The lineup for the 2026 series of Celebrity Traitors has been announced – and fans have been blown away by the star power on show.
Maya Jama, Michael Sheen, Miranda Hart, Bella Ramsey, Ross Kemp, Richard E Grant, Amol Rajan, James Blunt, James Acaster, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock are among the famous faces set to compete later this year. You can find a full list of the contestants here.
Fan have heaped praise on the announcement on social media.
“James Acaster and Joe Lycett in the same castle. Michael Sheen. Bella Ramsey. Richard E. Grant. This is the best Celebrity Traitors cast they’ve ever assembled and it’s not close,” one person wrote.
However, with rumours having swirled for months over potential stars for the new series, some fans are voicing disappointment over the hotly tipped contestants that never materialised.
Chief among these is League of Gentlemen star Steve Pemberton, who was predicted by many to feature in the new Celebrity Traitors season.
“The announcement for the new series of Celebrity Traitors is such a rollercoaster,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter. “What do you mean I am screaming because Michael Sheen and James Acaster are in, but also because Steve Pemberton is not??”
“NO STEVE ON CELEB TRAITORS,” another wrote, alongside a GIF expressing their shock.
Others also lamented the non-inclusion of Bob Mortimer, who had been rumoured as a candidate for Celebrity Traitors for both its first season and its forthcoming second one.
“Great line up but gutted to have to wait another year for Bob Mortimer as the best Traitor ever!” one person remarked on social media.
“No Steve Pemberton or Bob Mortimer on celeb traitors s2,” complained someone else.
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Season two of Celebrity Traitors will launch on BBC One later in 2026.
In the series, a spinoff of the popular reality show The Traitors, contestants are secretly divided into “Faithfuls” and “Traitors”. The latter group, initially comprising three people, must convince the rest of the group they are Faithfuls, while making it through a series of tense “banishment” votes.
The first season of Celebrity Traitors saw comedian Alan Carr selected as a Traitor alongside TV presenter Jonathan Ross, and musician Cat Burns.
The series was praised for the calibre of its celebrity contestants, with the Faithfuls including names such as Stephen Fry, Nick Mohammed, Clare Balding and Celia Imrie.