The comedian reportedly became overwhelmed during filming at Ardross Castle, just days before viewers finally get to see him enter the game

Filming on The Celebrity Traitors was reportedly brought to a temporary halt after James Acaster became visibly anxious during an intense scene inside the castle.

The 41-year-old comedian is one of the biggest names entering the BBC reality show when it returns this week.

But new reports suggest the famously tense game became particularly intense for Acaster during filming.

Fellow celebrities reportedly became concerned after noticing he was struggling and asked for cameras to stop rolling.

Production agreed, allowing Acaster time away from filming before the game continued.

And intriguingly, the comedian had already admitted to having one major concern before entering the castle.

What happened to James Acaster on Celebrity Traitors?

Filming was reportedly paused after James Acaster became visibly stressed and anxious during a scene at Ardross Castle.

According to reports about the incident, Acaster became “very anxious and panicked” while filming with the other contestants.

Some of his fellow celebrities reportedly noticed what was happening and suggested that filming should stop.

Production agreed.

Acaster was then given an opportunity to take a break before filming resumed.

Importantly, there is no indication that the pause changed the result of the game.

And while some reports have used stronger terminology to describe what happened, Acaster himself has not publicly characterised the incident as a panic attack.

So it is more accurate to say he reportedly became anxious and overwhelmed during filming.

Why did Celebrity Traitors stop filming?

The reported pause appears to have been made for Acaster’s welfare.

A spokesperson for The Traitors said the programme recognises that participating in its immersive format can sometimes become intense.

They added that the “highest priority” is the safety and welfare of everyone taking part and said contestants are closely monitored by an experienced welfare team.

The intervention also appears to show how seriously some contestants become immersed in the game.

Unlike a traditional celebrity panel or entertainment programme, The Traitors asks contestants to spend their time questioning who they can trust while secretly selected Traitors attempt to deceive the rest of the group.

For a self-confessed superfan like Acaster, that pressure may have felt particularly real.

James Acaster had already revealed his big Celebrity Traitors concern

Acaster had already identified one potential problem before filming even began.

There are six comedians among this year’s celebrity contestants, including Acaster, Miranda Hart, Joe Lycett, Joanne McNally, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan.

And Acaster suspected that could immediately make them targets.

Speaking ahead of the new series, he explained that other contestants could assume at least one comedian had been selected as a Traitor.

He predicted that the comics would be among the first contestants placed “under the magnifying glass” when everyone entered the castle.

There was a very good reason for his concern.

Alan Carr won the first series of The Celebrity Traitors after successfully hiding his identity as a Traitor.

Acaster joked that Carr had now “tainted us all” by showing just how effectively a comedian could use humour to disarm suspicious contestants.

He even singled out mathematician Hannah Fry as someone who could potentially make matters worse.

Acaster joked that Fry might use probability to argue there were enough comedians in the castle for at least one of them to have been selected as a Traitor.

Suddenly, being funny wasn’t necessarily going to help.

Why did James Acaster join Celebrity Traitors?

Despite what reportedly happened during filming, Acaster wasn’t reluctant to enter the castle.

Quite the opposite.

He’s a huge fan of The Traitors.

Acaster said he became addicted to the programme during its first series after starting halfway through and catching up on BBC iPlayer.

He enjoyed it so much that when the first celebrity edition arrived, he found himself jealous of the contestants who had been invited.

“I had to get in here,” he said in a pre-show interview about joining Celebrity Traitors.

Acaster also made clear that he would prefer to enter as a Faithful rather than secretly become a Traitor.

His reason was simple.

He enjoys trying to figure things out.

That could make watching his experience particularly interesting once the series begins.

James Acaster wasn’t convinced he could win

Despite being such a big fan, Acaster wasn’t particularly confident about predicting how far he could go.

And that’s because he believes The Traitors is almost impossible to read.

Quiet contestants can survive.

Huge personalities can survive.

Someone who appears threatening can disappear quickly, while another player can reach the end simply because nobody considers them dangerous enough to murder or banish.

Acaster even joked that being viewed as “not a threat” could work in his favour.

Whether that strategy actually worked remains unknown.

The BBC is keeping the outcome under wraps until the episodes air.

When does Celebrity Traitors 2026 start?

Viewers won’t have long to wait.

The Celebrity Traitors series two begins on Thursday, October 1 at 8 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

The opening episode will be an extended 75-minute programme, running until 9.15 pm.

Episode two follows on Friday night, with the series then continuing on Thursdays and Fridays.

Acaster is part of a packed 21-person celebrity line-up that also includes Maya Jama, Michael Sheen, Bella Ramsey, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Richard E. Grant, James Blunt, Jerry Hall, Ross Kemp and Hannah Fry.

Claudia Winkleman returns to oversee the game.

And after the extraordinary success of the first celebrity series, expectations for round two are understandably high.

What happened during filming won’t necessarily be shown

There is one important thing viewers should bear in mind.

Reports that production paused filming do not necessarily mean the entire incident will appear when the series airs.

The BBC has not confirmed that the moment forms part of the final edit.

What we do know is that Acaster entered the game as an enthusiastic fan who was already worried about how quickly the comedians might attract suspicion.

Now reports suggest the experience became intense enough during one scene for filming to temporarily stop.

Whether viewers actually see that moment remains to be seen.

But with Acaster already admitting that he expected to be under scrutiny from the moment he entered Ardross Castle, watching exactly how he handles the game could now be one of the most intriguing parts of the new series.