James Acaster admits “concern” over number of comedians on The Celebrity Traitors 2

James Acaster has predicted that he and his fellow cohort of comedians will come under suspicion early doors on the new series of The Celebrity Traitors.

Of the 21 celebs taking part in this year’s series, one third of them – seven people – work in comedy, a fact which Acaster believes means it statistically likely that at least one of them will be selected to become a Traitor.

Speaking before filming began earlier this year, he theorised: “There will be suspicions that it’s going to be at least one of these guys, that we might form an alliance if we’re not broken apart. I think we’re going to be the first ones under the magnifying glass being looked at. Particularly at the beginning when you have absolutely nothing to go on.

“And then you consider that a comedian won last year with Alan Carr disarming everyone with jokes the whole time. He has tainted us all!

“Hannah Fry will probably tell you that probability-wise, there’s most likely to be at least one comic chosen as a Traitor because there’s enough of us. Even though it could obviously easily be three people who aren’t comedians… I don’t know how it works out, but if maths turns against us we’re in big trouble.”

Asked if he knows any of the celebs from the last series, he answered: “I know some of the comics. I saw both Joe Wilkinson and Nick Mohammed after they’d done it and l said, ‘Yo, congrats! It was great!’

“They talked to me a bit about what it was like for them. I think they both had different experiences. Joe was very laid back, and Nick was very much trying to crack the case. I think I’m going to be a mix of the two.”

The Celebrity Traitors launches Thursday night at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.