Richard E Grant calls his Celebrity Traitors confession 'catastrophically idiotic' after being the first contestant banished

From the Newshound archive · first published 11 October 2026 · last updated 12 October 2026.

Richard E Grant has admitted he never expected his fellow contestants to treat his traitor confession as genuine after he disclosed his role within seconds of being assigned it, calling the mistake "a completely catastrophically idiotic thing to do." The Withnail and I actor, 69, was the first player voted out of Celebrity Traitors after openly telling Joe Lycett his status during the opening episode.

Grant revealed that his daughter had warned him ahead of filming that he would be "slaughtered" because he was "incapable of hiding what you feel about people or anything."

He said he could tell what was about to happen before the roundtable vote, noticing that almost no other contestant would meet his gaze — though Miranda Hart had been "very friendly," which he correctly read as her way of softening an imminent blow.

Grant has decided against watching the series back, saying that seeing himself perform "unscripted" as an actor is more than he can bear.