James Blunt brands Celebrity Traitors 'traumatising' and 'at times a terrible experience' as he reveals the song played before round tables to 'psych out' the stars

James Blunt has branded his stint on Celebrity Traitors 'traumatic' and said that at times it was a 'terrible experience'.

The singer, 52, has insisted that it wasn't 'some cosy TV show' but did say he was happy to have made it to the final.

James was banished in the last episode, with fellow Faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft going on to be victorious. 

Since the show began airing, several stars have spoken out about filming being intense, with comedian James Acaster recently comparing the experience to 'living in East Germany under Soviet control', while an unnamed star said producers were 'like human traffickers'.

James A struggled so much with being picked as a Traitor that he outed himself during a dramatic round table and has been reportedly left 'destabilised' over the response to his confession.

Now James B has opened up about his time on the series, saying in a new interview: 'It wasn't like being mollycoddled on some cosy TV show, it was actually a fairly traumatic experience.

'You are like mice in Claudia's wonderful trap, in this bizarre social experiment, watched by the nation and you're not sure whether it's night or day and most of the time it's night!'

He added to The Sun: 'It's a marathon and at times, a terrible experience – but wonderful to finish.'

James added that when the celebrities sat down at the round table producers played a song – The Hanging Tree from The Hunger Games – 'just to psych them out'.

He also described how after the show someone sent the song to him and his wife noticed that he was 'quite traumatised by hearing it' and that he had started 'sweating and shaking'.

James also detailed what it was like at the hotel they stayed in overnight while filming the show. 

The celebrities stay at the Marriott hotel at Inverness Airport and James has described how there were guards outside each room and that the peephole was blacked out. 

He also said that there were no room keys and the television was disabled so they couldn't contact anyone.

Celebrity Traitors concluded with an epic finale last week in which Faithfuls Romesh and Sebastian triumphed over Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny.

The road to their win was paved by an extraordinary twist in which James A buckled under the pressure and admitted he was a Traitor in the penultimate round table.

James A is said to have been so distraught in the moment that filming was temporarily paused and the welfare team called in to check on him.

'The pressure got to him, and it was clear he was finding it difficult. Everyone agreed filming should be stopped before things got too heated,' an insider revealed. 

'Everyone was aware of the pressure getting to James throughout the series; it was difficult to watch him struggling.'

The comedian was made a 'reluctant' Traitor in the early stages of the BBC game show but he made it clear he was uncomfortable with the role.

James insisted he didn't want to lie while taking part in the second series of the hit show, and said that he played his part 'as honestly as he possibly could'.

However, his decision to reveal he was a Traitor during a round table discussion on the penultimate episode sparked an intense reaction online.

The backlash was discussed by The Rest Is Entertainment podcast hosts Richard Osman and Marina Hyde in the latest episode of their show.

Discussing any regrets the cast may currently feel, Richard said: 'If you're in it, like if you're James [Acaster] at the moment I bet you think 'oh I wish I hadn't done that' because everyone can have one opinion about this today.

'James then has to listen to 56 million opinions, you know, and like nobody needs that. And the thing with him, he's so brilliant and so talented that whatever he does next will, you know, supersede this in a heartbeat. 

'But you know just annoying to have to spend a couple of weeks sort of in a position where you feel slightly destabilised.

'James if you're listening or people who know and love James are listening, James we love you. I'm very excited for what he does next.'

James B meanwhile has claimed a lot of Acaster's shock banishment was edited out and that he was, in fact, caught in a lie he couldn't get out of. 

The musician said he was backed into a corner and didn't simply throw in the towel as it appeared in the final edit.

James B told the BBC: 'He didn't fall on his sword. That's what you saw, that's what you feel, but he didn't. 

'You didn't see the full extent of the interrogation. It was heavy in there and it was clear-cut. He was pinned to a post. We got him. We really, really got him. 

'I think how that played out hasn't really been revealed to you, but he didn't just say, 'Oh guys, you got me.'' 

James B also admitted that he signed up to promote his new music rather than to play the game, and said they all get paid the same no matter when they leave. 

He said: 'We all get paid the same, whether you're there for day one or day 23. So for most of the time, I was trying to… get the hell out of Dodge. But no one was killing me and no one was banishing me.'