Richard Osman Breaks Embargo, Reveals Celebrity Traitors Season 2 Premiere Date
Richard Osman broke a BBC embargo on live stage, telling a London audience that The Celebrity Traitors Season 2 will premiere on 23 September 2026.
Osman was co-hosting a live episode of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast with Marina Hyde when former England rugby player Joe Marler — a contestant on Season 1 — speculated aloud: "What is it, September 23, the next series?" Osman confirmed the date, then immediately tried to walk it back. "By the way, to point out, it's absolutely embargoed that it starts on September 23," he said. "The cat's out of the bag, isn't it? Not to repeat it." Deadline
A BBC insider joked that Marler appeared to be "moonlighting in the BBC One scheduling team" but declined to confirm the 23 September date. The BBC's own media centre had previously announced a start of Saturday 19 September (BBC Media Centre), while a Deadline report dated 31 August cited an 8 October premiere. With Osman's on-stage confirmation on 6 September being the most recent statement, 23 September stands as the latest reported date — though still unconfirmed by the BBC.
The new season has a cast that reads like a premiere night guest list: Bella Ramsey, Michael Sheen, Richard E. Grant, Myha'la, Sharon Rooney, Maya Jama, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Jerry Hall. Claudia Winkleman returns as host. BBC content chief Kate Phillips told the Edinburgh TV Festival to expect "tears and surprises" in the new run.
Behind the scenes, production was not smooth. Osman said he had heard from Season 2 contestants that filming "was quite intense." A Deadline source went further, describing the shoot as a "nightmare" that proved tricky for producer Studio Lambert. Marler, who lived through Season 1, said Season 2 carried a different emotional weight: contestants wanted to win from the start, feeling the pressure of the first series' success.
The stakes are real. Season 1 of The Celebrity Traitors was the most-watched show on British television in 2025, drawing an average audience of 14.9 million and a finale peak of 15.4 million when it debuted on BBC One and iPlayer in October 2025. Comedian Alan Carr took the win in a cast that also featured Stephen Fry and Celia Imrie.
The series is produced by Studio Lambert Scotland for BBC One and iPlayer, commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC's Head of Entertainment Commissioning. An embargo on a premiere date is standard practice — networks coordinate press and publicity around an announced window — which makes Osman's slip a scheduling decision made on a London stage rather than in a press release.
For fans, the wait is now measured in weeks, not months. Whether the BBC adjusts its official communications to match Osman's reveal remains an open question.
