James Acaster reveals Celebrity Traitors contestants hear The Hanging Tree over and over again

James Acaster has lifted the lid on one of the strangest parts of filming Celebrity Traitors, and it’s not the murders.

The comedian, who is currently playing a Traitor alongside Maya Jama and King Kenny, has revealed that an unexpected musical moment takes place at every single roundtable.

Via BBC

Speaking while promoting his new music, James explained that contestants are treated to an unusual performance of a song from The Hunger Games before every roundtable gets underway.

Rather than being announced by production, the track starts playing after everyone has taken their seats, catching the cast completely off guard the first time around.

“You walk in and you all sit down and then they don’t announce it’s going to happen,” James explained.

“The first time this will completely blindside you but they do it every single roundtable, they play that song from The Hunger Games, that ‘coming to the tree song’. Like, acappella.”

The song in question is The Hanging Tree, which became widely recognised through The Hunger Games franchise.

Apparently, this isn’t just a one-off bit of atmosphere to get everyone in the mood for a dramatic discussion about who should be banished. The track is played at every roundtable, meaning the celebrities have to endure it throughout filming.

Most Read

Traitor Maya Jama outed herself at breakfast, and we (and the Faithfuls) didn’t catch it

Former Traitors stars break the illusion of what they eat, and breakfast will never be the same

I knew about Sebastian, but I didn’t realise that four of The Celebrity Traitors cast are queer

Funniest thing ever https://t.co/SWvYOzNXGa

— flo | Wow! ˖Ი𐑼⋆ (@maglianofuzz) October 25, 2026

James also revealed that it’s the only song contestants hear during their time on the show, which sounds like a fairly effective way to make sure nobody can get it out of their heads.

James isn’t the only Traitors contestant who has been left with musical baggage. Tom Elderfield, who appeared on the first series of the civilian version of The Traitors, responded to a video of James sharing the behind-the-scenes detail.

“This is true, and the song now gives me trauma,” he commented.

Season four contestant Reece Ward also backed up James’ story, writing: “It’s FACTS, and it catches you off guard every single time”.

For all the latest news and drops about The Celebrity Traitors, like The Holy Church of The Traitors on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: BBC