James Acaster reveals massive Celebrity Traitors lie
James Acaster kept one of his close friends in the dark about The Celebrity Traitors, despite his fellow comedian being involved in the show.
James Acaster "lied" to Ed Gamble about appearing on The Celebrity Traitors.
The 41-year-old star is one of a number of comedians appearing in the second season of the BBC spinoff series - which returns on October 1 - and he kept it a secret from fellow comic Ed, who hosts The Traitors: Uncloaked podcast.
Asked about the "biggest lie" he's got away with, James told the BBC: "If I tell you, I haven't got away with it anymore.
"I'm not good at lying and I don't make a habit of it.
"Maybe the biggest lie I've ever got away with was telling Ed Gamble I'm not doing The Celebrity Traitors."
James was a huge fan of the first celebrity spinoff last year, which was won by Alan Carr, while Joe Wilkinson and Nick Mohammed have given him some insight.
He added: "They talked to me a bit about what it was like for them. I think they both had different experiences.
"Joe was very laid back, and Nick was very much trying to crack the case. I think I'm going to be a mix of the two."
There are a lot of comedians taking part this year, including Joe Lycett, Miranda Hart, Romesh Ranganathan, Joanne McNally and Rob Beckett.
Describing the lineup as a "concern", James explained: "There will be suspicions that it’s going to be at least one of these guys, that we might form an alliance if we’re not broken apart.
"I think we're going to be the first ones under the magnifying glass being looked at. Particularly at the beginning when you have absolutely nothing to go on.
"And then you consider that a comedian won last year with Alan Carr disarming everyone with jokes the whole time. He has tainted us all!"
James joked that mathematician Hannah Fry is likely to convince the group that "probability-wise, there’s most likely to be at least one comic chosen as a Traitor because there's enough of us".
He added: Even though it could obviously easily be three people who aren't comedians… I don't know how it works out, but if maths turns against us we're in big trouble."
When it comes to his own chances of making it to the end, James has "no idea" whether or not he's got what it takes.
He said: "Every time I watch any of the series there seems to be no rhyme or reason. People can be really quiet, and they make it to the end.
"People are huge characters, and they make it to the end. You can be quiet and go under the radar; you can be a big character and end up putting yourself in the firing line.
"Anyone could get to the end. You can avoid murder or banishment by simply not being respected enough to be seen as a threat.
"And I think I could very easily be seen as not a threat. Yeah, I could be there to the end. It’s anyone’s game really."
