Gardener James’ old BBC appearance has been unearthed which was filmed years before The Traitors
A contestant from the 2026 series of The Traitors has previously featured on another BBC programme where he shared a passionate rant about politics.
Weymouth-based gardener James revealed before the The Traitors began: “I love the show, but I didn’t start watching The Traitors until the second series because people nagged me. I used to play a lot of poker, and it has similarities, especially the Roundtable.”
Beyond his gardening career, James is also a musician who plays guitar. Living with ADHD, he characterises himself as a “bouncy Duracell bunny” and is drawn to the “geeky” nature of the programme.
However, The Traitors wasn’t his first appearance on BBC television – James previously featured in the Question Time audience, where he posed a question to the political panel, reports the Express.
During that 2020 appearance, he spoke fervently about immigration policy. With panellists including Labour’s Alison McGovern, former environment secretary George Eustice and ex-Tory MP Michael Portillo, James expressed concerns about new immigration legislation that encouraged “nationalism”.
He stated on the programme: “Any illusion that Boris Johnson might have been a bit neutered after his election win, has gone out the window, it’s nationalism to me.”
“It’s picking someone over a bit of land they were born on if they have got the skills to give them a chance to move on up.
“It just seems a little bit worrying; it’s not been the Brexit dream of utopia.
“It’s the first realistic, grim step that’s going to be a bit of a scary wake-up call, and people might have a few regrets.”
In the episode, Michael Portillo likened the BBC to “a polar bear on a receding piece of ice” in its struggle against behemoths like Netflix and Amazon. He stated: “The BBC is not proud of BBC World.”
When McGovern countered with: “I think the people who work on BBC World are probably proud of BBC World,” Portillo responded: “I’m not sure they are.”
He continued: “But the point is 20 years Netflix was a corner shop renting videotapes. Today is it spending $10 billion a year on content.
“20 years ago the BBC was a global name, today the BBC is wedded to the licence fee. It is like a polar bear on a receding piece of ice.”
The Traitors continues on Wednesday night (January 14) at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer. For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.
