By Fatma Younis
James Blunt's wife, Sofia Wellesley, spent months believing the singer had won the BBC competition Celebrity Traitors, only discovering the truth when the final episode aired.
Final three and secret result
Blunt, 52, reached the last three contestants before being banished by the eventual winners, Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian 'Bash' Croft. Due to the show's strict non-disclosure agreement, he was forbidden from revealing the outcome, even to his wife. "You're not supposed to tell anyone anything," Blunt told The Sun. "My wife genuinely thought I'd won. I didn't tell her the result. In fact, I told her nothing at all." Wellesley was stunned as she watched the finale unfold.
Filming pressures and on-set tactics
Blunt described the filming as a grueling experience. He revealed that producers played the Hunger Games track "The Hanging Tree," featuring vocals by Jennifer Lawrence, before Round Table sessions to unsettle contestants. "It's a marathon and at times a terrible experience," he said. "When they sat us down at the Round Table, viewers didn't get to see that they played a song just to psych us out." The song still triggers a physical reaction for him.
Feud rumours and charity donation
Addressing speculation of a rift with Ranganathan, who voted him out at the final stage, Blunt insisted they remain on good terms. "Romesh is a very, very sweet human being, and I promise he and I get on very, very well," he said on Hits Radio. Ranganathan, 48, has donated to Blunt's preferred charity, the Blue Marine Foundation. Ranganathan and Croft, 24, split the £83,000 prize pot between Choose Love and the Refugee Council.
