Prince William, the Prince of Wales, 44, playfully touched actor Ross Kemp’s arm during a visit to Ilminster, Somerset, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026 — a wink at the BBC series “Celebrity Traitors” and a sign of how closely he and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, have been following it.
Kemp, an actor and filmmaker, is a contestant on the show’s second celebrity series and an ambassador for the National Emergencies Trust. William has been the trust’s patron since 2020. The two men were in the town for the launch of Ready Together, a trust project that aims to help communities prepare for crises.
The Arm-Touch Joke
Fellow contestant Leigh-Anne Pinnock rubbed Kemp’s arm earlier in the series as she passed him during drinks at the castle. Kemp reacted nervously and later said he feared she was trying to “murder” him in plain sight. Traitors on the show “murder” a faithful with a quiet public gesture.
William repeated the gesture in Ilminster and laughed. He then posed for photographs with his hand on Kemp’s shoulder.
William Hunts for Spoilers
William chatted with young people in the town and asked them whether they watch “The Traitors.” He joked that he would find out how it ends and report back later. “Spoiler alert today… he’s here…” William said of Kemp.
Kemp gave nothing away. “I am a faithful,” he said, according to PA news agency’s coverage carried by AOL. William left without a hint about the finale, and he and Kate will learn it when the rest of the country does.
Kemp also described the attention the series has brought him. “I’ve been on the TV for 43 years, but I’ve never known anything like this,” he said. “Even the fella at my local garage wanted a selfie; he’s never been bothered before.”
Emergency Training in Somerset
Ready Together offers a toolkit for communities across the U.K. covering readiness and response to emergencies such as flooding and wildfires. Local volunteers and young people took part in a training exercise with William and Kemp, and the pair met the trust’s chief executive, Mhairi Sharp.
William also met the Ilminster Resilience Group, which supported residents during severe flooding, and visited Sweet Surprise, a cafe providing work for adults with learning disabilities. At Ilminster Fire Station, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service crews showed him mapping and forecasting tools used against wildfire.
Kemp told the Press Association, “Being prepared for anything is better than being unprepared.”
A Record Television Audience
The second celebrity series premiered on Thursday, Oct. 1, to more than 8.8 million overnight viewers and a peak of nine million, taking more than half of the people watching television at that hour. Claudia Winkleman presents the show, and new episodes run on BBC One and iPlayer each Thursday and Friday. Twenty-one celebrities are taking part.
Episode three, on Thursday, Oct. 8, peaked at 10.3 million viewers, the most-watched of the series so far.
William gave Stephen Lambert, whose company makes the show, his OBE at Windsor Castle on Oct. 8, 2025, the same day the first celebrity series premiered. Lambert recalled William saying “he and the family were very much looking forward to watching it.”
William and Kate have three children: Prince George, 13; Princess Charlotte, 11; and Prince Louis, eight.