Celebrity Traitors star Amol Rajan reveals his big mistake after first murder

Former BBC journalist Amol Rajan admitted he ‘played the wrong game’ after he became the first murdered Celebrity Traitors star this series.

The 43-year-old had the chance to brag his way into the turret alongside Maya Jama and Richard E Grant (no doubt, not for long), but they opted to recruit funnyman James Acaster instead.

Rajan was, as a result, left inside a coffin in the chapel, sealing his fate as the first to go.

The former Today host unpacked his gameplay during the second instalment of spin-off show Uncloaked, with host Ed Gamble. 

Admitting he wished he had been picked, he said: ‘It’s hard not to watch it and think, obviously, with 20/20 hindsight, I played the wrong game. That was a crazy, crazy once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity).’

Speaking after leaving the show, Rajan said: ‘I knew the character I was going in was the journalist who asks all the awkward questions. I told myself in advance, just shut up! Just shut up!’

The Traitors had to pick between James Acaster and Amol Rajan (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry) Rajan was left inside a coffin in the chapel, sealing his fate as the first to go (Picture: BBC)

He added: ‘The one tactic you should try to abide by is to fly under the radar. Just shut up for the first few shows.’

The journalist described that night in the chapel as ‘one of the most intense experiences of my life’ and went on to praise Acaster, saying he will be ‘brilliant’ as a Traitor.

As Uncloaked replayed various clips from his stint in Ardross Castle, Rajan was visibly frustrated at his inability to keep quiet, particularly when suspicion fell on Grant, after his spectacular unforced error. 

Elsewhere, in his official exit interview with the BBC, Rajan added: ‘I’m sort of grieving what might have been. In time I know that I’ll come to look on this as honestly one of the greatest privileges of my life.

Suspicion has fallen on Grant after his spectacular unforced error (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry/PA Wire) ‘The one tactic you should try to abide by is to fly under the radar. Just shut up for the first few shows’ (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative)

‘In fact, I already do. What an amazing thing to do, and it was bigger, it was bolder, it was braver, it was brighter than it looks on TV.  

‘And to have been in it when it’s a show and a game I love so much is just a blessing, really.

‘Even if you’re someone who is on TV, there is still something amazing about actually being in the place that you see on TV. The kind of theatrical energy and character of that roundtable itself… It’s iconic. To actually be there, well, it’s spine-tingling.’

As for what comes next on Celebrity Traitors, we will have to wait until next week to discover if Grant indeed becomes the first turncoat to be banished out of the gate at the first roundtable. 

Celebrity Traitors will return on Thursday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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