Amol Rajan has opened up about his dramatic exit from The Celebrity Traitors.
Last week, the British broadcaster became the first star to be “murdered” in the current season of Celebrity Traitors, in a brutal face-to-face elimination which saw Claudia Winkleman literally closing a coffin lid on him.
Before that, Traitors Richard E Grant and Maya Jama had to choose between Amol and comedian James Acaster to recruit as a new addition to the dark side, eventually going for the latter.
BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry
“It was hell, by the way,” the University Challenge host wrote in Metro. “Richard and Maya were utterly stone-faced and deadly serious when they took off those cloaks.”
He continued: “Richard, who has a rather imposing visage at the best of times, just stared and stared and stared at me. He relished the moment of murder.
“I wonder if his Lord of Chaos routine will survive the first Round Table tonight.”
The presenter went on to share that the “one thing I had prepared for was that Round Table”, claiming: “Believe it or not, my tactic was going to be to stay quiet.”
“Alas,” he lamented. “The Lord of Chaos had already sent me to a shallow grave.”
BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry
“The best laid plans and all that,” he added. “I never got to that Round Table, so couldn’t play out my strategies either as a Faithful or as a recruited Traitor.
“I fear I fell victim to two factors: first, the sheer eccentricity of the Lord of Chaos; second, the fact that, on the Celebrity version of the show, your reputation walks into the room 10 minutes before you do. I was cast as the journalist who asks hard questions. That made me a target – and the Lord of Chaos wanted me removed.”
Last week’s Celebrity Traitors ended on a cliffhanger, as the contestants voted to banish someone from the castle for the first time.
Richard seemed a strong contender after infamously declaring himself to be a Traitor around five minutes into the game in a botched double bluff.
Find out whether he’s managed to survive the first Round Table of the series when The Celebrity Traitors continues on Thursday night at 8pm on BBC One.
