Will Sebastian Croft surprise us in Celebrity Traitors?

0Sebastian Croft could slip under the radar in Celebrity TraitorsSebastian Croft has been described as an "under-the-radar contender" in the latest series of Celebrity Traitors, so what do we know about the young actor and singer?

The hit BBC show returned this week filled to the brim with world famous faces, including Michael Sheen, Richard E. Grant, Jerry Hall, and James Blunt.

The BBC's preview suggests that "younger viewers will know all about Oxfordshire's Croft… but will the older contestants?"

So here are some key facts about the 24-year-old actor and singer.

Sebastian Croft grew up in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, and started his acting journey aged seven by taking classes at Stagecoach Abingdon.

"I got my first professional job through the Stagecoach Agency, which was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," he told the school's website.

"I was seven and it was the touring production and when it came to Oxford I was in it. That was the start of it all."

West End performances followed, including playing Gavroche in Les Misérables at Queens Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue, and Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

You may have also spotted him in the video for Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé's version of Baby It's Cold Outside.

He appeared as a young Eddard Stark – the character first portrayed by Sean Bean – in Game of Thrones, and also acted in Horrible Histories: the Movie, for which he received a Children's Bafta nomination.

Other screen appearances included Penny Dreadful, Love, Death & Robots, and Doom Patrol.

Croft's big break was his role of Ben Hope in the hit Netflix show Heartstopper, a romance series based on the teen webcomics and graphic novels by Alice Oseman.

The young adult LGBTQ+ series was a huge hit when it debuted on the streaming platform in 2022.

It centred on two teenage boys, Charlie and Nick, who fall for each other at a secondary school, but prior to this unfolding love story Charlie was having a secret relationship with Ben, who is something of an antagonist in the drama.

Croft told the BBC: "Ben's definitely the kind of villain of the show… because he does things that are really not good."

He said: "It was weird to be on the one hand a part of the community, and on the other hand representing someone who does something so despicable.

"I think I was worried that before the show came out people would think I was like Ben, and that they'd not like me because of it.

"But I have to say people understand the world and it's a very lovely fan base that Heartstopper has, and it's been nothing but lovely supportive vibes."

Croft wrote his first song when he was aged nine, and even made an early appearance on BBC Radio Oxford a year later after writing and performing a Christmas song.

He later described writing music in his teens as a "very private thing, but also something I've just always needed to do, almost like breathing".

He used his burgeoning songwriting to work through some of his most hidden feelings.

"If I had a secret crush on a boy at school, or anything was happening, I was like 'oh I can go and write a song about it, and sometimes even play the songs in front of your class, including the boy that it's about, and no one knows'," he told BBC Introducing.

"It's like this wonderful way of sneaking a message out, and for some reason because it's a song it's OK."

His influences include George Micheal, who he describes as a "fellow Greek Cypriot and gay icon" – Croft is Cypriot on his mother's side – and Stevie Nicks, who he calls the "queen of heartbreak witchery".

He released the single Tokyo in 2025, and stepped things up this year with the follow up Better Than Ever, ahead of his debut EP The Great Forever.

The launch episode of Celebrity Traitors was watched live by almost nine million people, with Richard E Grant and presenter Maya Jama selected as two of Claudia Winkleman's three traitors.

With 21 contestants and a slew of big personalities Croft may be a slow burn when it comes to making his mark in the Scottish castle, which may or may not work to his advantage.

Croft was the fourth to arrive at the start of the episode, following on from Sheen, Jama, and Joe Lycett, joining them on the front bench during a typically camp opening sequence in a church which featured Claudia Winkleman stepping out of a coffin.

He was later seen spending time with Sharon Rooney, another "under-the-radar contender". Could the two of them end up being long-term allies in the process?

When asked by Claudia if he wanted to be a traitor or a faithful, Croft chose traitor, but it wasn't to be.

"I'm the biggest fan of this show, which no-one here knows," he said in the diary room.

"It's one of those games where you kind of have to fly under the radar at the beginning, so I'm hoping the fact that I'm slightly less well known, or slightly younger, will mean people have less of an expectation of me, and that is great."

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