BBC orders James Blunt to delete post plugging £1,695 tweed suit worn on Celebrity Traitors

From the Newshound archive · first published 10 October 2026.

James Blunt, 52, violated BBC editorial guidelines by posting a publicity photo of himself in a £1,695 tweed suit from Cotswolds tailor Barrington Ayre, tagging the brand's account just days before Celebrity Traitors launched. The post, which reached his two million followers before the BBC intervened, featured the caption 'The name's Blunt. James Blunt.' BBC rules bar talent from using Corporation programmes or brands to advertise or endorse products, and the post came down once the BBC learned of it.

Barrington Ayre managing director Tom Wharton said the company had no commercial relationship with Blunt and that no arrangement had been made for him to wear the suit on the show.

Blunt's spokesman declined to comment; the singer plays a Faithful on Celebrity Traitors, which draws live audiences of upwards of ten million per episode.