Glasgow actress Sharon Rooney will fly the flag for Scotland when one of the biggest shows on British television returns this week.
The My Mad Fat Diary and Barbie star is the sole Scottish contestant among the 21 famous faces entering the castle for the second series of The Celebrity Traitors.
Rooney, 37, will join an unusually heavyweight cast including Michael Sheen, Richard E Grant, Miranda Hart, Maya Jama, James Blunt, Ross Kemp, Bella Ramsey and former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
Comedians James Acaster, Joe Lycett, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan and Joanne McNally are also taking part, alongside broadcaster Amol Rajan, mathematician Professor Hannah Fry and model Jerry Hall.
The Celebrity Traitors returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm on Thursday, 1 October, with Claudia Winkleman once again overseeing the deception at the Highland castle.
The series is filmed at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, where the celebrities will be divided between Faithfuls and a smaller group of secret Traitors.
The Faithfuls must attempt to identify and banish the Traitors at the Round Table before they themselves are “murdered” and removed from the game.
The contestants will compete to build a prize pot of up to £100,000, which will ultimately be donated to charity. The new series will run for ten hour-long episodes.
Rooney grew up in Glasgow and shot to prominence playing Rae Earl in Channel 4’s My Mad Fat Diary, which began in 2013.
The breakthrough role earned her widespread acclaim and a BAFTA Scotland award, before she went on to build a career across UK television and major international films.
Scottish viewers will also recognise her from BBC comedy Two Doors Down, while her film credits include Disney’s live-action Dumbo and Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie, in which she appeared as Lawyer Barbie.
Her appearance on The Celebrity Traitors puts her into one of the most watched programmes on British television.
The first celebrity series became the UK’s biggest television hit of 2025, averaging 14.9 million viewers across its run, according to figures released by the BBC. Its finale peaked at 15.4 million as comedian Alan Carr was revealed as the winner after successfully surviving the game as a Traitor.
The second series again comes from Studio Lambert Scotland and will place the action firmly back in the Highlands, with Rooney the only Scot among the celebrities trying to work out exactly who they can trust.
The Celebrity Traitors begins on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm on Thursday, 1 October.
Sharon Rooney revealed her take on the show, have a look at the interview below.
Why did you decide to take part in The Celebrity Traitors?
I mean, I love the show. It’s one of those things that you can’t say no to. I’ve not even started yet, and this already feels like a wild dream. It’s been crazy seeing the list of everyone else taking part.
Is it nice to be filming in Scotland?
Definitely. Oh, it’s absolutely beautiful here. I still live in Scotland, I love home and I’ve probably had the shortest journey to the castle.
Would you like to be a Traitor or a Faithful?
I don’t think I’m cut out to be a Traitor really. The main reason being I don’t have a good poker face. And I think that is kind of quite high up in the job description.
It is quite important…
Yeah, because the cloak’s good for hiding, but you can’t wear it all the time because then they can tell that you’re a Traitor. I think I would be quite rubbish at that. I don’t know if I’d be a good Faithful either. We’ll have to see.
Do you play a lot of games generally? Would there be board games being played in your house at Christmas?
I have a lot of board games. I don’t always play them. I’m an only child and I’ve always been given board games. I’m like, that’s lovely, but who am I playing these with? Just me! I always let myself win. I was like, would you look at that? I win again! I’m not remotely competitive either. I’ve learned so far in preparation for this that I don’t have a lot of good traits for this game!
Well, not necessarily, because it’s different every time because of the people taking part…
Exactly. And if your traits are the right traits for the other people around you, then happy days.
How would you describe that strategy in three words?
My strategy for the game is like my strategy in life, and I think it would just be - keep yourself right. That would mean I’m not going to be swayed by any peer pressure. I’m not going to just vote for someone because everyone’s doing it. If I don’t think it’s right, I’m not going to do it. I think that might be dangerous because it might make me look guilty, but I hate that thing where people vote for someone just because everyone’s doing it. I’ll be true to myself, and I won’t just go along with the crowd.
Do you see yourself as more of a leader, a team player, or a lone wolf, and why?
I always try to be a team player but to my previous point I will happily go my own way if I think something is wrong. I’m not going to just go with the flow to keep the peace.
Are you better at telling lies or spotting them?
I can’t tell a lie. I’m really bad at lying. If I’m picked as a Traitor, I’d have to treat it as an acting role but be a version of me. I wouldn’t be able to just relax and fully be myself because I can’t lie. Even when I was little, if I’d broken something I’d immediately confess.
It’s hard to tell such an honest child off
My mum said it was a nightmare. I’d tell her “I cut off all that doll’s hair because I wanted to see what it looked like,” and she’d be like, “Oh well, right. You won’t be getting another doll.”
What do you think will be your biggest strength and your biggest weakness in the game?
My biggest strength will be that I will not be easily swayed. My biggest weakness, I think, will be that I sometimes do get a wee bit quiet when there are a lot of people. One on one, no bother. Two or three, excellent. 20 or more people – that’s a lot. You don’t find me chatting away in a packed green room. I think I’ll see who I’m drawn to… and hopefully they won’t murder or banish me!