Who Will Star In The Celebrity Traitors 2?

Last week we said goodbye to Ardross Castle for another season of The Traitors – but this time it was a celebrity version. Spoiler alert! Just like the uber successful civilian version, the high-stakes series sees a group of innocent people dropped in a castle, challenged to mind-bending tasks and tasked with wheedling out the traitorous murderers among them. And in the end, it was a Traitor who clinched the top prize: treacherous Traitor Alan Carr took home £87,500 for his chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK.

Bursting into a flood of tears upon revealing his true identity to Faithfuls and fellow finalists David Olusoga and Nick Mohammed, Alan tells the BBC: ‘I think all the deceit, the lying, the murdering of Paloma and Celia had all taken its toll and then I think it dawned on me that I had won such a huge amount for my charity, Neuroblastoma UK. The charity is so close to my heart that it all became a bit too much. Hopefully when people see how upset I was they won’t feel so bad that I killed all those national treasures.’

There was much talk of ‘national treasures’ during this inaugural series of The Celebrity Traitors, but we think Alan’s wit-filled journey secures the comedian’s spot in that esteemed category. He was joined by hall-of-famers spanning Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie, Claire Balding, Jonathan Ross and more, attracting record-breaking audiences to the BBC. The series premiere is the most-watched unscripted episode of television in history, while the finale attracted a ginormous 81 percent of market share meaning eight out of 10 people watching TV on the night of 6 November were watching The Celebrity Traitors.

It will come as no surprise then that The Celebrity Traitors will return for a second series. Rumours have been flying ever since the series started, with Jonathan Ross spreading early whispers on the podcast he shares with his daughter, Reel Talk. Here’s everything we know so far about the second instalment, plus the rumoured stars.

Our celebrities gather at the roundtable for the selection of this year’s Traitors. (© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

The Celebrity Traitors Series 2: Everything We Know So Far

The BBC has revealed its plans to round up a new batch of celebrities and whisk them up to the Scottish Highlands for a second series of The Celebrity Traitors. The news follows an episode of Traitor Jonathan Ross’ podcast Reel Talk at the start of October, which he shares with his daughter Honey. Discussing The Celebrity Traitors, Ross revealed he found the whole experience incredibly ‘uncomfortable’ and stressful. But the tidbit that caught our attention was Ross’ recent conversations with fellow celebrities – new celebrities who are being approached by the BBC to star in a second round of the star-studded series.

‘I know they’re already planning a second celebrity version,’ Ross said on Reel Talk. ‘I know because I’ve had two celebrity friends of mine call me and say, “I’ve been approached – is it good to do, is it bad to do?” So I’m giving them the benefit of my experience, which was I didn’t enjoy it.’ Meanwhile Honey added she was conscious that her father found the experience ‘really difficult and really challenging’.

‘Now you know I’m a Traitor, that’s why,’ Ross said on the podcast. ‘I found the lying really wearing. It left me feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

‘That’s the thing: we were lying all the time,’ the TV talk show host added. ‘Because you’re sharing a car with people in the morning, and even though we’re not supposed to be talking about the game obviously some people do, so you’re lying then.’

Before the uproar, don’t worry: it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Ross later clarified on X that he is ‘pleased’ he took part, describing his time in Ardross Castle as ‘an extraordinary experience’. ‘But I did not enjoy the duplicity as the game progressed,’ he continued. ‘It’s a tougher psychological challenge than I expected, is all. But I would never try to talk anyone out of it – just trying to give them a sense of what to expect.’

‘The Celebrity Traitors has well and truly captivated the nation, becoming a bona fide highlight of the year bringing record numbers of people together to enjoy every twist and turn,’ the BBC’s head of entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight said upon confirmation of the news. ‘In 2026 the doors of the castle will be opened again to welcome celebrity players to the game to see who can charm, who can scheme and ultimately who can survive in series two which promises to be just as unmissable as the first.’

But who will get the shoulder tap next time?

(© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

Who Will Star?

Following all of the big hitters who appeared in the first instalment, are there any British celebrities left for The Celebrity Traitors series 2?

In all seriousness, we can only go off rumours right now. Because Jonathan Ross is a well-connected talk show host, almost anyone from tinsel town could be calling him up for advice – so nothing has been narrowed down just yet.

But the latest name on the rumour mill is a member of the Royal family, no less: Mike Tindall. Retired rugby player and husband of King Charles III’s eldest niece Zara Tindall, Mike told This Morning he would ‘definitely enjoy’ a turn on The Traitors. He would follow in the footsteps of fellow former rugby player and fan-favourite Faithful Joe Marler, who made it to the final five of series 1.

As for the producer’s pick, in an interview with Metro, exec Sarah Fay revealed comedian Bob Mortimer was top of the wishlist. ‘If Bob wanted to do it next year, we would absolutely love it,’ she said. An enduring figure in the comedy circuit, Mortimer is perhaps best known for his double act with Vic Reeves – though he also has a cult following for his legendary appearances on the BBC’s panel show Would I Lie To You?, presented by Rob Brydon and starring team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack. Racking up 13 appearances on the blue-hued show, Mortimer is the show’s most recurrent guest – with The Traitors’ own Claudia Winkleman trailing closely behind with eight appearances.

Mortimer has distinguished himself on the show for his eccentric stories from his past, with fellow panellists always struggling to separate his unflinching lies from the often-ludicrous truth – which we think would make him a perfect Traitor. Other rumoured stars include Gavin & Stacey creator Ruth Jones and Danny Dyer, while both former England manager Gareth Southgate and beloved money expert Martin Lewis have hinted they were approached for series 1.

Other stars previously rumoured to appear in the first rendition of The Celebrity Traitors who ultimately didn’t make it to the castle included Friends star Courteney Cox (a friend of presenter Claudia Winkleman), Rylan Clark, Kathy Burke, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Alison Hammond, Jason Manford, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Liz Truss and EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt who wrote on Instagram during series 2, ‘If they ever do a celeb version of #traitors I would walk to Scotland to be part of it!!’.

(© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

Release Date

Is a new TV schedule in the works? If The Traitors series 4 airs in January 2026 like we expect, we think filming for the second celebrity edition and the fifth civilian version will take place back-to-back at Ardross Castle in summer 2026. This means The Celebrity Traitors will most likely air in October 2026.

All episodes of The Celebrity Traitors are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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