In a raw, no-holds-barred confession that’s left fans of BBC’s Celebrity Traitors reeling all over again, comedian and actor Nick Mohammed has finally broken his silence on the most gut-punching moment of the series: his shocking last-minute betrayal of rugby star Joe Marler. The man behind the hapless Bob in Ted Lasso admits his “biggest regret” is banishing his on-screen best mate – a decision that’s not only cost Joe a shot at the £87,500 prize pot but also left Nick bracing for a lifetime of backlash, including tears from Joe’s four-year-old daughter. As the duo reunite for Joe’s new podcast, Nick lays bare the paranoia-fueled paranoia that turned allies into enemies, revealing the “engineered spat” suspicion that sealed Joe’s heartbreaking exit. Was it a masterstroke of Traitors logic gone wrong, or a friendship fractured forever under the pressure cooker of Claudia Winkleman’s castle?

The finale of Celebrity Traitors, which aired on BBC One in late October 2025, was always destined to be explosive. This celebrity spin-off of the smash-hit social deduction game brought together a glittering lineup of stars – from comedian Alan Carr and singer Cat Burns to historian David Olusoga and TV icon Jonathan Ross – all vying for a slice of the charity pot in the shadowy halls of a Scottish castle. But no moment ignited the nation quite like the final roundtable, where Nick and Joe, two Faithfuls who’d bonded over whispered strategies and unbreakable pacts, turned on each other in a twist that had viewers screaming at their screens.

As the steam train mission hurtled towards its explosive climax – crates of gold rigged with fake bombs, hearts pounding under the weight of suspicion – the final five (Nick, Joe, David, Alan, and Cat) gathered for the ultimate banishment. Joe, the 35-year-old retired England rugby prop known for his cheeky antics on the pitch and off, had played a cunning game. He’d sniffed out the Traitors early, correctly pegging Alan and Cat as the saboteurs, and even orchestrated a vote to oust Cat in a move that left jaws on the floor. But in a fatal misstep, Joe apologized to Cat post-banishment, a moment of sportsmanlike grace that Nick later described as “the spark that ignited my paranoia.”

“I was completely wrong, as we all know – as the nation knows,” Nick confessed on the debut episode of Joe Marler Will See You Now, released on November 20, 2025. The podcast, where Joe trades his rugby boots for a makeshift therapist’s couch in his quirky new “office,” invited Nick for a candid debrief that felt more like a therapy session than a tell-all. Leaning into the camera with that signature awkward charm, Nick didn’t mince words: “My biggest regret is voting you off [in Celebrity Traitors]. And my biggest fear is the backlash from voting you off.”

But why? The real reason, Nick explained, boiled down to a toxic brew of high-stakes pressure and a suspiciously timed “spat.” Earlier in the episode, tensions had flared between Joe and Jonathan Ross, another Faithful who’d been banished after a heated clash. Nick, having already clocked Jonathan as a Traitor (a rare correct read in the chaos), started connecting dots that weren’t there. “What you have to understand is it’s an absolute pressure cooker,” he said, his voice laced with hindsight’s bitter edge. “Your mind is slightly skewered anyway. So the big prefix to this is, I was completely wrong… I knew obviously Jonathan was a Traitor at that point, I was like, ‘Oh, hang on, have you and Jonathan engineered this spat between the two of you?’”

In Nick’s fevered imagination, Joe’s apology to Cat wasn’t kindness – it was a calculated ploy, a Traitor’s smokescreen to throw off the scent. Paired with the Ross feud, it painted Joe as a master manipulator pulling strings from the shadows. “I thought, ‘This guy’s too good at this – maybe too good,’” Nick admitted. “We’d built this unbreakable alliance, late-night chats in the castle corridors, promising to have each other’s backs till the end. But in that moment, doubt crept in like fog off the loch. I went with my gut, and it betrayed us both.”

The vote was brutal. Nick, joined by the sly Alan (who’d been playing dead as a Faithful all along), scrawled Joe’s name on the chalkboard, banishing him just as victory seemed within grasp. Joe’s face – that trademark grin twisted into shock and hurt – became the image that haunted social media. “Horrific betrayal,” tweeted one viewer, while another lamented, “Nick did Joe so dirty – after all those rugby hugs and strategy seshes?” Joe, ever the trooper, later joked on Saturday Kitchen that he’d been “pounded on the pitch for 20 years, but nothing hurt as badly as Nick’s 11th-hour stab.” Yet, in a twist worthy of the show itself, he confessed: “Although in that moment I was heartbroken… I’m still so in love with him.”

The podcast reunion cranked the emotion to eleven. Joe, playing armchair psychologist with a pint in hand, didn’t let Nick off easy. “You broke my heart, mate – and my daughter’s,” he teased, before dropping the hammer: an audio clip of his four-year-old Pixie, voice wobbling with toddler indignation, asking, “Why did you banish Daddy?” Nick’s response? A single, gutted “Aww.” The clip, played to a studio audience that included Joe’s family, reduced the room to sniffles – and Nick to a puddle of remorse. “That hit harder than any roundtable vote,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I never meant to hurt anyone off-screen. Joe’s not just a mate; he’s the guy who’d tackle a Traitor for you in real life.”

For Nick, 45, the regret runs deeper than podcast tears. The Ted Lasso star, who’s built a career on lovable losers and quiet heroism, says the backlash has been “relentless.” X (formerly Twitter) lit up with #JusticeForJoe memes, from edited clips of Nick’s character Bob looking betrayed to Photoshopped images of him in a Traitor’s hood. “Fans stopped me in the street – not for laughs, but for lectures,” he shared. “One bloke in Sainsbury’s said, ‘How could you do Joe like that? He’s a national treasure!’ I just wanted to crawl into the cereal aisle.”

Joe, for his part, has been magnanimous, turning the pain into podcast gold. The episode, which racked up over a million views in 24 hours, features the duo dissecting every twist: the steam train’s ticking clock, Cat’s tearful exit speech that screamed “red herring,” and Alan’s Oscar-worthy performance as the bumbling Faithful who snagged the £87,500 for Neuroblastoma UK. “We were so close,” Joe sighed. “If Nick had stuck to the plan, we’d have split that pot three ways. Instead, Alan’s sipping champagne while I’m here therapizing my betrayer.”

But amid the laughs and lingering shade, there’s genuine healing. Nick and Joe emerged from the castle closer than ever, their friendship battle-tested by betrayal. “This show’s about trust, but it’s taught me more about forgiveness,” Nick reflected. “Joe’s the real winner – he saw through the lies, even if we didn’t listen. My regret? Not trusting him sooner. But if it means more pints and podcasts like this, maybe it was worth the gut punch.”

As Celebrity Traitors cements its place as BBC’s guilty pleasure of 2025 – spawning spin-offs, therapy pods, and endless watercooler debates – Nick’s confession serves as a stark reminder: in the game of thrones (or Traitors), no alliance is sacred, and no regret is too big to unpack over a mic. Will Nick redeem himself in a potential series two? Or is this the scar that keeps on stinging? One thing’s clear: when Joe Marler calls you for a chat, you show up – betrayal or not.

Fans are already clamoring for more, with #NickJoeReunion trending worldwide. As Joe wrapped the episode with a cheeky sign-off – “Next time, Nick, you’re the patient” – it’s evident the real game never ends. In the cutthroat world of celebrity mind games, the biggest twist might just be the unbreakable bond that survives the banish.