Several Celebrity Traitors contestants have been accused of cashing in on their appearances, despite BBC rules preventing stars from using the broadcaster’s programmes or brands in advertising and promotions.
Singer James Blunt was reprimanded after promoting the £1,695 tweed suit he wore in the opening episode, and has since appeared to use the programme to advertise tickets for his 2027 Airplane Mode Tour.
The BBC ordered Blunt to remove a post on X promoting Cotswolds-based tailor Barrington Ayre, which supplied the suit.
In a separate, now-deleted Instagram video, the singer used footage of his arrival on the show before telling viewers: “Tickets on sale for my tour now.” His caption added: “Tickets for my tour in February are on sale now! #thecelebritytraitors.”
Tickets for the UK and European tour have a face value of between £50 and £135.
An industry source said the cast had been told about the rules, adding: “This year’s cast know how popular the show is and how much success can come off the back of it, but they have to be wary not to cross the line.”
“The rules have been explained to them, and BBC bosses expect the contestants to stick to them,” the source said.
Celebrity Traitors contestants promote businesses and new projects
Miranda Hart’s online shop has also referred to the programme while promoting its range of clothes and homeware. The store sells mugs for £14.99 and a tea towel for £16.99 featuring some of the comedian’s best-known catchphrases.
On the day the first episode aired, an Instagram post encouraged viewers watching the show to buy mugs for “some such fun” during their “sofa snuggles”. A post the following day referred to Hart “sashay[ing] around a shipwreck” and “canter[ing] around the castle”, before directing followers to the shop.
The business donates a proportion of its revenue to Astriid, which supports people with long-term chronic illness, and Spear, which helps young people facing barriers to work or education.
James Acaster is due to release a debut album with his band, The Wow! Scenario, next week. The record, Stand in the Star. A Verse and a Chorus, is said to have been 22 years in the making.
Acaster described the timing as a coincidence in an interview, but said he was “totally ‘here for it’” as the album arrives while he is at the centre of the BBC reality show.
Joanne McNally has been promoting her Dublin stand-up tour, with a fourth and final date at the 3Arena put on sale last week. Tickets cost between €42.40 and €72.40 and are almost sold out.
Maths professor Hannah Fry announced her 2027 tour, Come Fry With Me, shortly before the series began. Tickets cost £30, although Fry was banished during Thursday’s episode.
Actor and singer Sebastian Croft released his single Good Light on Friday, after releasing Pretty People in the same week he arrived at the castle.
“I feel the same about music as I do about Traitors,” Croft said. “They have been this thing on the horizon for so long, and it’s so weird that both are starting to be put out into the world at the same time.”
Former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock also released a new single just hours before the sixth episode aired.
Social media attention brings extra income
Some cast members have used footage from the show on social media without apparently breaching BBC rules. Maya Jama, who has 1.2 million Instagram followers, posted a clip filmed in the back of a Land Rover which attracted 1.8 million views.
That level of engagement can provide what was described as “pocket money” through social media viewing figures.
Channel 4 has also sought to benefit from interest in the BBC programme by creating a dedicated section on its homepage featuring the current contestants and programmes in which they have appeared.
The broadcaster’s coverage includes former contestants Alan Carr and Jonathan Ross, as well as host Claudia Winkleman.
Joe Lycett’s Channel 4 pub series also featured several Celebrity Traitors cast members, including Hart, Michael Sheen and McNally. References to the programme appeared throughout the six episodes, despite contestants being bound by non-disclosure agreements.
Promotional posts for The Lycett Arms described the cast meeting at the pub and used Celebrity Traitors hashtags, underlining the commercial attention surrounding the BBC hit.
