After losing Celebrity Traitors, Maya Jama donated £83,500 of her own money to Action for Children, matching what she could have won to support families in need

Maya Jama has donated £83,500 of her own money to her chosen charity, Action for Children. The amount matches exactly what she would have won if she had claimed victory on the BBC reality show Celebrity Traitors. The 32-year-old Love Island host made it to the final episode of the second series but was voted out at the last stage by her fellow contestants. Although she missed out on the prize money, she decided to donate the full amount herself to help children and families in need across the UK.

Personal gesture matches full final prize share

Jama shared her decision on social media after the final episode aired on Friday night. In a post on X, the television presenter wrote: “Just donated what I would have won for my chosen charity @ActnForChildren. Amazing cause.” Action for Children confirmed shortly afterwards that it had received the £83,500 donation. The charity helps children and young people facing poverty, abuse and housing problems. It also supports children who need foster care. Katherine Woods, director of fundraising at Action for Children, told the Press Association: “We’re absolutely thrilled to receive such a generous donation from Maya Jama. She certainly held her nerve until the very end and proved herself to be the star of the show.”

Narrow defeat in the castle turret

During the BBC series, Jama played one of the Traitors inside the Scottish castle. She managed to avoid being caught at several roundtables. However, her time in the game ended during the final. Fellow Traitor King Kenny voted against her at the last roundtable, revealing her true role to the other players. Speaking about her exit shortly before the final stage of the game, Jama said she was proud of how she handled the pressure. “I knew it was coming,” Jama said. “I’m proud of myself for keeping composed and being 98 per cent myself the whole time. Obviously keeping a massive secret is so tough, but I think I did it well, and I’m really proud of that. She’s out.” Her exit left Faithful contestants Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan to go on and win the competition.

Final outcome splits earnings for rival causes

After Jama was voted out, actor Sebastian Croft and comedian Romesh Ranganathan became the final two contestants. They won the £83,000 prize pot and shared it between their chosen charities. Croft, best known for his role in Heartstopper, donated his £41,500 share of the official prize money to the humanitarian charity Choose Love. Meanwhile, Ranganathan gave his half of the winnings to the Refugee Council. The second series of Celebrity Traitors ended with record-breaking viewing figures for the BBC. Official figures released by the broadcaster showed that the final attracted an average overnight audience of 11.2 million viewers. This made it the most-watched episode of the format in UK history.