Ricky Gervais says The Traitors ‘couldn’t afford’ him after comedian is tipped for celebrity edition
Report had claimed that the BBC was pursuing Gervais for the new reality series
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Ricky Gervais has rubbished reports that he is being lined up to star in a celebrity version of the hit reality TV show The Traitors.
It had been reported that Gervais, known for co-creating and starring in the BBC sitcom The Office, was being eyed for the line-up of The Traitors, in which contestants are covertly divided into “Traitors” and “Faithfuls” and tasked with weeding out the deceivers in their midst.
Writing on X/Twitter, Gervais replied to a post sharing the report, writing that he “loves the show” but that he would not be appearing on it.
“I love the show and I’m very flattered, but it won’t happen. I’m too busy and there’s no way they could afford me,” he wrote, alongside an emoji of a face wearing sunglasses.
Last week, the BBC confirmed that The Traitors had been renewed for a fourth season, alongside a new UK celebrity version of the show.
The Claudia Winkelman-hosted series has been a big ratings hit for the Beeb, with over seven million people tuning in to watch the finale of the most recent series.
A third season, slated to air in January 2025, has already been recorded, with another now confirmed to be in the works.
Announcing the news, BBC’s head of entertainment, Kalpna Patel-Knight said: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level.
“It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!”
Last week, Gervais marked a new milestone for his acclaimed Netflix series After Life, following resurfaced criticism of the show from comedian Stewart Lee.
The controversial stand-up comic wrote on X/Twitter: ““Thanks to the 160 million people who made After Life the most-watched British sitcom in the world.”
Following this, he shared another post thanking “the hundreds of millions of people who watched my specials Humanity, SuperNature and Armageddon on Netflix. Especially the people who complained. Best marketing in the world.”
Gervais’s recent specials have attracted criticism for some of their jokes, particularly material concerning trans people, which material LGBT viewers have characterised as transphobic.
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