Here's Why This TV Icon Claimed They Had To Turn Down An Appearance On Celebrity Traitors

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis has said he turned down an offer to appear on the celebrity version of The Traitors.

Filming on the first ever celebrity edition of the Bafta-winning reality show got underway on Tuesday, ahead of the show airing later this year.

However, one famous face we won’t be seeing on the line-up is the finance expert, who claimed on Instagram that he gave the BBC’s offer the thumbs down...

Why did Martin Lewis turn down the chance to appear on the celebrity edition of The Traitors?

Posting on Instagram on Tuesday night, the TV personality admitted he had “FOMO looking at the Celebrity Traitors line-up”.

“I was asked if I wanted to do it, but said no as I couldn’t commit the time,” he claimed. “I hadn’t watched it then (but watched the last series after that and loved it) so now feel a little gutted – though I still don’t have the time.”

“Sigh!” he added.

Have any other celebrities turned down the chance to appear on The Traitors?

In a word, yes.

Back in January, The Apprentice advisor Karren Brady told Metro that she’d been contacted with an offer to appear on Celebrity Traitors, but didn’t entertain the idea for long.

“I was asked and the answer was no,” she said. “One, I’ve never seen it. Two, I don’t have the time.”

She added: “I have a full-time job and The Apprentice is filmed just in my sweet spot in the summer when the football season is over, so I can just about fit in. But that’s it.”

Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher also claimed he’d also been approached about taking part, but turned the offer down flat as, in his words, “I don’t do celebrity”.

Conversely, TV legend Lesley Joseph said she’d made herself available to appear on Celebrity Traitors, only to discover that “they didn’t want me”.

So – we know who isn’t on Celebrity Traitors, but which stars are on the line-up?

Well, keep in mind that these are yet to be confirmed by the BBC, but on the day that filming got underway, The Sun claimed to have unearthed the “full” list of stars.

The tabloid’s list included a host of stars who had already been rumoured to be taking part including Tom Daley, Alan Carr, Charlotte Church, Paloma Faith, Clare Balding, Kate Garraway, Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, Nick Mohammed, Joe Wilkinson and Joe Marler.

However, there were also some surprises in the mix, including soap icon Tameka Empson, TV legend Celia Imrie, Line Of Duty star Mark Bonnar, Netflix performer Ruth Codd, comedian Lucy Beaumont, pop singer Cat Burns, historian David Olusoga and YouTube prankster Niko Omilana.

The Mirror has also named Bob Mortimer as another star competing on the inaugural celebrity line-up.

Celebrity Traitors will air in the autumn, with a new season of the regular show premiering in early 2026.