Celebrity Traitors’ Ross Kemp is murdered in plain sight after he falls into Maya Jama and James Acaster’s ‘yawning’ trap – while Jerry Hall is banished

Their fate had seemed to hinge on one simple question: Who would yawn first – the TV hardman or the supermodel?

But in a dramatic twist last night, Ross Kemp and Jerry Hall were both sent packing from The Celebrity Traitors.

As Thursday’s episode of Celebrity Traitors kicked off, it was Ross who fell victim to the Traitors’ latest murder, and their first in plain sight. 

The EastEnders actor’s growing paranoia was a major talking point at the start of the series – showcasing a very different side to his usual tough-guy persona. 

He previously accused Bella Ramsey and Leigh-Anne Pinnock of murdering him in plain sight – and now, ironically, that was his demise. 

While last Friday’s episode ended on a cliffhanger with both Ross and Jerry Hall caught in the Traitors’ trap in the lounge area, it was Ross who was the first Faithful to yawn. 

Inhaling the ‘deadly sleeping powder’, James then locked in the murder as he said: ‘Sorry Ross, am I boring you?’

Celebrity Traitors’ Ross Kemp is murdered in plain sight after he falls into Maya Jama and James Acaster’s ‘yawning’ trap 

And while viewers saw Jerry escape murder, sadly she only enjoyed a few more hours in the castle, as she became the next player to be banished

Feeling guilty about her kill, Maya said: ‘Grant Mitchell, aka Ross Kemp, I loved you as a child, and I love you as a real person’ as she appeared to look shocked the next morning 

Opening the envelope to reveal his fate, Ross read: ‘Dear Ross, by order of the Traitors, you have been murdered. The Traitors murdered you in plain sight.’

He told the camera: ‘I mean, I was really sensitive to people coming close to me. It could have been a cheers, could have been anything.

‘There’s a great line from Shakespeare; I think it’s Polonius’s advice to his son. To thy them self be true – and I have been true to myself, and I have been true to the Faithfuls. 

‘Well played, Traitors, but you’re always going to be Traitors, and I know where you live.’

Feeling guilty about her kill, Maya said: ‘Grant Mitchell, aka Ross Kemp, I loved you as a child, and I love you as a real person. 

‘You just fell into the worst trap ever, and I’m so sorry. Hopefully we can still be friends.’

The next morning host Claudia Winkleman, 54, revealed the news, and suspicions grew as they hunted down clues about the murder in plain sight.

And while viewers saw Jerry escape murder, sadly she only enjoyed a few more hours in the castle, as she became the next player to be banished.

‘Players, you just banished a legend,’ Claudia announced as Jerry strutted out of the castle.

The 70-year-old American supermodel walked for the world’s top luxury fashion houses and designers from the 1970s through the 2000s.

However, after her exit, Jerry said she found Celebrity Traitors ‘so much harder than the catwalk’. 

‘Oh, it’s so much harder than the catwalk,’ she said, adding, ‘But you know, the catwalk, it’s a very competitive world, and there are some ruthless people. I should have been better prepared.

‘Apparently the reason I got voted off, everyone said, was because I was an icon, which didn’t sound like it was a very factual reason; I think they saw me as a threat.’

While last Friday’s episode ended on a cliffhanger with both Ross and Jerry Hall caught in the Traitors’ trap in the lounge area, it was Ross who was the first Faithful to yawn

Inhaling the ‘deadly sleeping powder’, James then locked in the murder as he said: ‘Sorry Ross, am I boring you?’

Traitors James, Maya, 32, and King Kenny, 29, were responsible for winning the gold, as well as sabotaging the Faithfuls winning shields during a tense mission 

Elsewhere, the players took part in a tense mission at the Traitors‘ lair, where they failed to win any money for the prize fund, currently at £46,000. 

However, James, 41, Michael Sheen, 57, James Blunt, 52, and Joanne McNally, 43, each walked away with a shield.

Traitors James, Maya, 32, and King Kenny, 29, were responsible for winning the gold, as well as sabotaging the Faithfuls winning shields. However, the comedian was ‘too scared’ to help.

The episode ended on another cliffhanger, with Miranda Hart, Sebastian Croft, or Romesh Ranganathan in line for murder, as the Traitors make their next treacherous move.

In his exit interview, Ross addressed his paranoia, explaining: ‘The whole environment just makes you paranoid. If you’re a fan of the show, you know that murder in plain sight happens.

‘So, when someone puts a hat on you, or touches your arm, however innocently it might be, I don’t think I’m wrong in suspecting it.’

‘The fear of failure on this is not comparable to anything,’ Ross added.

‘Whether you’re an actor, or in a hostile environment where you could get killed, you don’t let people down. Yes, no one’s going to get killed here, but the wish of not wanting to let yourself down or the people around you was quite the drive.

‘I was under a considerable amount of pressure from my children to do this, and you can’t really say no to it. It’s so popular. But also, it’s not like anything else. So I’ve enjoyed it immensely.’

Last Friday fans were left convinced that Ross would rumble the Traitors‘ latest murder mission as they called out Maya and James’s ‘GCSE drama’ yawning.

In tense scenes, while King Kenny was distracted by Sharon Rooney, Maya and James managed to lure Ross and Jerry into their room, with the pair seen engaging in ‘boring’ conversation while constantly yawning themselves in a bid to make the others follow suit.

However, fans at home called out the pair over their ‘ridiculously obvious actions’, noting that a highly suspicious Ross will no doubt cotton on to their actions. 

Taking to X, viewers expressed their fears that the Traitors would be called out by Ross, who has become known on the show for his intense paranoia. 

They penned: ‘With all the fake yawning, Ross clocked this. Could Maya or even James have slipped up? No-one has questioned Maya yet but this may start now.’

‘Ross clocking Maya’s GCSE drama yawning’; ‘If that wasn’t obvious I don’t know what is.’

‘I think they need it to be Ross because Jerry would be none the wiser. Ross looked suspicious there I think he’d think it’s weird everyone kept yawning.’

‘This is dangerous if Ross doesn’t yawn, Jerry wouldn’t clock Ross dying but Ross would absolutely clock the murderer.’

‘Ross is suspicious, as always, think he’s gonna clock Maya.’ 

‘Thing is whether it’s jerry or ross who go the person who survived surely is gonna be suspicious of what went down in that room bc the excessive yawning etc was Extremely odd.’ 

‘Maya’s yawning is so ridiculously obvious lmao.’