Richard E. Grant joked he has a habit of ‘getting to the punchline too quickly’ as he blurted out the news of a radio prizewinner too early on Classic FM on Friday.
The actor, 69, made the biggest slip up in Traitors’ history on Thursday evening when he told a room full of his celebrity co-stars that he was one of the villains of the show.
However, Richard has now admitted he has a bit of a habit of blurting things out, as he appeared live on the radio as part of the Cash Call.
Richard called Andy, a ceramic tiler, from Essex to tell him he had won a record-breaking £1.25million – the biggest prize on UK radio in history.
However, there was no build-up as Richard jumped straight to the point as soon as Andy answered the phone.
While Andy was stunned by the news, Richard made a tongue-in-cheek joke about his abrupt approach.
Richard E. Grant joked he has a habit of ‘getting to the punchline too quickly’ as he blurted out the news of a radio prizewinner too early on Classic FM on Friday
The actor, 69, made the biggest slip up in Traitors’ history on Thursday evening when he told a room full of his celebrity co-stars that he was one of the villains of the sho
‘I have a tendency to get to the punchline too quickly sometimes,’ he said, before congratulating the radio listener.
Andy replied: ‘I can’t believe this. Is this really genuine? We’re going to have a big holiday! A family holiday.
‘My wife is originally from Mauritius; we’re thinking about going next year and visiting some family. We couldn’t afford that so it was just a dream, really, we were trying to go there one day, but hopefully that day has arrived!’
Richard’s time in Celebrity Traitors has been left hanging in the balance following the show’s second episode.
Nominated as one of Claudia’s Traitors, Richard has perhaps already made the biggest slip-up in Celebrity Traitors history.
As he mingled with Faithful Joe in the lounge area, the comedian jumped straight in with the question: ‘What are you?’
‘A Traitor,’ Richard responded with a huge grin on his face.
Unsure what to believe, Joe said: ‘I think you’ve just done something that has never happened in the game… bold strategy.’
Richard’s time in Celebrity Traitors has been left hanging in the balance following the show’s second episode
Nominated as one of Claudia’s Traitors, Richard has perhaps already made the biggest slip-up in Celebrity Traitors history (pictured with Traitors Maya Jama and James Acaster)
The surprise confession has left the rest of the celebrities in a tailspin, with the actor acknowledging he will face the heat at the first round table.
But James, who has been pushing forward the theory Richard is a Traitor, will now be working alongside them to throw the Faithfuls off the scent.
The second series launch episode attracted a record-breaking nine million viewers on Thursday, surpassing all previous premieres for The Traitors UK.
Overnight figures show the first episode peaked at just over nine million and averaged 8.9 million viewers – up three million from the first celebrity series and 2.5 million from series four of The Traitors back in January.
Last year’s star-studded celebrity series – featuring the likes of winner Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, Kate Garraway and Paloma Faith – launched with a peak audience of 6.5 million viewers, averaging 6.1 million across the episodes.
The last non-celebrity series opener in January garnered 6.9 million peak viewers and averaged 6.4 million viewers.
The total audience for the series is expected to go even higher in the coming days, with viewers who streamed the show on iPlayer yet to be counted.
It also beat ratings for Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show, which have plummeted since presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly stepped away.
Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and dancer Johannes Radebe have since replaced the iconic duo.
The first episode of the dance show, which aired on Saturday, had a peak of five million viewers, down from the 6.2 million who tuned in for the same stage of last year’s competition.
Former Today programme host Amol Rajan fell at the first hurdle when he was murdered by Richard E Grant and Maya Jama following a dramatic cliffhanger on Thursday’s launch
Celebrities on The Traitors are playing the game in Ardross Castle in the Highlands, hoping to win a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.
And the remaining 20 competitors took part in their second mission in yesterday’s episode, which was set in a graveyard and involved them being buried alive in pairs.
They were put in coffins in the ground, with soil thrown on top – but for Jerry Hall, it all became too much.
Turning to her partner, mathematician Hannah Fry, she quipped: ‘I’m sorry I don’t think I can handle it,’ before shouting the code word ‘haggis’ which meant they were both out of the mission.
The pair are therefore up for the show’s next murder, while the others are shielded.
‘It was really scary. It is like being in a horror movie. It is awful! Lying in that coffin and then they closed the doors and locked it and started throwing dirt on. My head started spinning. I just had to get out immediately,’ Jerry told the camera.
The show ended with the first roundtable, where Richard found himself under fire after slipping up and declaring himself a Traitor in the launch episode.
‘Let’s be frank, you are celebrities. You are very successful. When you speak, people listen. You might find that slightly different here,’ Claudia told them.
‘At this roundtable there is no VIP treatment. There are no riders, there is no fluffing. If you hit a rough patch, you definitely cannot call your agent.
‘In here, you have to do only one thing, and one thing alone, and that is find the traitors. So then players, for the very first time, the floor is yours.’
As the discussion kicked off, Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh said: ‘We are at risk of being the most idiotic group of Faithfuls in the world if we go for someone else tonight based on nothing at all when someone has come in the room and say, ‘I am a Traitor’.’
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan added: ‘You’ve given all of us a problem because by doing that it was a big mistake by you. I feel like you have forced our hand by the honest truth of it.’
Reacting to the episode, viewers wrote on X: ‘If Richard E Grant survives this round table, these faithfuls will be screwed. The man literally told them he was a traitor and then killed one of the main people who was against him and people are still thinking he’s a faithful??’;
‘We can’t have Richard E Grant going this early. He’s too entertaining’;
‘Massive respect to Richard who made one of the worst errors of all time on The Traitors and has just laughed his way through all of it’;
‘If Richard goes at the round table THEN they have the choice to recruit so maybe nobody goes? *prays for Hannah.’
But with BBC leaving us on another cliffhanger, viewers will have to wait until next week to discover Richard’s fate.
The Celebrity Traitors line-up 2026
Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall, 70, rose to fame in the Seventies and became one of the era’s most recognisable fashion icons
Richard E Grant
Richard E Grant, 69, is celebrated for his roles in everything from the cult classic Withnail & I to modern flicks such as Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
James Blunt
James Blunt, 52, shot to global fame with his debut album and the hit single You’re Beautiful
Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp, 62, who recently returned to EastEnders to reprise his role as hardman Grant Mitchell, is said to want to challenge himself
Michael Sheen
Michael Sheen, 57, is celebrated for his incredible performances across stage and screen, particularly his work in Good Omens and The Queen
Rob Beckett
Best friend of fellow Traitors star Ranganathan, comedian Rob Beckett, 40, is known for his high energy and booming laugh
Sharon Rooney
Sharon Rooney, 37, is best known for her breakout role as Rae Earl in the acclaimed series My Mad Fat Diary
Joanne McNally
Joanne McNally, 43, is known for her brutally honest humour and hilarious takes on dating, chaos and modern life
Amol Rajan
Journalist and broadcaster Amol Rajan, 43, has carved out a successful career across major UK media, including radio and television
King Kenny
King Kenny, 29, is a content creator known for his prank videos and street-style social experiments
Sebastian Croft
Sebastian Croft, 24, is best known for his breakout role as Ben Hope in the Netflix series Heartstopper
Maya Jama
Maya Jama, 32, is quickly becoming one of the UK’s most popular stars and famously fronts Love Island
Miranda Hart
Miranda Hart, 53, broke through with her hit sitcom Miranda, which became a resounding success and cemented her as a comedy legend
Romesh Ranganathan
Romesh Ranganathan, 48, has been taking British TV by storm in recent years is known for his deadpan delivery
James Acaster
Comedian James Acaster, 41, is good friends with Ed Gamble, who hosts The Traitors: Uncloaked. The duo present the hit food podcast Off Menu
Bella Ramsey
Bella Ramsey, 22, rose to fame as Lyanna Mormont in Game Of Thrones and gained global acclaim for their leading role in The Last Of Us
Leigh-Anne Pinnock
Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 34, is known as a member of the girl group Little Mix, which found fame on The X Factor in 2011
Joe Lycett
From TV stunts to clever public pranks, Joe Lycett, 38, has built a reputation as one of Britain’s most inventive comics
Hannah Fry
Mathematician and broadcaster Hannah Fry, 42, is known for turning complex data into engaging content for viewers
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh, 56, is best known for her long-running role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street – the first transgender character in a British soap opera
Myha’la
Myha’la, 30, is known for her striking portrayal of brutal fintech expert Harper Stern in the HBO drama Industry
