Jonathan Ross set to make BBC comeback via beloved reality show - but it's not Strictly

Virgin Radio

12 Jul 2024, 13:07

Jonathan Ross is reportedly preparing to the return to the BBC, 14 years after he left the broadcaster.

Ross - who quit the BBC just over a year after his involvement in the Andrew Sachs scandal - has recently been rumoured as one of the celebrities potentially being eyed for Strictly Come Dancing 2024.

But now, a TV insider has told Deadline that the chat show host is actually in the running to star as a contestant on a celebrity edition of The Traitors, The Evening Standard reports.

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“Jonathan is the ideal target for The Traitors producers because he’s a high-profile celebrity who doesn’t regularly appear on the reality TV circuit,” the insider shared. “He’s also one of a small army of stars who are self-confessed fans of the show.”

Ross left the BBC in 2010, just over a year after he and comedian Russell Brand joked live on-air on Brand’s Radio 2 show about having slept with the granddaughter of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs. 

The pair prank called the Manuel actor, leaving lewd messages on his answer phone about Brand’s brief relationship with Georgina Baillie. The exchange led to wide-spread criticism of the two hosts, and an eventual £150,000 fine for the BBC from Ofcom.

Ross was suspended from his BBC hosting roles for 12 weeks after the scandal, and eventually quit the broadcaster after continuing to host his famous Friday Night talk show on BBC One for another year and a half post-suspension. 

In June 2010, the interviewer and film-fanatic revealed he would be moving to ITV to host a new Saturday night programme, entitled The Jonathan Ross Show.

Speaking recently about his future on ITV, The Masked Singer panellist confirmed he’d be returning to work on that show in the near-future. “I’m still doing the talk show. That’s coming back next year,” he said.

"I’m doing Masked Singer again," he added, before also cryptically teasing: “I might be doing a reality type thing if I can get all the dates to work.”

This potential reality opportunity may be the rumoured celebrity edition of The Traitors UK, which has previously been reported by The Sun as being on the way.