Sebastian Croft said being gay might give players an edge on Bash Traitors after winning the second series of Celebrity Traitors with Romesh Ranganathan. The 24-year-old actor tied that victory to the way queer contestants read a room, then shifted quickly to charity and his next TV appearance.
Croft's £41,500 share
Croft and Ranganathan split the £83,000 prize pot, taking home £41,500 each for their chosen charities. Croft gave his share to Choose Love, while Ranganathan directed his to the Refugee Council. The said it received complaints about the pair's chosen charities, adding a small but visible public-relations wrinkle to a win that otherwise handed both men a clean charitable payoff.
The room-reading advantage
Speaking to The Times, Croft said there is an element of not being sure whether you are going to be accepted as a queer person entering any room. He added that lots of gay people become good at having coping mechanisms for getting to know people, or feeling like they are not a threat. That is the clearest version of the edge he thinks can matter on a game built around social trust, reading hesitation and deciding who seems safe enough to approach.
Rejected, then supported
Croft also said his own experience was not simple. He said, “I’ve been emotionally and physically threatened because of my sexuality, had people reject me as a person.” He said, “on the whole, everyone was supportive” when he came out to his family, then added, “And that’s the good end of the spectrum. Which is why I’ve ended up wanting to champion queer refugees.”
The contradiction sits inside the same interview: Croft says being gay may help in a social strategy game, but he also describes being ostracised and bullied over his sexuality and acting, and leaving school aged 16. He made his television debut as young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, left Heartstopper in 2023 and turned to music, then on Friday released his debut EP, The Great Forever, and announced his first European tour. On Sunday night, he was due to make his debut television performance on Strictly Come Dancing, singing Everything Always Now.
