The first roundtable

Richard E Grant was banished on Thursday 8 October after he told Joe Lycett, moments after being chosen, that he was a traitor. The actor received the majority of votes from the other contestants, including from both of his fellow traitors, Maya Jama and James Acaster. Speaking to the camera, he said he had been annihilated and had checkmated himself.

I have been annihilated. I have managed to checkmate myself, which, as far as I'm aware, has never been done.

Host Claudia Winkleman told the players that this had never happened before, adding that it was their first try and they had got one. Grant later told The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked that there was "no tactic" behind his slip, calling it his "69th birthday present". He also said it was a "catastrophically idiotic thing to do" and that he had lost all sense of self control after years of watching the show.

Suspicion among the faithfuls

The faithfuls struggled to read the room at the opening roundtable. Grant said hardly any players had looked him in the eye beforehand, with Miranda Hart being friendly in a way he took as a cover for her intentions. Julie Hesmondhalgh noticed Myha'la winking at Grant before voting for him, and her speech accusing Myha'la of being a traitor was judged by the BBC to be mistaken. Myha'la was later banished after receiving the majority of votes from her fellow celebrities, and she told the players:

I have loved getting to know you all, thank you for loving me.

She also warned the faithfuls that the traitors were "a lot smarter" than they might think.

Hannah Fry joins the traitors

Rather than murder, Maya Jama and James Acaster chose to seduce mathematician Hannah Fry and make her the third traitor. Fry accepted their offer after the roundtable, and the BBC reported that she had been expected to be murdered earlier in the episode. Jama reacted to Grant's exit in a message to him: "Richard, you messed it up, but you didn't take me with you." The pair then shortlisted Bella Ramsey, James Blunt and Sebastian Croft for murder, and the episode closed on that cliffhanger.

Richard, you messed it up, but you didn't take me with you. So see you on the outside, my love.

Audience figures

The BBC said episode three peaked at 10.3 million viewers and averaged 10 million, with a 60.4% audience share. The opening episode peaked at 9.1 million and averaged 8.9 million, while the second peaked at 8.6 million and averaged 8.5 million.

What comes next

The fourth episode airs on Friday at 8pm on BBC One. The show is hosted by Claudia Winkleman and features 21 celebrity contestants playing at Ardross Castle in the Highlands, with a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.