Earlier this month, the Withnail & I actor got the current season of the Bafta-winning reality show off to a jaw-dropping start when he outed himself as a Traitor only moments after being selected in an apparent botched attempt at a double bluff.
The Sun subsequently published a piece on Monday night, alleging that Richard could have “staged” the moment as a way of serving up some gripping viewing without having to commit to a full season of Celebrity Traitors.
While the tabloid cited an undisclosed “source” who claimed that many people behind the scenes were “convinced he staged it”, it also pointed out that the BBC had already “insisted it was an innocent mistake”.
BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry
On Tuesday night, Richard issued his own statement on the matter, admitting that while he “usually wouldn’t comment on things like this”, he felt compelled to speak out.
“I’ve been made aware some press outlets are suggesting I ‘staged’ my Traitors reveal to get out of filming,” he wrote on his Instagram story.
“This is categorically false. I’m an avid fan of the show and have been since it first aired.”
He added: “Being picked as a Traitor when I was convinced I’d be a Faithful was an absolute dream and a sheer shock to the system.”
Instagram/Richard E Grant
A BBC rep had no further comment when contacted by HuffPost UK on Tuesday.
Once Richard’s elimination had aired, he gave an interview with the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire in which he claimed the gaffe was a “completely catastrophically idiotic thing to do”, quipping: “I can only imagine the faces of the producers looking at each other and mouthing ‘he said what?!’.”
Indeed, Celebrity Traitors executive producer Sarah Fay has also opened up about the behind-the-scenes team’s reaction to the Oscar nominee’s blunder, admitting they’d “never [seen] anything like that happen before”.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we’d have a Traitor admit they were a Traitor five minutes after the Round Table!” she remarked.
The Celebrity Traitors continues on Thursday and Friday night at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
