EastEnders star Tameka Empson breaks silence on ‘intense’ Celebrity Traitors and what part of show took her by surprise
EastEnders won a total of eight gongs in its 40th anniversary year at this year's British Soap Awards
EASTENDERS legend Tameka Empson has lifted the lid on her time in the “intense” Celebrity Traitors mansion.
The soap star, best known for playing Kim Fox on the BBC show, swapped Albert Square for the grand Scottish castle as part of the all-star line-up in the hit reality series.
Tameka, 47, admitted the pressure of the game left her feeling “intense.”
Speaking out for the first time since filming wrapped, she said: “It was great, really great, but it was a lot.”
Tameka will be joined by 18 other celebrities including comedians Alan Carr and Joe Wilkinson, actors Celia Imrie, Ruth Codd, and Mark Bonnar, singer-songwriters Cat Burns and Paloma Faith, and broadcasters Clare Balding and Kate Garraway.
The other contestants are Charlotte Church, David Olusoga, Joe Marler, Jonathan Ross, Lucy Beaumont, Nick Mohammed, Niko Omilana, Stephen Fry and Tom Daley.
The participants will be seen competing for up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.
BBC has confirmed the new series will air on BBC One and iPlayer this autumn.
Meanwhile, The British Soap Awards returned after ITV mysteriously axed the contest in 2024.
Jane McDonald returned for her second year as host of the event.
But it was bad news for Coronation Street as the programme suffered a devastating loss after managing to bag just the specially curated Outstanding Achievement Award which went to Roy Cropper star David Neilson.
The show failed to secure wins in any of the main panel or viewer-voted categories amid ITV’s ongoing cash crisis and the mass cast exodus at the soap over the past six months.
Its ITV counterpart Emmerdale also faced a crushing blow ahead of the impending ITV schedule changes which will see 30 minutes worth of each programme cut a week from January 2026.
BBC rival EastEnders swept the board after collecting a total of eight gongs in its 40th anniversary year – more than double its nearest rival, Channel 4’s Hollyoaks who got three awards.
EastEnders was awarded Best Soap after its huge live episode and anniversary week which saw Anita Dobson return as Angie Watts and Martin Fowler killed off in the arms of his love, Stacey.
It was certainly not the only award that they picked up with actress Lacey Turner receiving the trophy for Best Leading Performer ahead of her impending exit from the show.
The 40th anniversary also managed to clutch the Scene of the Year thanks to Angie’s shock return.
Steve McFadden a won a trophy for Best Dramatic Performance as Phil Mitchell but did not attend the ceremony with Angela Wynter and Rudolph Walker also receiving prizes as Patrick and Yolande – beating Corrie fan favourites Lisa Swain and Carla Connor, affectionately known as Swarla, to the Best On-Screen Partnership award.
The Walford based soap also collected the Comedy Performance gongs and Villain of the Year.
In a major blow to Coronation Street, only David Neilson picked up the Outstanding Achievement Award as Roy Cropper which was presented to him by by his on-screen wife Julie Hesmondhalgh.
Hollyoaks managed to win three awards with Isabelle Smith winning as Best Newcomer with The Osbourne family taking home Best Family and the sibling sexual abuse storyline being named Best Storyline.
Emmerdale managed just two awards with Amelia Flanagan beating her Corrie star brother Will to the Best Young Performer prize.
Mike Plant, one of the show’s camera operators, picked up the prestigious off-screen Tony Warren Award accolade for his contributions to the soap behind the scenes.
ITV’s crushing defeats come amid a period of unrest backstage at the shows.
Both Corrie and Emmerdale have lost a number of stars over the past 12 months amid cuts at the channel.
In particular, Coronation Street has faced increasing criticism of its far-fetched storylines and dwindling viewer interest in many of its plots.
Fans will be able to see all the reaction from the ceremony held at the Hackney Empire during the broadcast of the ceremony this Thursday evening on ITV.
