Under the brooding skies of the Scottish Highlands, a new chapter in reality television drama is unfolding as BBC One’s The Celebrity Traitors brings together a dazzling cast of well-known faces for a contest that is equal parts psychological thriller and charity fundraiser. On October 15, 2025, the much-anticipated series returned to screens, inviting viewers to witness a unique blend of cunning, camaraderie, and celebrity vulnerability.
At the heart of the action is Celia Imrie, the 73-year-old English actress whose career spans decades and genres, from the comedic warmth of Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee to the international flair of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the musical exuberance of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Imrie’s decision to join the cast was not a casual one. As she shared with the Mirror, "In my autobiography I say that actresses are likened to Victorian young girls sitting round a ballroom on their gilt chairs waiting to be asked to dance. And that's how our life is. We all have to wait for the part to come along. Yes, I could play Hedda Gabler in my attic but there's nobody to tell me how good I am. If I was Van Gogh, I could create a painting in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t need an audience. The only thing I have tried to do in terms of control in my career is to attempt to try and do something as different to the last thing so as not to be pigeonholed. And this, to be a player of The Traitors, is as different to anything else I have ever done."
Imrie is joined by a constellation of talent: Alan Carr, Ruth Codd, Stephen Fry, Mark Bonnar, Charlotte Church, Cat Burns, Clare Balding, David Olusoga, Joe Marler, Joe Wilkinson, Jonathan Ross, Kate Garraway, Lucy Beaumont, Nick Mohammed, Niko Omilana, Tameka Empson, and Tom Daley. The premise is deceptively simple—celebrities must navigate a high-stakes game of trust, deception, and deduction, all while vying for a chance to win up to £100,000 for charities of their choosing. But as viewers quickly discover, the game is anything but straightforward.
From the opening episodes, the tension was palpable. According to BBC, the first major twist came with the elimination of singer Paloma Faith, who became the inaugural casualty of the game. Her exit, orchestrated by Alan Carr via a fictional poison lily, was both dramatic and tinged with humor. Faith later confessed on the show’s companion podcast, Uncloaked, "Thank goodness not to be the first one dead," only to realize she had, in fact, been the first victim. Reflecting on her experience, she admitted, "I still didn’t know that I was dead," citing her ADHD and the fact that she had only listened to about half of host Claudia Winkleman’s instructions. Discovering that her friend Alan had sealed her fate, she mused, "If the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn’t have done that."
The elimination of Faith sent shockwaves through the castle, setting the tone for a series defined by suspense and shifting alliances. Each episode, airing Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One, sees the remaining celebrities undertake punishing missions designed to test their teamwork and resolve. But as night falls and the infamous Round Table convenes, alliances are tested and accusations fly. The Faithful must root out the Traitors among them, while the Traitors work to evade detection and eliminate their rivals. As TV Zone described, the game is a “contest of detection, backstabbing and trust.”
For Imrie, the challenge goes beyond strategic gameplay. As she told the Mirror, "I suppose, being an actor, you do spend your life pretending to be somebody else, so that's quite an advantage. But it is also a horror, because you haven't got a character to hide behind, and so it is the same as being on a chat show, you just have to be yourself which is oddly quite a difficult thing to present without seeming to be affected or unreal. It is quite exposing to just be yourself." It’s a sentiment that resonates with anyone who’s ever felt more comfortable behind a mask than in the spotlight of their own personality.
Imrie’s participation in The Celebrity Traitors is just the latest chapter in a storied career. She first made her mark in the 1970s on ITV’s Upstairs, Downstairs, and her filmography reads like a who’s who of British cinema and television: St. Trinian’s, Better Things, The Diplomat, and most recently, The Thursday Murder Club—an adaptation of Richard Osman’s international bestseller, where she starred alongside Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley.
Talent clearly runs in the family. Imrie’s son, Angus Imrie, aged 31, has carved out his own path in the acting world. Best known for voicing Josh Archer in BBC Radio 4’s beloved drama The Archers, Angus has also appeared in the ITV series Kingdom (alongside his mother), BBC One’s Restless, and hit shows like Fleabag and The Crown. The mother-son duo’s parallel journeys offer a fascinating glimpse into the world of British acting dynasties.
Back in the Highlands, the celebrity contestants face mounting pressure as each new day brings fresh suspicions and strategic challenges. The missions, described by TV Zone as forcing the celebrities “to communicate in a way no-one expected,” are designed to push even the most seasoned performers out of their comfort zones. With every banishment and every murder, the stakes grow higher, and the psychological toll of the game becomes ever more apparent.
For viewers, part of the appeal lies in the unpredictability of it all. The companion podcast, Uncloaked, hosted by Ed Gamble, offers deeper insights into the strategies and emotions at play, featuring interviews with the latest eliminated contestants and appearances by veterans from previous series. The interplay between on-screen drama and off-screen analysis has turned the show into a genuine cultural event, with fans poring over every clue and twist in search of the next big reveal.
As the series continues, the question remains: who can be trusted, and who will outwit their rivals to claim victory for charity? For Celia Imrie and her fellow celebrities, the journey promises to be as transformative as it is entertaining. One thing’s for sure—audiences are in for a wild ride as the game of traitors and faithfuls unfolds beneath the shadowy turrets of the Highland castle.
With each episode, The Celebrity Traitors cements its place as must-see television, blending the allure of celebrity with the timeless appeal of a good old-fashioned whodunit. As Imrie and her castmates navigate alliances, betrayals, and the ever-present threat of elimination, viewers can’t help but wonder—who will have the last laugh when the final curtain falls?
