Richard Osman has spoken out about the Celebrity Traitors cast as he confirmed the stars that are “missing” from the line-up.
Production on the anticipated spin-off began this week, with a group of famous faces arriving at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands for a brutal game of treachery.
A number of stars were seen landing at Inverness Airport last week, including Jonathan Ross, Tom Daley, Charlotte Church, Stephen Fry, Alan Carr and David Olusoga.
Other famous faces that are expected to feature on the new series are Good morning Britain host Kate Garraway, rugby star Joe Marler, YouTuber Niko Omilana and Line of Duty actor Mark Bonnar.
The line-up is rounded out by comedians Joe Wilkinson and Lucy Beaumont, presenter Clare Balding, EastEnders star Tameka Empson and beloved actresses Celia Imrie and Ruth Codd.
Speaking on his The Rest Is Entertainment podcast with Marina Hyde, Pointless star Richard weighed in on the reported line-up, saying that it is “not” the official list.
“I keep reading that the official list of participants has been released. It has not,” he said.
“There are lists out there which I don’t think were a million miles off the truth, but the official list is yet to be announced.”
“And there are people who are going to be in this who are not on the list I’ve seen as well… I can neither confirm nor deny who is going to be in it, who’s not going to be in it,” Richard continued, adding that he wouldn’t be taking part.
On when the show will hit screens, the presenter said: “You would assume that the regular Traitors will be in its usual slot in January, so you would have thought it would be late September, early October, something like that. But certainly they’re filming as we speak.”
The news comes after reports that the BBC has enforced a number of strict rules on set of the hit reality series.
According to The Sun, the broadcaster has confiscated the celebrities’ phones, with security watching over the stars so they don’t collude with each other before filming begins.
“The BBC aren’t taking any chances with the contestants – even though they’re household names,” an insider explained to the publication.
“They are all holed up in a hotel together but they are being kept apart with a security guard on their floor at all times to make sure they’re not swapping tactics or talking.
“In the normal series of The Traitors, the contestants’ phones are removed and there have been no special measures put in place for the celebs.”
The source concluded: “The BBC want this series to be as explosive as ever, so they won’t allow any collusion.”