Amol Rajan was mocked over his early exit on Celebrity Traitors as he made his TV return to host this week’s Have I Got News For You (HIGNFY). The journalist, 43, was the first star to be murdered on the show when he lost a head-to-head with comedian James Acaster while pleading to join Traitors Maya Jama and Richard E Grant. And his disastrous stint on the BBC gameshow was the first gag on HIGNFY with the show opening on a shot of panellist Phil Wang doing a mock vote at the Round Table, stating: ‘This is really difficult and I hope I’m wrong about this but I’ve gone with yourself Amol.’ Referencing the longstanding joke about contestants spelling each other’s names correctly, Phil then held up a piece of paper with ‘Ahmoll’, written on it. Yet the joke went completely over Amol’s head as he hit back: ‘What is traitorous is not spelling my name correctly!’ As Phil stared back at him incredulously, Amol twigged: ‘Is it a joke?’ as Phil exasperatedly explained: ‘Yeah that’s what they do on the show…’ An embarrassed Amol then put his head in his hands as team captain Ian Hislop quipped: ‘He’s not going to know what they do on the show, he was on it for five minutes!’ Amol Rajan was left with his head in his hands after being mocked over his early exit on Celebrity Traitors while hosting this week’s Have I Got News For You Referencing the longstanding joke about contestants spelling each other’s names correctly, Phil Wang pretended to banish him by holding up a piece of paper with ‘Ahmoll’, written on it After the spelling joke went over Amol’s head team captain Ian Hislop quipped: ‘He’s not going to know what they do on the show, he was on it for five minutes!’Amol confessed he had warned himself to ‘shut up’ and avoid being ‘the journalist who asks all the awkward questions’ in a bid to not be murdered or banished early on.He said: ‘It’s hard not to watch it and think I, obviously, with 20/20 hindsight, I played the wrong game.’That was a crazy, crazy once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity). Obviously, I wish I’d been chosen, and I wish I’d been a Traitor.’I can say, hand on heart, that if I’d been chosen as a Traitor in the first, when Maya and Richard were, if I got the nod or the tap at the roundtable, I think it would have thrown me a bit.’I’d be like, “what am I doing? what’s going on?” having genuinely spent a day as a Faithful, if I’d then been recruited, I think I would have been quite a good Traitor because I’d actually known what it was like to be a Faithful.’He added: ‘Just as there’s winners there has to be losers and you know what, I’ve loved the ride.’Speaking after his shock exit, Amol admitted that he is ‘grieving’ being kicked off so early.‘It’s just an absolutely unforgettable ride of a lifetime. And honestly, there’s kind of an unhappy contrast right now, because I’m sort of grieving what might have been.‘In time I know that I’ll come to look on this as honestly one of the greatest privileges of my life.’Amol’s early exit was all the more gutting for the star because it was also a crucial part of his plan to become a YouTuber extraordinaire after quitting his £320,000-a-year job as presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme.Remaining on Celebrity Traitors as long as possible was key to his success in going it alone.But after he became the first celebrity to be murdered, sources revealed to the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind how that setback could be a ‘disaster’ for his new venture. The journalist, 43, was the first star to be murdered on the show when he lost a head-to-head with comedian James Acaster while pleading to join Traitors Maya Jama and Richard E Grant Amol’s early exit was all the more gutting for the star because it was also a crucial part of his plan to become a YouTuber extraordinaire He is already asking fans to subscribe to his new website The Amol Rajan Connection and its YouTube channel for up to £999 for a ‘top tier’ lifetime membership, including the ‘Pina Colada’ subscription which will include access to events.Hoping to appeal to an audience younger than Today listeners, Amol is promoting it on TikTok.’It was all perfectly lined up by Amol, who is a very clever guy who doesn’t miss a trick,’ says an associate of the University Challenge host.’He signed for Traitors, left the BBC and started putting his YouTube project out there. It should have all been so good but he lasted just one episode.’It has screwed the plan and it is devastating for him.’He will sink without trace, the first person to be kicked off always does on these programmes.’There are a lot of people who have worked with Amol over the years who are having a little giggle at his early exit.’Along with this YouTube offering, Amol has trademarked his name for a range of goods which could see everything from sunglasses – he is often pictured in aviators – to clothes and even cookware flooding shop shelves.He applied in late July to trademark his company The Amol Rajan Connection with specific clauses to cover eyewear and kitchenware, including glass, porcelain and earthenware.He has also announced a ‘strategic partnership’ with Waitrose.It said new content on LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, Instagram and YouTube Shorts would focus on ‘crucial topics including sustainability, quality and British farming’.