Clare Balding’s brother, Andrew, has confessed that he hasn’t seen a single episode of Celebrity Traitors. This Saturday, at the Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot, the renowned racehorse trainer will go head-to-head with Aidan O’Brien for the 2025 Flat trainers’ championship. Currently trailing the Irishman by £600,000 in second place, the title race is reaching its thrilling conclusion.
With a stable full of top-tier horses to manage, Andrew admits he’s had no time to keep up with his sister’s appearance on the BBC primetime show.
He admitted: “I’m ashamed to say I haven’t had a chance to watch Traitors. But I think we’ll get it on iPlayer and maybe when the kids are back for half-term we’ll watch it then. I have to try and work out how it… I don’t understand the rules.”
Andrew won’t need much time to catch up on Clare’s journey after she was expelled from the castle during Thursday’s episode. She received seven votes from her fellow contestants.
She expressed: “I came in with only one strategy, which was to be nice to absolutely everyone, and I have had the best time, and I love all of you.”
Before her departure, Balding had teamed up with Irish actress Ruth Codd, who was killed off on the same night. Upon finding her letter confirming her demise, Codd stated: “I was murdered definitely because I was a threat to the traitors.
“I was one of the few people in the group that had my own mind that couldn’t be influenced. I’m mentally extremely strong and stubborn. I really do wish the faithfuls the best of luck.”
Upon her departure, Codd revealed her unexpected connection with Clare Balding: “Clare Balding, an unlikely duo, I kind of look like her goth child that should be a disappointment, but she’s incredibly proud of.
“Charlotte Church is another amazing woman, Celia [Imrie] too, those three women, really, I don’t even know if they know how much they just made the experience for me.
“Really, regardless of whether they’re traitors or faithfuls, I don’t really care. I think the three of them are amazing and people you’d never cross paths with ordinarily in life.”
Codd admitted to being unsure about her allegiance at the start of the show, stating she was “50/50” about being a faithful, but ultimately found herself content as she discovered she was “quite a loyal person.”
She elaborated: “I’m not good with big groups, and I normally keep myself to myself, so I wasn’t expecting to go into a big group and fit in right away. I was part of it from the beginning and I’m really glad that I didn’t have to murder them all and lie to their faces.”
Earlier episodes saw former Olympic diver Tom Daley and Never Tear Us Apart singer Paloma Faith murdered by the traitors. YouTube star Niko Omilana and EastEnders actress Tameka Empson were both voted out during separate Round Table sessions.
