James Acaster had a dramatic time on Celebrity Traitors series 2.
The 41-year-old was recruited into the Traitors fold early in the show’s run, and he spent nine long episodes acting as a reluctant killer.
This all culminated in the comedian leaving Claudia Winkleman’s castle in spectacular style when he outed himself as a Traitor to the round table.
Yet, arguably as dramatic as James’s time in the castle was, it’s been nothing compared to the media coverage of his time in the Scottish Highlands.
It’s been claimed that filming had to be paused at James’s final round table, that Jerry Hall confronted him about being a Traitor (that one is true, to be fair), and some papers have even said he was bullied in the castle.
Reportedly, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan kept teasing James, forcing him to complain to producers about the pair’s behaviour.
However, James has gone on record saying that the reports he complained about Rob and Romesh are untrue.
‘I was like, I’ve been friends with those guys for like over ten years,’ a bemused James told Alan Carr on the Life’s a Beach podcast.
‘They were lovely the entire show; I didn’t complain about any of my fellow players. It’s completely fabricated.’
James then claims his agents, as well as Rob and Romaesh’s agents, denied the allegations, but their denials were ignored.
The BBC has also denied the reports that James was picked on during production.
A spokesperson for The Celebrity Traitors told Metro: ‘Claims of teasing amongst the cast on the show and claims of complaints about teasing are categorically untrue.
‘There were no incidents of this nature, and there is no evidence to support these allegations.’
Fans had been concerned for James after he left the castle. The funny Taskmaster star skipped the final Uncloaked episode, and viewers noted that guests seemed to be avoiding talking about him.
Dr Andy Hershon wrote on X: ‘[Is] James Acaster ok?
Strange not mentioned on the Uncloaked show.’
@TheVocalHero added: ‘Really sad not to see James Acaster on Uncloaked here. Whatever you think about what he did, he’s provided one of the most memorable moments on the show.’
On Reddit, meanwhile, user u/travelprofessor asked fellow fans, ‘Why is nobody mentioning James Acaster? It’s like it never happened, bizarre.’
The Traitors ended with Romesh and Sebastian Crawford scoring a win for the Faithfuls and bagging a shared £83,000 prize for their chosen charities.
Metro has reached out to Rob and Romesh’s representatives for comment.