is reportedly in talks for a sensational return on The Traitors.
The 63-year-old chat show icon, who presented Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on the Beeb for nine years, quit for in 2010, two years after sparking controversy on his Radio 2 show with the.
Now he’s poised for a comeback 14 years later with a rare foray into the world of reality TV on the heavily rumoured .
‘Jonathan is the ideal target for The Traitors producers because he’s a high-profile celebrity who doesn’t regularly appear on the reality TV circuit,’ an insider said.
‘He’s also one of a small army of stars who are self-confessed fans of the show.’
The Traitors is set to return with a celebrity version in 2025 with host Claudia Winkleman at the helm of the murder mystery programme, with Deadline reporting that the spin-off is set to start filming next year.
That update came after the programme’s boss Stephen Lambert told The News Agents podcast that it was ‘obviously a possibility’.
‘I think it would be pretty entertaining,’ he admitted earlier this year. ‘We talk to the BBC about the future of all our shows and that’s obviously a possibility.’
The Masked Singer star has teased a reality TV project on the cards while confirming The Jonathan Ross Show is returning to ITV next year.
‘I’m still doing the talk show. That’s coming back next year,’ he said. ‘I’m doing Masked Singer again. I might be doing a reality type thing if I can get all the dates to work.’
Ross faced backlash in 2008 and was suspended for 12 weeks after he and Russell Brand – who resigned over the uproar – left crude messages on Sach’s answering machine during a radio broadcast.
They joked about sleeping with the late Fawlty Towers legend’s granddaughter, and in 2014 the actor – who died two years later – described the ‘lewd banter’ as ‘deeply hurtful’.
Although Ross made a very brief return to the airwaves a decade ago to provide holiday cover for the late Steve Wright, The Traitors would mark his first TV appearance since walking away.
Announcing his decision to resign two years after the Scan**l, he said in a statement: ‘Over the last two weeks I have decided not to renegotiate when my current contract comes to an end. I would like to make it perfectly clear that no negotiations ever took place and that my decision is not financially motivated.
‘I signed my current contract with the BBC having turned down more lucrative offers from other channels because it was where I wanted to be and – as I have said before – would happily have stayed there for any fee they cared to offer, but there were other considerations.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Jonathan Ross’ representative for comment.
