Nocturnal 
James Blunt is one of 21 famous faces heading into the castle for the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, and he says he has his wife to thank, or blame, for it.
The singer revealed on The One Show that Sofia Wellesley signed him up for the BBC One hit without telling him first, leaving him to “speed watch” the previous series once he found out what she’d done.
So who is the woman behind the You’re Beautiful hitmaker? Here’s what we know.
Who is Sofia Wellesley?
Sofia Wellesley is described as a socialite and is the granddaughter of Valerian Wellesley, the 8th Duke of Wellington, according to The Mirror. She is also believed to be a friend of Princess Eugenie, though this connection has not been confirmed by either party.
She and Blunt have kept much of their relationship out of the spotlight over the years, with the pair occasionally stepping out together for high-profile public moments. In 2022, Sofia and James joined thousands of other mourners queuing to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall, with Blunt, who served as a reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment and once stood guard over the Queen Mother’s coffin in 2002, cutting a dapper figure in a dark suit for the occasion.
Blunt has previously spoken about settling down with Sofia, admitting in an interview with the Birmingham Mail that he had been worried about committing before meeting her, and that he “had to” make changes to his own lifestyle for the relationship to work. He has also said he still spends time living in Ibiza.
How she signed him up for Celebrity Traitors
Blunt, 52, told The One Show he hadn’t watched much television before discovering, via his wife, that he’d been signed up for Celebrity Traitors. “I haven’t watched much TV but when I found out from my wife that I was on Celebrity Traitors, she signed me up for it,” he said.
He made the comments sitting alongside former Traitors star Joe Marler, who named Blunt as his favourite pick from this year’s line-up. “As soon as that cast was revealed, I was like, it’s James Blunt, he’s going to be the dark horse. I’ve admired him,” Marler said. Blunt replied that he had “always thought we were brothers separated at birth.”
The singer also said that during his time in the Scottish castle he tried to model himself on a previous contestant, joking: “If I can’t be Alan Carr, then if I would want to be anyone, it would be a Joe Marler.”
Blunt joins a star-studded line-up for the new series, including Michael Sheen, Maya Jama, Romesh Ranganathan, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jerry Hall and Ross Kemp, with Claudia Winkleman once again hosting proceedings.
Where things stand now
The Celebrity Traitors returned to BBC One and iPlayer this week, with Blunt among the celebrities trying to outwit their fellow players. Fans had speculated online after a cloaked figure resembling a Traitor appeared on screen during one of Blunt’s recent gigs, though this was unconfirmed as any kind of official clue. Viewers will have to keep watching to see how far Blunt, and his wife’s surprise sign-up, take him in the game.
