The Start Date For The Celebrity Traitors Series 2 Has Been Revealed

In January we said goodbye to Ardross Castle for another season of The Traitors, not long after the inaugural celebrity edition. Both high-stakes series saw 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, in both cases, it was a Traitor who clinched the top prize: treacherous celebrity Traitor Alan Carr took home £87,500 for his chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK, followed by our first ever duo of Traitors to bag the cash prize, Rachel and Stephen.

There was much talk of ‘national treasures’ during the 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, with a fresh line-up of household names. And now, we have even more reason to be excited: the BBC has released its first teaser for the upcoming series… and we may even have a leaked release date. Here’s everything we know so far about the second instalment.

The Celebrity Traitors series 1 (© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

The Celebrity Traitors Series 2: Everything We Know So Far

‘A moment of silence for the celebrities gathered today,’ announces Claudia Winkleman, in the latest teaser for The Celebrity Traitors series 2. ‘Thoughts and prayers.’

This year’s cohort are gathered in the pews of a local Scottish church for what looks like a rather sombre affair: a funeral, complete with a floral arrangement spelling out the words ‘RIP VIP’. And if there’s anything we’ve learnt from a Traitors funeral, it never goes well for one of the people playing the game.

The teaser dropped on 27 August 2026 along with the promise that the second instalment of the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer ‘soon’ (more on exactly when that might be below).

Who Will Be In It?

The BBC has rounded up a new batch of celebrities and is whisking them up to the Scottish Highlands for the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, with filming officially underway. They are:

• Amol Rajan, journalist, broadcaster and University Challenge presenter
• Bella Ramsey, star of The Last of Us and Game of Thrones
• James Acaster, comedian and co-host of Off Menu podcast
• James Blunt, singer
• Jerry Hall, model, actress and ex-wife of Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch
• Joanne McNally, Irish comedian and host of My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast
• Joe Lycett, comedian
• Julie Hesmondhalgh, Coronation Street star
• King Kenny, YouTuber
• Leigh-Anne Pinnock, singer and Little Mix member
• Maya Jama, broadcaster and Love Island presenter
• Michael Sheen, Welsh actor
• Miranda Hart, comedian, actor and Miranda creator
• Myha’la, Industry star
• Professor Hannah Fry, mathematician and broadcaster
• Richard E. Grant, British actor
• Rob Beckett, comedian
• Romesh Ranganathan, comedian
• Ross Kemp, actor, presenter and former EastEnders star
• Sebastian Croft, musician and Heartstopper star
• Sharon Rooney, actor known for My Mad Fat Diary

Whew, that’s a stacked cast, highlighting the whopping success of the first instalment of The Celebrity Traitors in 2025, and the enduring appeal of the show’s format, even amongst the rich and famous. The reveal follows the BBC’s struggle to keep The Celebrity Traitors series 1’s cast under wraps, with papz stalking Ardross Castle for glimpses of the action.

Despite whispered rumours since series 1 wrapped up, plenty of stars have not appeared on the final bill. That includes hot names like Mike Tindall, Louis Theroux, Jamie Oliver, Ruth Jones, Steve Pemberton, Alison Hammond, Amanda Holden, Daisy May Cooper, Charlie Cooper, Girls Aloud star Cheryl, Tom Hiddleston, Carol Kirkwood, and top-of-the-wishlist comedian Bob Mortimer. Stars we know were approached for the series (who have clearly declined) include Danny Dyer, Gareth Southgate and Martin Lewis.

As for who will star, overall, actors and comedians dominate the pack, ready to deceive with their chameleonic personalities and distract with their quick wit. On the elder end of the scale (who we could describe as our ‘big dogs’), national treasures like Richard E Grant, Michael Sheen and Jerry Hall have made their way to the Highlands. On the younger end of the scale, Bella Ramsey (age 22), Sebastian Croft (age 24), King Kenny (age 29) and Myha’la (age 30) will be putting the team’s wits to the test.

So who will be Faithful, and who will be team Traitor? We will have to wait and see…

The Celebrity Traitors series 1 (© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

Release Date

The inaugural series of The Celebrity Traitors aired in October 2025, but it looks like the second season could be even earlier. Speaking during a live edition of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, TV presenter Richard Osman appeared to accidentally reveal the start date when speaking to former finalist Joe Marler. When asked about the advice he’d give new contestants, Marler said: ‘What is it, September 23, the new series?’, to which Osman replied, ‘By the way, to point out, it’s absolutely embargoed that it starts on September 23… let’s talk about what we call the events of September 23 this year… the cat’s out of the bag isn’t it? Not to repeat it.’

The Traitors series 5 is then likely to air at the very beginning of 2027. You can read everything we know so far about that series here.

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

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