James Acaster, the Traitors panic attack claims and why filming stopped twice

James Acaster, 41, went into The Celebrity Traitors saying he’d rather be a Faithful, because he loves working things out. By the end of episode 2, he was a Traitor.

Before the series even started, reports said filming had been halted after the comedian became anxious during a scene at Ardross Castle. Then, in the semi-final on Thursday 29 October, he admitted at the round table that he was a Traitor and was banished, and The Sun reported that filming had been stopped again. Here’s what happened, whether it was a panic attack, what the BBC said and what Acaster has said since.

Is James Acaster a Traitor?

He was. Maya Jama and Richard E. Grant recruited him in episode 2, after he and Amol Rajan each pleaded their case knowing one of them would be murdered. Rajan was murdered, and Acaster stayed a Traitor until he was banished in episode 9.

It was an awkward twist for a man who had spent the build-up telling everyone he wanted to be on the other side. Amol Rajan became the series’ first murder, and Acaster spent the next seven episodes in the turret.

All five Traitors were caught in the end. Grant went in episode 3 and Hannah Fry in episode 5. Acaster and Maya brought in King Kenny to keep their numbers at three, and Acaster lasted until the semi-final. Maya and Kenny went in the final.

Is James Acaster still in Celebrity Traitors?

No. He was banished in episode 9, the semi-final, on Thursday 29 October. He admitted at the round table that he was a Traitor and got the most votes.

The round table turned on Ross Kemp’s murder in episode 7. King Kenny had sprayed perfume in the library, Kemp yawned, and Acaster made the kill with the line: “Sorry, am I boring you?” In the semi-final, Michael Sheen pointed out that Acaster was the only player who hadn’t left the library during that murder, PA reported.

Acaster struggled to defend himself, then came clean. He said he had been made a Traitor without wanting to be, admitted he had deliberately pointed out the perfume bottles, and told the table: “I am, reluctantly, a traitor.” He was the second Traitor this series to give himself away, after Grant.

The same episode settled the tie from episode 8. King Kenny used the dagger’s double vote to banish Joanne McNally, a Faithful, and Sharon Rooney was murdered. The semi-final drew the series’ highest peak audience, 10.7 million, with an average of 10.3 million and a 62% share, the BBC said.

1. 28 September

   Reports say filming was paused after Acaster became “very anxious and panicked” during a scene.

2. Episode 1, Thu 1 Oct

   Claudia Winkleman picks Maya Jama and Richard E. Grant as Traitors. Acaster starts as a Faithful.

3. Episode 2, Fri 2 Oct

   Recruited. Amol Rajan is murdered.

4. Episode 3, Thu 8 Oct

   Grant is banished. Hannah Fry is recruited the same night.

5. Episode 5, Thu 15 Oct

   Acaster, Maya and Fry murder Rob Beckett. Fry is banished, and Acaster and Maya recruit King Kenny over Joe Lycett.

6. Episode 6, Fri 16 Oct

   Lycett is banished. The night’s murder is left on a cliffhanger.

7. Episode 7, Thu 22 Oct

   Acaster makes the kill as Ross Kemp is murdered. Jerry Hall is banished.

8. Episode 8, Fri 23 Oct

   Miranda Hart is murdered. The Faithful pick Acaster, Maya and Kenny as the three players they trust most, and the round table ends in a tie.

9. Episode 9, Thu 29 Oct

   Acaster admits he is a Traitor and is banished. The Sun later reports that filming was stopped at the round table.

10. Final, Fri 30 Oct

    Maya and King Kenny are banished, and the Faithfuls win.

What happened when Celebrity Traitors filming stopped?

It has been reported twice. Before the series aired, filming was reportedly paused after Acaster became “very anxious and panicked” during a scene at Ardross Castle. After the semi-final aired, The Sun reported that filming was stopped again when he became upset at the round table.

For the semi-final, an insider told The Sun that Acaster became upset as he realised he was about to be caught, and that production paused filming until everyone was judged fit to carry on. The same insider said little of it was captured on camera and none of it made the final edit, The Tab reported. The Sun also reported that he had a welfare check before the round table began.

The BBC hasn’t confirmed either pause. Asked about the latest report, a BBC spokesperson said: “Our highest priority is always the safety and welfare of everyone taking part,” adding that players are supported by a welfare team. A representative for Acaster declined to comment, PA reported.

Which scene the first pause came from has never been confirmed. The Tab suggested it could be linked to his recruitment in episode 2, but that remains a theory.

One other claim about his time on the show has been denied outright. In October, the Mail on Sunday reported that he had complained about “macho banter” from Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan off camera. The BBC called it “categorically untrue”, and representatives for all three said it was untrue, PinkNews reported.

Did James Acaster have a panic attack or a breakdown on Celebrity Traitors?

He hasn’t said so. Reports described him as “very anxious and panicked” before the series, and The Tab called the semi-final moment a breakdown, but Acaster has not publicly described either moment as a panic attack or a breakdown.

The James Acaster Traitors panic attack claims trace back to those two reports, both based on anonymous insiders speaking to The Sun. His representative declined to comment on the latest one, so the accurate way to put it is that he reportedly became anxious and upset, and that filming was paused while he was looked after.

Why did James Acaster admit to being a Traitor?

Because it was his plan all along. Speaking after his exit, he said the idea of giving himself up “got me through the whole experience”, and that he was “glad they caught me”.

He said he sometimes felt bad when other players had real reactions that were bigger than the game, and coped by reminding himself that they “don’t have a game without you”. He also argued that with three Traitors left, the result would have been a foregone conclusion, and that his exit meant “now we’ve got a proper final on our hands”, PA reported.

What has James Acaster said since?

He tipped James Blunt to lead the Faithfuls, calling him “a man possessed”. Off screen, he told The Times he was told off for one small slip during filming.

In that interview, he said he had revealed on a FaceTime call that he had been outside on a mission. “I was told I couldn’t even tell her that,” he said, which says a lot about how tightly the production guards its secrets.

He hasn’t spoken publicly about either reported filming pause.

Why did James Acaster want to be a Faithful?

Because he enjoys working things out. He’s a self-confessed superfan who wanted to play detective, not deceive the room.

Acaster said he got hooked on The Traitors during its first series, starting halfway through and catching up on BBC iPlayer. When the first celebrity edition arrived, he was jealous of the contestants who had been invited. “I had to get in here,” he said before the series began.

He got in. He just didn’t get the role he asked for.

Why did James Acaster think comedians would be targeted?

Because Alan Carr won the first celebrity series as a Traitor. Acaster joked that Carr had “tainted us all”, and predicted the comedians would be first under the magnifying glass.

There were six comedians in this year’s line-up. Here’s how they fared.

He also joked that mathematician Hannah Fry might use probability to argue that at least one comedian had to be a Traitor. As it turned out, Fry ended up in the turret alongside him. She helped murder Rob Beckett, then was banished in episode 5.

Lycett is the sharper twist. In episode 5 he spent the night telling anyone who would listen that he wanted to be recruited. Acaster and Maya picked King Kenny instead, and the Faithful banished Lycett the next day.

Joanne McNally went in the semi-final, banished by King Kenny’s dagger. Romesh Ranganathan, the last comedian standing, won the whole thing as a Faithful.

Could James Acaster win Celebrity Traitors?

Not any more. He was banished in the semi-final, and the Faithfuls won the final on Friday 30 October, when Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft split the £83,000 prize pot for their charities.

Before filming, Acaster wasn’t confident. He said the game was almost impossible to read, and joked that being seen as “not a threat” might help him. For eight episodes, that’s how it played out.

In episode 8 he said James Blunt and Michael Sheen were like “Holmes and Watson”, adding: “Luckily they’re completely looking in all the wrong places.” In the semi-final, it was Sheen’s point about the library that caught him.

In the final, Maya Jama was banished at the last round table, with King Kenny voting against her, and Ranganathan and Croft then banished Kenny at the fire pit. Every round of the final is in our Celebrity Traitors 2026 results page.

When is Celebrity Traitors on next?

The 2026 series has finished. The final aired on Friday 30 October, and every episode is on BBC iPlayer. The BBC hasn’t announced a third celebrity series yet.

• Episode 7Thu 22 OctRoss Kemp murdered
• Episode 8Fri 23 OctRound table tied
• Episode 9Thu 29 OctAcaster banished
• FinalFri 30 OctFaithfuls win

The full results and when The Traitors is back are in our Celebrity Traitors schedule.

We’ll update this page if Acaster or the BBC says more about the filming pauses.