James Acaster has finally addressed his unexpected transformation into a national sex symbol thanks to The Celebrity Traitors, and it turns out he’s enjoying the attention.
The comedian, 41, has become an unlikely object of desire for viewers of the hit BBC series, with his appearances inspiring an impressive number of thirst-trap edits across social media.
Apparently, all it takes is a Scottish castle, some suspicious behaviour, and a little facial hair to send the nation into a romantic frenzy.
And while Acaster might be busy trying to deceive his fellow contestants as one of the show’s secret Traitors, he has at least been able to take comfort in the knowledge that people still fancy him.
Speaking on the Vinylly Retentive podcast, the star was asked by The Late Late Show presenter Patrick Kielty how he felt about becoming an ‘accidental sex symbol’.
‘Great. It’s fine. It’s nice,’ he replied.
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‘I’m 41. I’ve spent the last few years since lockdowns being like, “well, that’s it, over for me, no one’s ever going to fancy me again”.’
He added: ‘So it was quite a nicer turn of events to be fancied on Traitors.’
Of course, not everyone has been quite so surprised by Acaster’s sudden heartthrob status.
His close friend and Off Menu podcast co-host Ed Gamble previously told Metro that the comedian’s good looks have been common knowledge among their listeners for years.
Speaking to us earlier this month, Ed admitted he’d been inundated with videos of his pal looking particularly attractive on the show.
‘I’ve been party to this opinion from our listeners for a long time,’ he explained.
‘It’s now just happened on a major scale and people think they’re being original by thinking James is handsome.’
Ed continued: ‘He is a very conventionally handsome man, he is a very clever man, a very nice man, so it does not surprise me in the slightest.’
In fact, the comedian was so delighted by his friend’s newfound popularity that he sent him a rather touching message.
‘The other day I texted him saying: “I’m so proud of my friend for being fit.”‘
And while Acaster might have accidentally become the internet’s latest obsession, his approach to the actual competition has been considerably more deliberate.
The star was initially recruited as a Traitor alongside Maya Jama and King Kenny, although he’s made no secret of his reluctance to embrace the traditional villainous role.
Instead, he’s adopted what has been dubbed the first-ever ‘Faithful Traitor’ strategy, essentially behaving as though he isn’t a Traitor at all.
‘I think what I proved is that you don’t have to be anything in particular to be a traitor,’ he explained.
‘The way that I chose to do it was just by behaving as I was planning to, which was as a faithful.’
He continued: ‘I’ve always watched the show and thought that, and thought, why are you getting made traitors and then going around lying to everyone and then being like devious and then they figure out it’s you.’
Whether the unconventional tactic pays off remains to be seen, with the highly anticipated Celebrity Traitors finale airing on Friday.
But whatever happens, Acaster can leave Ardross Castle knowing that while his fellow contestants may not have trusted him, a significant portion of the viewing public would apparently quite happily marry him.
The Celebrity Traitors concludes on Friday at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.