Celebrity Traitors star James Acaster claims bosses edited out key scene which shows why Julie Hesmondhalgh really got banished and says there was 'evidence of lying'

The nation is currently hooked on the latest Celebrity Traitors series – however what you see on the screen isn't always how it actually unravels in the castle. 

The Traitor's first recruit James Acaster has claimed bosses edited out a key scene which showed why Julie Hesmondhalgh was really banished. 

Last Thursday fans saw the Coronation Street actress voted out by her fellow contestants, despite them deeming her the most trustworthy during episode one. 

This nomination earned her a shield, but James Blunt later revealed his theory that in voting for the most trustworthy player they had in fact hand-picked their first Traitor. 

However now James Acaster has revealed that wasn't the reason James Blunt began his crusade against her and wrote her name on the chalkboard. 

The comedian explained: 'In the edit James Blunt's reason was that Julie was given the first shield. What actually happened is that when they did the shoulder tap for the Traitors' pick at the beginning, James told Julie who he thought was acting suspiciously around the table.'

In the moments that followed, before the Traitors had met for the first time in the turret, James Acaster was talking to Julie and told her to look for people who weren't being forthcoming with their theories – as a Traitor wouldn't risk incriminating another Traitor by mistake. 

Acaster recalled in an interview with Times2: 'Julie then went into the room where James [Blunt] was and put this to everyone and says, "Like you James [Blunt]. You're not sharing your theories with anyone", and then James is thinking, "Well that's not true because I just shared mine with you at the table".'  

'When Julie got voted out, James presented this as evidence of lying. That's why Julie got voted off. Which isn't in the edit.'

Instead bosses have presented the shield theory as the reason Julie's fellow Faithfuls turned on her, as well as her refusal to share Bella Ramsey's theories after she was murdered. 

This may potentially put James Blunt in the firing line after he fought so hard to get Julie banished.  

It comes after fellow traitor Maya admitted it was a 'stupid decision' to recruit James and Hannah Fry as she shared some behind-the-scenes secrets from her time in the castle.

The Love Island host, 32, has been embracing her inner villain as one of the Traitors on the BBC show, and so far has avoided any suspicion from the Faithfuls.

Maya was chosen by host Claudia Winkleman as a Traitor alongside Richard E Grant, but the veteran actor made a huge slip-up that led to him becoming the first player to be banished.

In a video shared on TikTok, Maya confessed she had no idea that both James and Hannah had said they didn't want to be Traitors, and if she'd known she would never have suggested to Richard they recruit them.

She said: 'I think enough time's passed and I can talk about some stuff without it being a spoiler.

'So starting with this, I had no idea that James and Hannah didn't want to be a Traitor because what you're seeing on TV is the interview with Claudia, and obviously if I knew that I would never have agreed to recruit them because that's just stupid.

'I get it, we're making the best of a bad situation at this point, and I am stressed.'

Sharing her experience on the show, Maya added: 'As you can tell I was trying to have fun but it is intense and when you are a Traitor you're going to bed late because you're in the turret.

'So I was on minimal sleep from day one because I'm the only OG left.

'And I didn't even wash my hair! From episode four, I hadn't washed my hair because I had no time in the mornings. I wanted more sleep than I wanted to do glam.'

Maya also reflected on the moment viewers saw her unknowingly walk into the room while Sebastian Croft was discussing whether she was a Traitor.

She said: 'Because there are so many things that you don't know.

'Conversations that were happening behind your back. Me walking in on Bash talking about me. No idea. And yeah, it's just, it's such a wild, wild.'