JAMES ACASTER SAYS BBC CUT SCENE EXPLAINING TRAITORS BANISHMENT

James Acaster, who appeared on the BBC's Celebrity Traitors, has said scenes were cut from the programme that would explain why singer James Blunt pushed for Julie Hesmondhalgh's banishment. Hesmondhalgh, known for her role in Coronation Street, became the latest contestant voted out at the roundtable after Blunt argued she was a Traitor. His televised reasoning centred on the fact that Hesmondhalgh had received the competition's first immunity shield, after other players named her the most trustworthy in the group, which led him to suggest she might secretly have been chosen as the first Traitor. After receiving the most votes, Hesmondhalgh revealed she was in fact a Faithful, and other contestants appeared to blame Blunt for the banishment.

Acaster told the Times that the broadcast version only showed Blunt's shield-based theory, leaving out a separate exchange he said actually drove the decision. According to Acaster, during the game's opening "shoulder tap" sequence, Blunt confided to Hesmondhalgh which player he suspected of acting suspiciously. Acaster said he later told Hesmondhalgh that a genuine Traitor would be unlikely to share such theories at that early stage, for fear of exposing fellow Traitors. Hesmondhalgh then put this point to the group, telling Blunt that he had not shared his theories with anyone. Acaster said Blunt disputed this, noting that he had in fact shared his suspicions with Hesmondhalgh directly at the table.

Blunt cited this exchange as evidence that Hesmondhalgh had lied during the competition, which Acaster said was the real reason "why Julie got voted off", rather than the shield theory shown to viewers. Acaster said this part of the exchange "isn't in the edit" of the BBC show. The account adds detail to a banishment that drew criticism from fellow contestants towards Blunt, who appeared frustrated that a Faithful had been voted out. Acaster's comments were made in an interview with the Times following the episodes' broadcast last week.