Richard Osman believes the fallout from James Acaster's extraordinary Celebrity Traitors confession could reshape how the BBC casts future series, predicting producers will hunt for more committed strategic players to avoid a repeat.
The comedian shocked his fellow players and audiences alike when he confessed to being a Traitor after being questioned by Michael Sheen during a round table, triggering his own banishment.
Speaking on his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, Osman described Acaster's roundtable admission as "a hand grenade" for the game, while defending the comedian's right to play the game his own way.
Osman suggested the moment stemmed from Acaster searching for a dignified way out rather than any attempt to blow up the format. He said Acaster had been "looking for an exit door" throughout the process, and seized Sheen's questioning because he did not want to reach the endgame and lie to the other players face to face.
He said: "James Acaster throughout this whole process has been looking for an exit door [...] where he doesn't blow up the whole show especially, where he doesn’t just quit on the whole thing.
“I think he just took the opportunity. I think he didn’t want to go into that endgame. He didn’t want to go into the bit where you’re really going to have to look people in the eye face to face and just say, 'Yes it was me.'"
Turning to what comes next, Osman predicted the experience may nudge producers towards casting a few more ruthless competitors.
He said the show could potentially seek contestants with a genuine appetite for strategy, perhaps people from a sporting background, who want to "explore the full limits" of the game.
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He acknowledged that flawless casting is impossible because strong players can be voted out early. Osman pointed to Bella Ramsey, who he described as a major game player banished early in the run, as proof that producers cannot fully control how a series unfolds.
The series ended with Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan winning as Faithfuls and splitting the £83,000 prize fund between their chosen charities, Choose Love and the Refugee Council.
Celebrity Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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