Richard Osman appears to accidentally reveal Celebrity Traitors launch date

Carla FericSun, September 6, 2026 at 7:14 AM UTC

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Broadcaster Richard Osman appears to have inadvertently disclosed the launch date for the second series of The Celebrity Traitors.

Speaking at a live recording of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast alongside co-host Marina Hyde at London’s Southbank Centre on Saturday, the 55-year-old stated that the BBC reality competition is scheduled to return on 23 September.

Former Celebrity Traitors finalist Joe Marler appeared as a guest on the show and raised the subject while sharing advice for future participants, asking: "What is it September 23 the next series?"

Osman acknowledged the slip, responding: "By the way to point out, it’s absolutely embargoed that it starts on September 23… let’s talk about what we call the events of September 23 this year, the cat’s out of the bag isn’t it? Not to repeat it."

Reflecting on feedback from those involved in production, Osman added that the upcoming series "sounds like it was quite intense".

Marler noted that the atmosphere appeared noticeably different this time around, saying: "I believe it was a slightly different emotion than our experience, ours was very laugh-led, and everyone was sort of enjoying catching up, you know, pratting about to the point where they went, ‘guys we’re trying to play a game’."

Richard Osman appeared to confirm the new series will start on September 23 (AFP/Getty)

He added: "It’s not just for the laughs, ‘oh do you remember going to that party darling?’…

"Whereas this lot really want it from the start, and then I guess they see how well the first series has gone and there’s a little bit of pressure on them to be like, ‘oh I’d quite like a bit of that’."

The former England rugby international also revealed that Osman played a key role in securing his spot on the debut series of The Celebrity Traitors.

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Describing his initial meeting with the talent booker, Marler recalled: "I turned up – ‘Hi, how are you doing? Nice to meet you’, and things.

"And this lady, she went, ‘Look, I’ll be straight up, I have no idea who you are, I don’t know a lot about rugby, I’ve not really heard of you, a good friend of mine, Richard Osman, has put me in touch and said you should have a look at this guy’."

A fresh lineup of 21 famous faces will enter the game for the second series, competing for a cash prize of up to £100,000 for their chosen charities.

Filmed at a castle in the Scottish Highlands, the format pits a group of celebrity "faithfuls" against secret "traitors" hiding in their midst, who systematically eliminate rival players overnight.

Osman was joined on a live episode of his podcast by Joe Marler, who starred in last year’s Celebrity Traitors (PA)

The upcoming cast features Welsh actor Michael Sheen, Love Island host Maya Jama, The Last Of Us actor Bella Ramsey, musician James Blunt, and former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock.

Broadcast last autumn on the BBC, the inaugural run concluded with a tense finale that drew a peak viewing figure of 15.4 million, according to figures released by the channel.

That initial series featured a high-profile lineup including actors Celia Imrie and Nick Mohammed, musician Paloma Faith, author and actor Sir Stephen Fry, presenter Jonathan Ross, and comedian Alan Carr, who ultimately secured victory playing as a Traitor.

Averaging 14.9 million viewers across its run, the spin-off proved to be the most-watched television broadcast of 2025.

The BBC has been approached for comment.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”