Celebrity Traitors' first victim Amol Rajan brands Maya Jama a 'satanic villain' after being murdered

Celebrity Traitors' first victim Amol Rajan has branded Maya Jama a 'satanic villain' after he was brutally murdered on the show.

The journalist, 43, was bumped off by Traitors Maya, 32, and Richard E. Grant, 69, before she then joined the masses in banishing an overenthusiastic Richard during the dramatic first round table.

And speaking following his exit, which saw him shut into a coffin as the Traitors opted to recruit comedian James Acaster, 41, over him, Amol gave his verdict on the Love Island host and her murderous ways. 

He told Radio Times magazine: 'I love her and hate her. A huge satanic, villainous power. She was able to inhabit the role of a traitor 100 per cent.'

Maya's stellar embodiment of a Traitor saw her forced to admonish recruits James and Professor Hannah Fry, 42, for their reluctance to bump off the Faithfuls without remorse. 

Speaking to the pair in the turrets, Maya scolded: 'I can't be the only one out here killing people.

'Where is Richard when I need him? The spirit of Rich. If he were in here right now, he would be enjoying every moment of this. 

'I need you guys to snap into that mentality. I never thought I'd have to tell you guys to snap into murder mode. It is called the Traitors!'

James then told her: 'You have ended up with two of the biggest Faithfuls in the game.'

Maya recently expressed her regret at recruiting the pair as her fellow Traitors, writing on X on Saturday: 'All I will say after last night's episode is I had NO IDEA they didn't want to be Traitors when I agreed to recruit them. Remember you see more on the TV than I did in that castle #CelebrityTraitors.'

Meanwhile, Amol went on to theorise that the more low-profile players such as Sharon Rooney or Leigh-Anne Pinnock would go far in the game as opposed to 'round table hotheads' like Richard or Ross Kemp.  

He said: 'It wouldn't be someone like Richard E Grant, or Ross. I think if you're a loud, big character, it's a problem for you.'

Speaking after his shock exit, Amol admitted that he is 'grieving' being kicked off so early in the series.

He said: 'It's just an absolutely unforgettable ride of a lifetime. And, honestly, there's kind of an unhappy contrast right now, because I'm sort of grieving what might have been. In time I know that I'll come to look on this as honestly one of the greatest privileges of my life.'

Meanwhile, while BBC bosses have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the outcome of Celebrity Traitors under wraps, they appear to have their work cut out for them this year.

A string of incidents has left show bosses increasingly on edge, with fears of a potentially catastrophic leak mounting despite stringent non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) designed to keep the closely guarded secrets under lock and key.

The Daily Mail can reveal one breach of the rules involved Richard E. Grant and happened four months before the show even launched, with a BBC insider stating: 'Players have once again been reminded about keeping the outcome of the game to themselves following a number of incidents'.

Richard did the unthinkable by announcing to the group he was a Traitor just hours into the show, before being banished at the first roundtable.

And BBC presenters Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie have said it wasn't the first time Richard blurted out he was a Traitor when he wasn't supposed to.

They say Richard told them during an interview in June, adding that their 'brilliant producers' were forced to cut parts of the interview due to his slip-up.

On a recent episode of their Radio 6 Music show, they shared: 'People were saying when Joe Lycett said to him on Traitors, 'What are you?' and he says 'Traitor' that was his downfall, but if they had been listening in June, you would have heard that he revealed it earlier, so we took this out because we didn't want to spoil your enjoyment.'

Now that Richard's fate has been revealed, Mark and Stuart played the original clip from the interview, where they asked the Oscar-nominated star if actors have an advantage on the show.

He responded: 'You would think so, but the very nature of being an actor is that you rely entirely on the camaraderie of the people that you are working with and to trust them, and when you are a Traitor it's far more challenging than you might anticipate.

'You would think it would be easy for actors; I think the reverse is the case.'

Contestants on The Traitors, both celebrity and civilian versions, face potential lawsuits and fines of upwards of £100,000 for breaching their NDAs.

The celebrities signed the documents before heading to Ardross Castle in Scotland to film the series in May, with Ross Kemp saying the NDA was 'longer than the Bayeux Tapestry'.

The Mail understands that the BBC is aware of Richard's interview slip-up and will take no further action.