Joe Marler called out by rugby star who wants to fight him after testicle grab scandal

The Celebrity Traitors is reaching boiling point as the competition enters its final stages, with the grand finale just around the corner.

Remarkably, none of the three designated 'traitors' - Alan Carr, Cat Burns and Jonathan Ross - have been unmasked yet, with the group mistakenly voting off innocent 'faithfuls' at every turn. From an initial line-up of 19 celebrities, only nine remain, including six faithfuls who are still in the castle alongside Carr, Burns and Ross. Among the remaining stars is ex-England rugby player Joe Marler, who has won over BBC viewers with his no-nonsense attitude and unexpected 'bromance' with comedian Joe Wilkinson.

Marler's entry into the iconic Traitors castle marks his first foray into reality TV following his retirement from a vibrant rugby career last year. In addition to earning 95 caps for England, reaching the 2019 Rugby World Cup final and touring with the British and Irish Lions in 2017, he represented Harlequins 286 times and clinched two Premiership titles and a European Challenge Cup.

Despite his achievements on the field, Marler was often embroiled in controversy due to his outspoken nature and penchant for 's***housery', crossing the line more than once.

Most notably, the Harlequins front-row forward received a 10-week suspension from rugby after grasping Alun Wyn Jones' private parts during England's Six Nations encounter with Wales in 2020.

The incident, which took place amid a fracas that broke out fewer than 10 minutes into the Twickenham fixture, provoked outrage with Marler captured on film making the contact with the Welsh skipper.

After the game, Wales head coach Wayne Pivac at the time denounced the behaviour and declared there was "no place for it in the game", and whilst Welsh icon Jones described his former British and Irish Lions colleague as a "good bloke", he maintained that rugby's governing bodies should penalise Marler.

They proceeded to do exactly that, with an independent disciplinary committee imposing a substantial ban upon him.

The minimum suspension under World Rugby regulations for "grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals" stood at 12 weeks, with the panel reducing it by three weeks due to Marler's exemplary character and contrition before reinstating one week because of his recent disciplinary history.

Nevertheless, it wasn't the initial occasion that Marler became embroiled in controversy involving a Wales player, having sparked fury when he confronted prop Samson Lee during the 2016 Six Nations.

The England forward was picked up on the official's microphone addressing Lee - who hails from a traveller background - as a "gypsy boy". The comment resulted in Marler receiving a two-match ban and being ordered to donate £20,000 to an equality charity.

He subsequently claimed that the incident and its aftermath served as the catalyst for his initial international retirement, which he declared two years later aged 28.

However, following his permanent retirement last year, Marler disclosed that Lee had issued him with another challenge - this time proposing a boxing bout rather than a rugby confrontation.

Speaking on the Socially Distant Sports Bar podcast, the former prop disclosed that he had filmed a tribute message for Lee following the ex-Scarlets player's retirement announcement at the close of 2023, only for the Welshman to respond with an unexpected proposition. "I had my incident with Gypsy-gate and Samson Lee," Marler recounted.

"Someone asked me to do a retirement video for him at the Scarlets to send over to him, so I did. Then he got in touch just before the Autumn Series started and said 'Alright butt, I hope you're well. I hope things are all right. Are you interested in a charity boxing match?' [This was] for his testimonial."

Caught off guard by the challenge, Marler initially chose not to reply to Lee, though he confessed he wasn't anticipating the 45-cap Wales international would abandon his plans for the fight, especially given his suggested opponent had also hung up his boots. "I was like 'I'm not sure. I don't see how I win. Even if I do win, I'm not winning," he added.

"You know, I'm not winning. I sort of cowardly didn't reply for a while and then I got a nudge message from him. He said: 'What do you think then butt, I think we can make f***ing mint'.

"I was like: 'Err... I know it looks like I've retired already, but I am still playing, so I'll probably put it on the backburner for now', he added. "I'm just waiting for that message to come again, now that I've fully retired, to be like 'right, shall we tango?"