Joe Wilkinson has joked that he lost half his earnings from BBC’s Celebrity Traitors due to an unusual demand made during filming
Celebrity Traitors contestant claims they lost £20,000 after appearing on show(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/Artwork – BBC Creative)
A Celebrity Traitors star has claimed he suffered an apparent financial loss as a result of a demand made during the show. Joe Wilkinson, the comedian best know for his roles in 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and After Life, was dramatically ‘murdered’ on the BBC series by Traitors, Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr and Cat Burns, after he came dangerously close to exposing them.
Now that the show is over and funnyman Alan was crowned the 2025 winner, Joe has opened up about a surprising demand he faced during the show. According to the Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle, Joe – possibly tongue in cheek – claimed he was made to spend “nearly half of his £40,000 fee” on new clothes for the series.
The Cockfields star is known for his casual approach when it comes to his personal wardrobe, but he says producers pushed back on his clothing of choice, insisting it would “look weird” on camera. Additionally it was reported that he was forced to “wear the same trousers twice”.
Joe Wilkinson claimed that he faced a certain demand on Celebrity Traitors (Image: BBC)
Joe explained: “What’s wrong with my own clothes? I wear shorts year round, and they made me wear trousers twice, once for the final and once for the funeral. They’re like, ‘It’ll look weird if you go to a funeral in shorts’. I’m like, ‘It’s not a real f****** funeral’.”
In other revelations, Joe recently claimed he had correctly identified Cat as a Traitor before his exit and said that the “only reason” he voted for her was because someone suggested he “look at the person you think of least”.
Joe added: “You don’t really see it in the show, but I was hanging out with Cat quite a lot… Suddenly, I went, ‘Cat! Why do I trust Cat?’ It’s mainly because I’ve just been hanging out with her.”
However speaking to the Metro, the 50-year-old admitted that he wouldn’t have voted for her at the show’s round table had he remained in the game.
He explained that he “really liked her” and thought she was “lovely to hang out with”.
The Cockfields actor apparently has a preference when it comes to his wardrobe(Image: BBC)
Joe has also been in the spotlight recently thanks to his role in the light-hearted Waitrose Christmas advert, starring alongside Pirates of the Caribbean actress Keira Knightley, the Mirror reports.
In the festive advert, Joe’s character Phil appears to be “falling in love” with Keira. The heartwarming scenes show the pair meeting at the supermarket’s cheese counter, before the advert ends with Phil baking her a homemade pie.
Speaking about taking part in the advert, Keira said she “couldn’t turn it down,” describing it as a “silly, fun and delicious film”.
While Joe added: “It was great to be back with Waitrose for their 2025 Christmas campaign. This year, Phil got to enjoy both the love and the food he truly deserved.
“As you can imagine, it was tough having to eat the delicious Waitrose food and falling in love with Keira, but I just got on with it, like the trooper I am.”
