(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/Matt Burlem)
For The Celebrity Traitors viewers, David Olusoga became one of the most recognisable faces in the castle when the celebrity version of the BBC show first aired.
But even before becoming one of Britain's best-known television historians, Olusoga was a boy growing up in Gateshead.
And his connection with the North East remains particularly strong.
(Image: UGC)
Olusoga was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1970 to a Nigerian father and British mother before moving to the UK as a child and growing up in Gateshead.
He has spoken extensively about his childhood in the town, including growing up on a council estate during the 1970s and 1980s.
In a 2026 interview, Olusoga said he retains a strong affection for the North East and a strong sense of belonging to the region.
His North East upbringing also features prominently in his own work.
In July 2026, Olusoga returned to the region to deliver the South Shields Lecture at Harton Academy.
During the event he talked about growing up in the North East and revealed that the first piece of long-form historical writing he produced was a thesis about the history of his hometown of Gateshead.
There was also a rather fitting North East ending to his visit.
After the lecture, Olusoga headed to Colmans on Ocean Road in South Shields for fish and chips, where he chatted with staff and learned more about the history of the family business.
But his appearance on The Celebrity Traitors introduced Olusoga to a new television audience.
The historian was one of the contestants in the first celebrity series, appearing as a Faithful.
His experience of the game has since given him plenty to talk about, including his attempts to apply evidence and logic to a game where the information available to contestants is deliberately incomplete.
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In a 2026 interview, Olusoga joked that his theories on the show were rational but “entirely wrong”, describing himself as the equivalent of the boring accountant in a Victorian novel.
Away from The Traitors, Olusoga has built a career bringing history to television audiences through programmes including A House Through Time, Black and British: A Forgotten History and Empire.
BAFTA has also recognised his television career, describing him as a broadcaster, writer and historian and noting his journey from a Gateshead council estate to becoming one of Britain's leading television historians.