Ed Gamble on The Traitors: Uncloaked, Standup Comedy

Ed Gamble does not like seeing himself on screen. “I know a lot of comics who struggle with watching themselves,” he says. “No one should be having to look at their own face so much. It feels simultaneously arrogant and also the most self-flagellating thing you can do.” Unfortunately for him, he has become virtually inescapable across British broadcasting and comedy. Gamble presents the BBC’s wildly successful companion show to the hit reality competition, titledThe Traitors: Uncloakedalongside his long-standing role co-hosting the hugely popularOff Menufood podcast with fellow comedian James Acaster. Over the summer, Gamble hosted a new program titledUnacceptablewhere comedians attempt to defend their worst or most controversial opinions—a format produced by Romesh Ranganathan, surely the only comic currently carrying a heavier broadcast work schedule than Gamble himself. A special for Amazon Prime, based on Gamble’s last two standup tours, will also be available this month. There, his brand became the “funny fat guy”, he writes. Where he did sketch comedy and found like-minded friends, including the comic Nish Kumar, with whom he later shared a flat in London, he read philosophy at Durham University. “I’ve been hugely privileged throughout my whole life, so it’s not like I’ve come from a hard background and suddenly I’ve got loads of money,” he says, matter-of-factly. “In terms of relationships, I met my wife before. In his book, he acknowledges the cliche that he has sometimes used humour as a defence mechanism. Attending the prestigious private school King’s College, he grew up in south London.

Secrets of The Celebrity Traitors

Gamble has known every twist ofThe Celebrity Traitorsincluding the eventual winner or winners, since the production was filmed several months ago. Managing the immense pressure of keeping these confidential secrets from the public and friends is an ongoing challenge. “Even with my wife, who loves the show, I want to tell her what I’ve been doing on a work day, but I can’t tell her who I’ve met,” he says. Fortunately, he notes that people generally prefer not to be spoiled. When someone asks for secret details, he offers to tell them, only to watch their expression shift: “Then you see their face go: ‘I don’t want that. I want to be part of the national conversation.’”

We meet on a mild October day in a pub garden near his east London home. At the time of our interview, the actor Myha’la, who had just been banished from the show, had made comments on Instagram addressing suggestions that unconscious racial and cultural bias exists in interactions between the players. “I certainly wouldn’t like to counteract anyone’s lived experience,” says Gamble. “I also think Myha’la said that she signed her own death warrant with the wink [at Richard E Grant shortly before he was unmasked as a Traitor]. But that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not true, and it’s something that needs to be discussed and looked at.” I’ve never been in the game of trying to upset anyone.

Obsessions, Comedy Origins, and Career Trajectory

Gamble readily describes himself as aTraitors“obsessive,” and it quickly becomes evident that his capacity for deep obsessions is a core part of his personality. “I don’t like it if I think people aren’t playing the game hard enough,” he explains, smiling at his own exactness regarding strategy. Though. “I don’t think it was massively difficult.”, he dismisses the idea that he suffered much.

Growing up, Gamble initially harbored ambitions to become an actor. “Because that’s what I knew about. I loved films and TV, and I probably wasn’t really aware of ‘comedian’ as a job,” he remembers. When he was 13 years old, his mother took him to see Steve Coogan perform live, and he began passionately watching BBC Two comedy programming such asGoodness Gracious Me. After completing university, Gamble ventured into standup comedy and immediately fell in love with the craft, loving the challenge of wrestling with live performance on stage. He gigged regularly on the circuit, co-hosted the influentialPeacock and Gamblepodcast with comedian Ian Boldsworth, and eventually began appearing frequently on television during the early 2010s. About 120kg (19st), in his early 20s he reached his highest weight. Having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a decade earlier, at 13. “The only plus side I would say of type 1 diabetes is your blood glucose levels rea, it was also a time when he was trying to take control of his health.

Navigating Modern Standup and the ‘Edgelord’ Trend

His upcoming live standup tour, titledFresh Hellsets off next year. He describes it with self-deprecating irony: “Another really heavy emotional show. Very political, of course. A lot of it is about toilet brushes. It’s hugely important work.”

Addressing the persistent trend of “edgelord” comedians—performers who deliberately set out to be provocative or offensive—Gamble views it as merely part of an ongoing cyclical pattern in performance. “Quite often they only talk about three topics, and they’ve all got the same angle on it,” he observes. In an era where short video clips circulate rapidly on social media stripped of their original context, Gamble remains thoughtful about his material. “I guess so, but I’ve always tried to think about what I say and how things can be interpreted,” he explains, emphasizing that clear intent and nuance matter greatly to him. I think there’s so many things going on with Ross Kemp that I find adorable and very funny.”. And it’s often aligned with how things feel politically in the world.”, it’ll keep coming back round again. Whereas internally, I think they hurt a little bit all the same.”.

People-Pleasing, Personal History, and Public Perception

Being liked is a fundamental drive for Gamble. In his 2023 memoirGluttonhe detailed his history with weight loss, food, and his “desperate need to fit in with people.” His greatest anxiety remains a fear of social banishment or alienating those around him. He describes himself as the type of person who can read 100 glowing compliments online, yet obsess continuously over a single negative comment for an entire week (he even utilizes a specific locking device on his phone to restrict app usage). In Glutton, a book with a chapter devoted to his love of cheese, Gamble comes across as someone largely accepting of his weight, which increases in direct proportion to his overwhelming love of food.

“I think it’s that thing of being a desperate people-pleaser, and it’s probably one of the most pathetic elements of my personality,” Gamble reflects candidly. “But also, I kind of don’t mind it, because that’s what drives me to be nice to people.” He adds: “I do wish I had that slight abandon and self-confidence to be like, ‘I’m right about this, fuck you guys,’ but I don’t.” But the brain’s an odd thing, right, those objective measures of success are “definitely something to lean on. I’m like, ‘Well, you’re 20 and clearly genetically gifted,’ but it will still be ticking over in my mind. What I wouldn’t recommend is making jokes about people’s weight, he wouldn’t necessarily recommend self-mocking in that situation. “Broadly.

Has this internal drive to people-please diminished as he has grown older and more established, having turned 40 this year? “No,” Gamble admits, “because the more people who see you doing things, the wider the field is of people who might potentially not like you, and then you see that happen. It will just go: ‘Well, think about what that one person said.’”

Home Life and Online Fans

Gamble married TV producer and musician Charlie Jamison in 2021, providing him with a grounded anchor outside of the entertainment industry. “So I’ve always had a very supportive home life, and that’s the thing I want to preserve more than anything,” he states warmly. Despite his anxieties about public approval, he notes with a laugh that he enjoys a very dedicated fanbase among gay men who regularly send supportive messages online: “I can open my message folder and go: ‘I’ve still got it.’”

Ultimately, Gamble remains pragmatic about the demands of his rising career. “But you know what, the trade-off is I’m on stage for an hour a day, and absolutely love the other 23 hours to be nice,” he says. He emphasizes that he has nothing to complain about “in comparison with a lot of other people.”

Release Details and Tour Information

• Ed Gamble Livestreams on Amazon Prime Video starting 29 October.
• TheFresh HellUK tour commences on 30 January, with full dates and ticket details hosted at edgamble.co.uk.