1h 47m The Hollywood ReporterLC “Don’t Get Me Wrong, I’m Not Without Ego!”: How Nick Mohammed Earned His Rep as the Nicest Man in British Film and TV
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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