Who is David Olusoga? Meet Celebrity Traitors contestant and BAFTA winning historian

It's now only a matter of hours until the final episode of the first ever series of The Celebrity Traitors UK hits our screens. It's had an incredible run, with viewing figures long since passing the civilian version of the show.

It's been a little over a month since the celebrity line-up first stepped foot in the Scottish castle, and among them was David Olusoga, who has now managed to make it to the final as a Faithful.

Speaking on making it so far, David said: "I never thought I would get to the final, and the way I’ve played so far I probably didn’t deserve to get to the final. It’s so random but an amazing game because so much of it is chance as well as strategy."

Now all that remains to be seen is whether David, alongside fellow Faithfuls Joe Marler and Nick Mohammed, will be able to sniff out Traitors Cat Burns and Alan Carr and secure a share of the £100,000 prize pot for a charity of their choice.

Read on for everything you need to know about the historian ahead of tonight's final episode.

Who is David Olusoga?

Age: 55

Job: Historian and author

Instagram: @olusoga

David Olusoga is a historian, author and filmmaker who first began his career as a researcher on 1999 BBC series Western Front.

He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, before migrating to the UK at five years old with his mother. When he was 14, his family had to leave the council estate where they lived and were placed under police protection after being the subject of racially motivated attacks, an experience that shaped who Olusoga is today. He then went on to study the history of slavery at University of Liverpool and graduated in 1994 with a History degree. Olusoga completed his studies with a postgraduate course in broadcast journalism at Leeds Trinity University.

Over his career, Olusoga has presented the likes of Black and British: A Forgotten History, A House Through Time and Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners, which awarded him a BAFTA in the Specialist Factual category in 2016.

He was appointed an OBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to history and to community integration and received his medal from King Charles III in February 2023.

Why did David sign up for The Celebrity Traitors?

Olusoga said that The Celebrity Traitors is the only reality game show he would ever consider taking part in, describing it as having something "special about it".

"This show is not like anything else I've been asked to do. So many people I know love this show. People who wouldn't normally watch anything else like this love The Traitors. Once I started considering the idea, it felt like it could be a really interesting experience," he told the BBC.

Does David want to be a Faithful or Traitor?

Olusoga revealed he definitely wants to a Faithful on The Celebrity Traitors as he thinks he would forget to lie.

"I think there's a terrible risk that I'd forget that I was in deep cover. That's the reason why I'm not a spy. It would be an impossible task remembering that you're not who you're saying you are.

"I have no strategy at all. So much of this is guesswork, I don't think it's ever been the case that in the first few rounds people have ever had a strong strategy from the start they’ve been able to stick to, " said Olusoga.

Celebrity Traitors begins on Wednesday 8th October at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer. The Traitors seasons 1-3 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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