Welcome to the fourth episode of The Celebrity Traitors, where the competition has finally shifted into high gear following the dramatic banishment of Richard E Grant and the shock elimination of Myha'la. The game, which stumbled through its opening instalments, is now delivering genuine intrigue and strategic gameplay.
Richard E Grant's departure marked a turning point. His early disclosure to Joe Lycett that he was a Traitor created immediate suspicion, and by episode three, the other contestants had seen through his erratic behaviour. According to reporting on the episode, his banishment drew a peak audience of 10.3 million viewers, commanding more than 60% of the available audience share—a significant moment for the series.
Yet Richard's exit proved merely the prelude to an even more shocking development. Rather than murdering Hannah Fry, the two remaining Traitors—Maya Jama and James Acaster—made the strategic decision to recruit her instead. This move set off a chain reaction of suspicion that ultimately engulfed Myha'la, a Faithful who found herself caught in the crossfire and subsequently banished.
Why was Myha'la eliminated?
The loss of Myha'la represents a genuine turning point in the competition. Several theories explain her sudden banishment. The most visible trigger was a wink she directed at Richard E Grant during the final round table—a moment that, in a game fundamentally built on deception and hidden identities, carried outsized significance. According to coverage of the episode, Julie Hesmondhalgh noticed this wink and the moment later contributed substantially to the suspicion that developed around Myha'la.
Beyond the visible gesture, Myha'la's emotional investment in the game may have worked against her. She played with genuine feeling and openness, which in a contest where paranoia and strategic distance are advantages, became a liability. Her closeness to Richard E Grant—she later described them as "twin flames"—meant that when he fell under suspicion, she fell with him. Myha'la reflected after her elimination that trust was ultimately her undoing, acknowledging that her willingness to believe in others had sealed her fate.
Where do the remaining contestants stand?
Three Traitors now remain in the game, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Maya Jama has proven herself a ruthless operator, throwing Richard under the bus without hesitation and then nominating Bash for murder purely because he expressed a moment of doubt about her loyalty. She plays with cold calculation. James Acaster, the second Traitor, brings a different energy—he openly wants to eliminate James Blunt and has shown willingness to pursue targets based on personal preference rather than pure strategy. Hannah Fry, freshly recruited to the Traitor ranks, is still settling into her new role and has yet to demonstrate how effective she will become.
Among the Faithfuls, several find themselves in precarious positions. Bella Ramsey and Sebastian Croft are both up for murder, as is James Blunt. Bella's problem is paradoxical: their obvious intelligence has become a liability in a game where appearing deliberately uninformed often proves advantageous. Sebastian made the critical error of doubting Maya Jama, a mistake that could prove fatal. James Blunt, meanwhile, simply remains a target.
Other Faithfuls display varying levels of strategic acumen. Joanne McNally has characterised herself through consistent misjudgement—she has been woefully wrong about nearly every aspect of the game, to the point where following the opposite of her instincts would likely prove a winning strategy. Jerry Hall, similarly unreliable in her reads, brings an unmistakable vocal presence that some have compared to a Teddy Ruxpin doll running low on batteries. Michael Sheen finds himself arbitrarily targeted by James Acaster, which remains the most interesting element of his game so far.
Ross Kemp has shed his early paranoia, leaving him as simply a middle-aged man prone to sudden bursts of incomprehensible anger—a characterisation he might recognise. Miranda Hart is slowly coming into her own, though her moment of genuine impact surely still lies ahead. Leigh-Anne Pinnock remains a Faithful doubted by many, largely because she applied makeup late one evening—a detail that has become her only identifiable characteristic in the game. Julie Hesmondhalgh revealed herself to be highly competitive and is currently pursuing some unusual investigative threads that will likely backfire. Sharon Rooney has emerged as an unexpectedly strong player, evidenced by how little screen time she has received—a sign that she is playing the game with genuine intelligence by remaining beneath the radar.
Joe Lycett continues to face mounting suspicion from other contestants, though the reasons remain difficult to fully articulate. Rob Beckett and King Kenny, lumped together here for convenience, offer minimal contributions beyond occasional impersonations of Jerry Hall. King Kenny, in particular, has been so invisible that his presence on the show is easy to forget entirely.
How did we reach this point?
The first two episodes achieved very little in terms of genuine gameplay. Richard E Grant's erratic behaviour during week one transformed the opening instalments into essentially The Richard E Grant Show, but his dominance ultimately worked against him. By the time episode three arrived, the other contestants had recognised the threat he posed and moved decisively to remove him.
His early mistake—telling Joe Lycett that he was a Traitor—had planted seeds of suspicion that never fully dissipated. Once the group began to coalesce around the idea that he was the problem, his fate was sealed. His banishment cleared the board and allowed genuine strategic gameplay to emerge.
What happens next?
Episode four is scheduled to air on Friday 9 October at 8pm on a major broadcaster's platform. The competition will continue with the remaining contestants, the three Traitors working to eliminate Faithfuls while maintaining their cover, and the Faithfuls attempting to identify and banish the Traitors before the final round. Episode five follows on Thursday 15 October at 8pm, with the series running across 10 episodes total throughout October.
Tonight's episode promises to deliver more of the strategic tension that has finally emerged. The question now is whether the Traitors can maintain their advantage, whether the newly recruited Hannah Fry can prove her worth in her new role, and whether any of the Faithfuls can break through the fog of suspicion to identify the remaining deception in their midst.
