Olympic diver Tom Daley, 31, has opened up about a gut-wrenching family moment that unfolded while watching his dramatic exit from The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One. The star, married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is a proud father to seven-year-old Robbie Ray and three-year-old Phoenix Rose. But it was Robbie who stole the spotlight with an emotional outburst that left his famous dad racing to console him.
During a heartfelt appearance on The One Show on Tuesday, Tom recounted the tear-jerking scene at home: “I’d been watching it with my husband and my oldest son, and what was really sad was when I got… you know… murdered.” As Tom became the second celebrity to be ‘murdered’ on the hit game show—hot on the heels of pop icon Paloma Faith—little Robbie burst into floods of tears.
“‘Papa!’ he cried,” Tom recalled, his voice softening. “I was like, ‘Robbie, I’m here, you’re fine,’ and he sobbed, ‘I wanted you to win. I hate The Traitors!’” The diver admitted with a laugh, “Well, I did want to be a Traitor.”
Though Tom’s time on the show was brief, he left an indelible mark—most memorably with a now-viral side-eye directed at Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway. The moment came when Kate dramatically declared she was “flabbergasted” by Paloma Faith’s shock elimination. Standing right beside her, Tom delivered a perfectly timed, condescending eye-roll that sent social media into a frenzy.
Fans crowned it the “best side eye ever,” with one X user writing: “[Gold medal] …goes to Tom!!” Another chimed in: “And she uses words like that all of the time.”
Kate, ever the good sport, has leaned into the mockery with humor. Over the weekend, she reposted stories about the viral moment on Instagram, adding crying-with-laughter emojis to a clip shared by news anchor Dan Walker. She even shared a cheeky video of her GMB co-stars declaring themselves “Faithful,” before turning to the camera and quipping: “I’m not saying anything other than I’m flabbergasted!”
After episode two aired, Kate kept the jokes coming, posting a group photo with her co-stars and writing: “Agh!!! What a cliffhanger – am genuinely #flabbergasted!!!! How could you all suspect. I mean just look at how many exclamation marks in this – that’s not dramatic is it?! Mum’s the word on my side though – see you on @gmb tomorrow from 6 a.m.”
While Tom may not have survived the Traitors’ castle, his son’s heartbroken reaction—and that legendary side-eye—have cemented his place in reality TV history.
The Celebrity Traitors continues on BBC One on Wednesday at 9pm.