Comedian Miranda Hart has joked she has morphed into the 'mad, fat, old aunt role' following her chaotic appearance on BBC series Celebrity Traitors.
The 53-year-old star, who plays as a Faithful on the show, posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday poking fun at her chaotic start to the competition at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands.
During the first two episodes of the hit series, Hart made quite the entrance by yelling 'peacock' while walking into the castle. She later asked co-star Ross Kemp to team up for a challenge and awkwardly curtsied when the former EastEnders actor agreed.
Her most talked-about moment occurred during the graveyard coffin challenge, where she ended up covered in dirt with an unfortunate mud mustache.
Recreating the look in her garden with leaves, twigs, and mud smeared across her face, Hart shared her delight at the show returning to television screens.
"I'm delighted Traitors is on telly finally, it's really fun and genuinely loved it so much, I wish I'd been filming for months," Hart said in the clip. "But I just wonder if I've segued into the mad, fat, old aunt role just a little too soon, I don't know jury's out."
Referring to her encounter with wildlife at the castle, she added: "Peacock! You've greased your what, don't know."
Hart is a popular British comedian and actress best known for writing and starring in her eponymous BBC sitcom Miranda. Celebrity Traitors features celebrities competing for a charity prize of up to £100,000.
Fans praised her humorous reaction to the show on social media, with one viewer writing: "I'm soooo happy you're back on our screens."
Another fan commented: "I would react the same if I saw a peacock! And u would be the best aunt in the world; Peacock! Muddy upper lip, my sort of woman; You're absolutely fabulous in it so far."
Round table cliffhanger
Following Friday's episode, viewers expressed frustration on social media over what many called a "ridiculous" cliffhanger ending that cut off mid round table.
Tension mounted among the contestants as they debated whether actor Richard E Grant is a Faithful or a Traitor. Grant had previously made one of the biggest errors in the history of the show by openly confessing his role to another player.
Just as the celebrities were arguing over Grant's innocence, presenter Claudia Winkleman interrupted the proceedings. "Players the time for talk is over," Winkleman announced, abruptly ending the second episode.
The sudden cut prevented viewers from seeing the stars write their votes on chalkboards, leaving them with a six-day wait until the next episode airs.
Fans vented their disappointment online, with one viewer writing: "Yeah not a fan of these cliffhanger endings on the traitors. Since when did they end the show before a round table vote? Ridiculous."
Another posted: "The one thing about the traitors is it's going to end on a cliffhanger every single time and make you shout at the tv because now we have to wait till next flipping thursday."
Further reactions flooded social media platform X, with one fan asking: "#traitors have they left such a massive cliffhanger to say it wont be Richard?!"
Another viewer questioned the format change: "Why we breaking format? Seen about 20 seasons of The Traitors, breakfast, round table, murder cliffhanger. Why we going to cliffhanger at the round table. Makes the vote off crazy obvious." A fifth fan added: "A CLIFFHANGER!?; Celeb traitors and its addiction to ending abruptly."
First elimination and secret recruitment
Elsewhere in the episode, former BBC Radio 4 Today programme host Amol Rajan became the first contestant eliminated from the series after being murdered by Traitors Richard E Grant and Maya Jama.
Viewers had been left waiting 24 hours to discover whether Rajan or comedian James Acaster would be selected by Grant and Jama to become the third Traitor. Friday's broadcast revealed that Rajan was selected for murder instead.
Host Winkleman paced back and forth before slamming a coffin lid shut on the broadcaster to mark his exit from the castle chapel.
Speaking after his departure, Rajan admitted he was grieving his early exit from the game show.
"It's just an absolutely unforgettable ride of a lifetime," Rajan said. "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."
Rajan added to the camera: "It's game over. It is gutting to be the first out, but James is a fantastic player, and people aren't going to suspect him, and they might suspect me."
"Maybe I was a little bit foolish with Richard, but then again, I ended up in the chapel with a nearly 50/50 chance to join their club," he continued. "But do you know what? Games are games. Just like there are winners, there has to be losers. I've loved the ride."
Richard E Grant confession
Grant, who was selected alongside TV presenter Maya Jama as an initial Traitor by Winkleman, committed a massive game blunder during the launch episode.
While mingling in the castle lounge area, Faithful comedian Joe Lycett asked Grant directly: "What are you?"
Grant responded with a wide grin: "A Traitor."
Unsure whether to take him seriously, Lycett replied: "I think you've just done something that has never happened in the game... bold strategy."
The open confession threw the rest of the celebrity roster into confusion, leaving Grant aware he would face intense scrutiny at the first round table.
Meanwhile, Acaster, who had been leading the suspicion against Grant, was successfully recruited by Grant and Jama. Acaster will now work secretly with them to deceive the Faithfuls.
Record television ratings
The launch of the second series proved a massive rating success for the BBC, attracting a record-breaking audience on Thursday.
Overnight figures indicate the first episode peaked at just over 9 million viewers and averaged 8.9 million. The figures represent the highest premiere ratings in the history of The Traitors UK.
The audience grew by 3 million compared to the launch of the first celebrity series and by 2.5 million compared to series four of the main show, which aired in January.
Last year's inaugural celebrity edition, won by comedian Alan Carr and featuring contestants including Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, Kate Garraway, and Paloma Faith, opened with a peak of 6.5 million viewers and a 6.1 million average.
The January non-celebrity opener registered a 6.9 million peak and averaged 6.4 million viewers. Overall ratings for the current series are expected to increase once catch-up viewers on BBC iPlayer are included.
The broadcast also comfortably outperformed Strictly Come Dancing, whose first live show on Saturday peaked at 5 million viewers, down from 6.2 million at the same stage last year.
Ratings for the flagship BBC dance contest have dropped following the departures of long-standing hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, who have been replaced by Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and dancer Johannes Radebe.
Graveyard mission quit
The 20 remaining contestants took part in their second group task during Friday's episode, which was staged inside a graveyard.
The challenge required players to be buried alive in pairs inside wooden coffins buried in the dirt while soil was shoveled on top of them.
For former model Jerry Hall, the claustrophobic environment became unmanageable. Turning to her challenge partner, mathematician Hannah Fry, Hall said: "I'm sorry I don't think I can handle it."
Hall then shouted the designated safety codeword "haggis", forcing organizers to extract both women from the coffins and failing their portion of the task.
By opting out, Hall and Fry lost their immunity and became vulnerable to the next Traitor murder, while the successful participants secured shielding.
"It was really scary. It is like being in a horror movie. It is awful! Lying in that coffin and then they closed the doors and locked it and started throwing dirt on. My head started spinning. I just had to get out immediately," Hall explained to the camera.
Round table showdown
The episode concluded with the initial round table, where Winkleman delivered a stern opening address to the assembled stars.
"Let's be frank, you are celebrities. You are very successful. When you speak, people listen. You might find that slightly different here," Winkleman said. "At this roundtable there is no VIP treatment. There are no riders, there is no fluffing. If you hit a rough patch, you definitely cannot call your agent. In here, you have to do only one thing, and one thing alone, and that is find the traitors. So then players, for the very first time, the floor is yours."
During the debate, Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh highlighted Grant's earlier admission to the group.
"We are at risk of being the most idiotic group of Faithfuls in the world if we go for someone else tonight based on nothing at all when someone has come in the room and say, 'I am a Traitor'," Hesmondhalgh said.
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan agreed, telling Grant: "You've given all of us a problem because by doing that it was a big mistake by you. I feel like you have forced our hand by the honest truth of it."
Social media users shared strong reactions to the dramatic confrontation. One viewer commented: "If Richard E Grant survives this round table, these faithfuls will be screwed. The man literally told them he was a traitor and then killed one of the main people who was against him and people are still thinking he's a faithful??"
Another fan urged leniency for the actor: "We can't have Richard E Grant going this early. He's too entertaining."
A third viewer praised Grant's demeanor: "Massive respect to Richard who made one of the worst errors of all time on The Traitors and has just laughed his way through all of it."
Speculating on game strategy, another fan wrote: "If Richard goes at the round table THEN they have the choice to recruit so maybe nobody goes? *prays for Hannah."
Viewers will have to wait until next week's broadcast to see whether the Faithfuls vote to banish Grant from the castle.
