Amol Rajan joins Metro as Celebrity Traitors columnist

***Warning: Spoilers for Celebrity Traitors season two, episode one***

Amol Rajan has spent years grilling politicians, asking wickedly tricky questions on University Challenge, and now he’s attempting to survive the most devious reality show out there: Celebrity Traitors.

And from next week, he is taking on another new role as he joins Metro as our very own Celebrity Traitors columnist.

The broadcaster and former Today presenter will be writing exclusively for Metro throughout the new series, giving readers his take on the betrayals, banishments, alliances and questionable behaviour unfolding on our screens.

Rajan is among the 21 celebrities in the castle for series two of the monster hit series, which returned on Thursday on BBC One.

And with his first-hand experience of the game, who better to tell us what’s really going on behind those suspicious looks around the round table?

Rajan was among several of the cast members who pitched themselves to Claudia Winkleman as a perfect Traitors pick in the dramatic first episode, which aired on Thursday night. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be for Rajan, at least not at the first round table gathering.

Instead, it was Maya Jama and Richard E Grant who got the fateful tap on the shoulder. At the end of the first episode, Rajan’s fate hangs in the balance: he could be the third Traitor or the first to be murdered.

He and James Acaster were selected as the two Faithful who had to pitch themselves, Dragons’ Den style, for recruitment to the Traitors’ turret.

Rajan, ever the wordsmith, laid out his argument in three salient points, using his day job as an asker of tough questions as a reason to keep him around.

But who will the Traitors pick to join them? Will our columnist survive the first week in Ardross Castle? All will be revealed during Friday night’s episode.

Who is Amol Rajan?

Amol Rajan, 43, is one of the UK’s most prominent journalists, moving from newspapers to some of the most prestigious broadcasting jobs in the country.

After studying English at the University of Cambridge, Rajan started out as a journalist at The Independent in 2007, eventually becoming the newspaper’s editor in 2013 at just 29.

He left The Independent in 2016 to join the BBC as its first media editor, a role that saw him become a familiar face and voice across the broadcaster. He went on to present The Media Show on Radio 4, as well as taking on a number of television projects and becoming a regular interviewer.

Rajan joined the presenting team on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in 2021, interviewing some of the biggest names in politics, culture and entertainment during his five years on the flagship show.

Shortly before his Celebrity Traitors stint, he stepped down from Today in September 2026, while continuing to work with the BBC.

As well as being a news and current affairs heavyweight, Rajan has also carved out a name for himself in entertainment, taking over as host of University Challenge in 2023, succeeding long-time presenter Jeremy Paxman, and has since become a familiar presence on BBC One, occasionally hosting episodes of The One Show.

Rajan recently launched The Amol Rajan Connection, a new media platform and community featuring interviews and content across platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn. The venture officially launched in September 2026, following his Today programme departure.

He is married to Dr Charlotte Faircloth, Associate Professor of Social Science in the UCL Social Research Institute, UK.

The couple met at Downing College at Cambridge Uni, and married in 2013, and they have a busy family life with four children under the age of eight.

Celebrity Traitors continues on Friday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.