Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones confirms she has turned down Celebrity Traitors - but for a rather surprising reason

Gavin & Stacey fans were thrilled when they heard rumours that Ruth Jones would be competing in The Celebrity Traitors' forthcoming second series.

But now the star has confirmed she recently rejected an offer from the show's producers.

'I want to address this,' she says. 'I was asked about doing it. I do love the show and did think: 'Wouldn't it be great?'

'But then I thought: 'Oh, gosh, I'd have to swim in a lake, put on a wetsuit.' So I'd rather watch it. I'm not doing it.'

The actress was first reported to be in talks for the second series back in October after the huge success of the first UK celebrity series.  

Meanwhile David Mitchell, Amanda Holden, Steve Pemberton and Joanne McNally are some of the names rumoured to have been approached for series two. 

Earlier this week it was revealed that the BBC has signed a bumper three-year deal for both The Traitors and Celebrity Traitors.

Fans of the much-loved show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, will be happy to know that they will be locked in on our screens until 2030.

The Traitors, which is made by Studio Lambert Scotland, hit our screens in 2022 and has gone on to have four successful series.

Meanwhile the celebrity version premiered its first series earlier this year, following on from the success of the civilian series.

So fans can expect The Traitors series five on BBC One and iPlayer next year, followed by series six in 2028, series seven in 2029 and series eight in 2030.

Celebrity Traitors series two will be back later this year, followed by series three next year, followed by a fourth in 2028 and a fifth in 2029.

According to the Beeb, the shows 'will continue to promise audiences even more twists, turns, secrets, epic missions, deception, banishments and, of course, murders aplenty from the now iconic Ardross Castle'.

And the renewed commitment 'reflects the BBC's ongoing investment in original, high-impact entertainment that captivates and brings together audiences'.

The regular series this year smashed viewing figures after 6.9MILLION fans tune in for record-breaking launch show.

The number surpassed all previous premieres, including the celebrity version, which attracted 6.5 million viewers, and the last civilian series opener in January, which garnered 5.4 million views.

The Traitors 2026 had 12.5m 28-average viewing, in contrast to last year's which was 10.3m, and 6.6m of the audience watched the programme on BBC iPlayer.

This year's regular series was won by Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby.

Meanwhile comedian Alan Carr was crowned winner of the first ever celebrity series.

He was joined by the likes of Celia Imrie, Charlotte Church, Joe Marler, Jonathan Ross, Lucy Beaumont, Mark Bonnar, Nick Mohammed, Niko Omilana, Paloma Faith, Ruth Codd, Stephen Fry, Tameka Empson, Tom Daley, Cat Burns, David Olusoga, Joe Wilkinson and Kate Garraway.