Julie Hesmondhalgh Banned from Celebrity Traitors After Calling Richard E Grant a Traitor

Julie Hesmondhalgh has been banished from Celebrity Traitors after receiving nine votes at the Round Table, becoming the third contestant to leave the BBC series ^[1]. The Coronation Street star, known for her role as Hayley Cropper, revealed she was a Faithful throughout the game, admitting she had no intention of being a Traitor. Her exit followed the group's earlier mistake of eliminating another Faithful, Myha’la, after wrongly suspecting her ^[2].

Hesmondhalgh described her moment of banishing Richard E Grant as one of the most exhilarating experiences of her life, saying it ranked 'right up there with marriage and childbirth' ^[1]. She added that the moment was 'a bit of a poisoned chalice' due to the resulting arrogance and bloodthirstiness in the group. Despite her strong start, she admitted her game faltered after aggressively targeting Myha’la, who turned out to be a Faithful.

The actress praised Ross Kemp as an 'unexpected love' in the castle, noting his fear of being 'pretend murdered' despite his vivid stories of past experiences ^[1]. She also reflected on being voted the most trustworthy early on, which she found both humbling and ironic, as her image quickly shifted.

Following her elimination, King Kenny expressed frustration, calling her loss a 'biggest loss' as she had been actively hunting Traitors ^[2]. James Blunt, who led the charge against her, admitted he was 'useless at this game' and has been wrong throughout ^[1]. According to Wales Online, Blunt is now the main suspect, though this has not been confirmed.

The episode saw the prize pot rise to £30,500, and viewership peaked at 10.3 million, the highest of the series so far ^[1]. Next week, Rob Beckett, Ross Kemp, or Romesh Ranganathan may be murdered in a face-to-face encounter, with Leigh-Anne Pinnock protected by a key.