The Celebrity Traitors series 2 starts tonight, Thursday 1 October 2026, at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer, and the money behind it is just as interesting as the murders. Twenty-one famous faces walk into a Scottish castle on screen tonight with a reported £40,000 appearance fee each and a shot at a prize pot worth up to £100,000, which goes to charity rather than into anyone’s bank account.
Claudia Winkleman is back as host of Celebrity Traitors series 2, the show is back at Ardross Castle in the Highlands, and the cast is bigger than last year’s. Here is what each celebrity stands to earn, what the winner actually walks away with, and why the BBC is spending so heavily on this format.
Celebrity Traitors Series 2: What Happens Tonight
Episode one airs at 8pm on BBC One, with the full run of ten episodes going out on Thursdays and Fridays, according to the series listing. The opening night follows the usual pattern: the celebrities arrive, Winkleman picks her Traitors in secret, and the first round table begins to sort the liars from the loyal.
The Celebrity Traitors series 2 cast was confirmed back in May. It mixes Hollywood actors, comedians, presenters and one big social media name, which is a deliberate step up from last year’s line-up.
| Celebrity | Known for |
|---|---|
| Michael Sheen | Actor, The Damned United, Good Omens |
| Richard E. Grant | Actor, Withnail and I, Oscar nominee |
| Bella Ramsey | Actor, The Last of Us |
| Jerry Hall | Model and actress |
| James Blunt | Singer-songwriter |
| Maya Jama | TV presenter, Love Island |
| Leigh-Anne Pinnock | Singer, Little Mix |
| Miranda Hart | Actress and comedian |
| Ross Kemp | Actor and documentary presenter |
| Hannah Fry | Mathematician and broadcaster |
| Amol Rajan | Journalist, University Challenge host |
| James Acaster, Joe Lycett, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Joanne McNally | Comedians and presenters |
| Julie Hesmondhalgh, Myha’la, Sharon Rooney, Sebastian Croft | Actors |
| King Kenny | Social media personality |
How Much Are the Celebrities Paid?
The BBC does not publish talent fees for individual shows, so the figures come from press reports. The number that keeps coming up for this series is a flat fee of £40,000 per celebrity, which was reported ahead of the launch. Flat is the key word. A celebrity who is murdered on night one gets the same cheque as the one who reaches the final.
Do the maths and the cast bill alone is around £840,000 for 21 people. That sits on top of the cost of renting a Highland castle for weeks, a large crew, and Winkleman’s own presenting deal. For the stars, £40,000 for a few weeks of filming is decent money, but for names like Michael Sheen or Richard E. Grant it is well below a film fee. Most of them are there for the exposure and the charity angle, not the pay.
The Prize Pot: Up to £100,000, but Not for Them
This is the twist many casual viewers miss. Unlike the civilian version of The Traitors, where the winners split the cash and take it home, Celebrity Traitors series 2 plays for charity. The pot can reach a maximum of £100,000 and it builds up through the missions. Fail a mission and money is lost for good.
The winner, or winners, then hand the total to the charity they chose before filming. If a Faithful survives to the end and all the Traitors are gone, the Faithfuls share the honour. If a Traitor sneaks through, that Traitor’s charity gets the lot.
| Figure | Series 1 (2025) | Series 2 (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrities in the castle | 19 | 21 |
| Maximum prize pot | £100,000 | £100,000 |
| Final pot won | £87,500 | To be decided |
| Winner | Alan Carr (Traitor) | To be decided |
| Charity | Neuroblastoma UK | Chosen by each celebrity |
| Reported fee per celebrity | Not confirmed | £40,000 |
Why the BBC Is Spending Big on Celebrity Traitors Series 2
The answer is the ratings. The first series was the most-watched show on British television in 2025. According to the series 1 record, the finale reached 14.94 million viewers on a consolidated basis and the series averaged 13.35 million. Alan Carr won as the last Traitor standing and took £87,500 to Neuroblastoma UK, beating Faithfuls David Olusoga and Nick Mohammed.
Numbers like that are rare for any broadcaster now. For the BBC, a show that pulls in younger viewers on iPlayer and older viewers on live TV is worth far more than the cast bill. That is why Celebrity Traitors series 2 grew from 19 to 21 celebrities and why the names are bigger.
Compare it with American reality TV and the gap is clear. CBS still pays its Survivor winners a cash prize, as we covered in our look at Survivor 51 prize money, and Gordon Ramsay’s contestants chase a job plus cash, which we broke down in our Hell’s Kitchen season 25 prize money story. Celebrity Traitors is different: the stars are paid to show up, and the prize is purely for charity.
What It Means for the Money
For the Celebrity Traitors series 2 cast, the fee is the only guaranteed income. The real value comes after. A big prime-time run tends to lift bookings, tour sales and social media following, and this show reaches more viewers than almost anything else on British TV. A comedian who goes deep in the game can sell out a tour on the back of it. An actor gets a softer, funnier public image.
Some of the cast hardly need the money. Celebrity Net Worth puts Richard E. Grant’s net worth at $8 million. Jerry Hall is widely estimated at around $20 million after decades of modelling. Michael Sheen is the most interesting case. He called himself a “not-for-profit actor” in 2021 and later used £100,000 of his own money to wipe out £1 million of debt for 900 people in South Wales for a Channel 4 documentary.
It is the same pattern we saw with coaching fees on The Voice season 30: the stars are already rich, and TV gives them reach that money cannot buy.
Celebrity Traitors Series 2: Quick FAQs
What time is Celebrity Traitors series 2 on tonight?
Episode one starts at 8pm on BBC One on Thursday 1 October 2026, and it is available on BBC iPlayer at the same time. New episodes follow on Thursdays and Fridays.
How much do the celebrities get paid?
Press reports put the fee at a flat £40,000 per celebrity. The BBC has not confirmed the number.
What is the prize on Celebrity Traitors series 2?
The prize pot can reach £100,000. It goes to the winning celebrity’s chosen charity, not to the celebrity.
Who won the first series?
Alan Carr won as a Traitor and raised £87,500 for Neuroblastoma UK.
The Bottom Line
Celebrity Traitors series 2 is the BBC’s biggest bet of the autumn. Twenty-one stars, a reported £40,000 each, and up to £100,000 for charity. The cast will not get rich from it, but after last year’s record ratings, the show itself is one of the most valuable things on British TV. Watch the first round table tonight and see who lies best.
