Quick Facts About Cat Burns: Inside BBC 'Celebrity Traitors' Star's Life, Career, Sexuality and ADHD Journey

The classic game of trust, suspicion, and betrayal is back, and a fresh line-up of celebrities is poised to join Claudia Winkleman for the new series of The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One. Tonight (8 October), viewers will watch 19 famous faces take on the roles of Faithfuls and Traitors in a bid to win a hefty prize pot of up to £100,000 for their chosen charity.

But among the familiar names like Stephen Fry, Charlotte Church, Alan Carr, and Tom Daley is singer-songwriter Catrina 'Cat' Burns—an artist whose success has been intertwined with her journey towards self-discovery.

The London-born musician has achieved phenomenal mainstream success despite her brief time in the limelight, rising from a teenager posting covers on TikTok to a triple-platinum selling star. However, ahead of her dramatic appearance on the show, Burns has used her platform to discuss her struggles with neurodivergence, revealing the private diagnosis that helped her understand why she always felt 'inherently different from everybody else.'

Here is everything you need to know about the BRIT and Mercury Prize-nominated star.

Who is Cat Burns: Personal Details and Early Life

Catrina Burns-Temison (born 6 June 2000) is a British singer-songwriter, who is currently 25 years old. She was born in Streatham, London, England, United Kingdom. Her career has spanned from 2016 to the present, and her music primarily falls under the Indie pop genre. Burns gained prominence with her 2020 single 'Go', which later reached number two on the UK singles chart in 2022.

Her debut album, Early Twenties, was released in July 2024. Burns's talent has earned her three nominations for the Brit Awards. Her early musical influences are rooted in gospel music, which she grew up listening to, citing artists like Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, and Marvin Sapp as her favourites.

Her mother is a singer, and her parents divorced when she was a child, leading her to be raised by her mother and sister. She is an alumna of the prestigious BRIT School in Croydon. Her musical style is described by Sony Music as a blend of gospel and pop influences with guitar-led indie music.

Cat Burns' Rocketing Rise to Pop Stardom

London-born Cat Burns has been releasing music since 2016, starting when she was just 16 years old. She attended the prestigious BRIT School as a teenager and first built an audience by posting covers and original music on TikTok.

Her breakthrough moment arrived in 2022 when her 2020 single, 'Go', unexpectedly went viral on the social media platform two years after its initial release, Daily Record reported.

• Chart Success: The song quickly propelled Cat into the mainstream, climbing to number two on the UK singles charts that summer. It narrowly missed the top spot, losing out to Harry Styles' hit 'As It Was.'
• Accolades and Collaborations: Following her rise to fame, the Gen Z singer received three BRIT Award nominations for 'Go,' including one for Song of the Year. She is now a triple-platinum-selling artist and a Mercury Prize nominee for her 2024 debut album, Early Twenties. Despite gaining recognition only a few years ago, she has already collaborated with Oscar-winning artist Sam Smith.

Burns is preparing to launch her second project, How to Be Human, on 31 October, which will be accompanied by a UK headline tour.

Cat Burns' Private Struggle That Informed Her Music

A passionate advocate for neurodiversity awareness, Cat Burns has been open about her diagnostic journey. In 2021, she was diagnosed with ADHD. She later tweeted in April 2023 about also receiving a diagnosis for ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

Speaking to The BBC about her decision to pursue a further diagnosis, she explained: 'I knew I had ADHD but I still felt there was a difference in my brain that I wanted to understand and explore.' She said receiving the autism diagnosis helped her 'understand myself and just how much I've had to do in order to get to where I am.'

For the musician, understanding her neurodiversity was crucial for contextualising her upbringing: 'I always felt inherently different from everybody else and I just didn't have a name for it or know what it could have been. As I got older, I really identified with the symptoms.'

Burns shared that keeping her struggles private contributed to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, admitting: 'It did allow for the insecurity of thoughts I've had in the past about 'I'm not pretty, I'm not good enough.'' She added that every time she discusses her health issues, including perimenopause, she sets 'myself — and someone else — free.'

Cat Burns' Sexuality and Relationship Details

Cat Burns is a prominent member of the UK LGBTQ+ community, identifying as a queer, Black woman. She has been in a reported relationship with Jodie Rockett since 2021, and the couple regularly posts pictures together on social media.

The relationship often serves as the inspiration for her songwriting. She told Attitude magazine that 'My partner's one of my main muses. I've written many a love song since being with her.'

She included a romantic track dedicated to her girlfriend, Jodie, on her first album, featuring the chorus: 'Your love goes rings around the sun/Although they try to slow it down, like a river, it still runs/Oh I, oh I, will put your mind at ease/When the nights go cold, your heart is safe with me.'

Burns remains focused on using her music and platform to create visibility. She told Gay Times in 2022: 'If you're a Black woman, I want you to feel heard and seen. We are vulnerable people who are capable of having lots of emotions. And, being a Black queer woman adds a layer to that.'

Cat Burns's journey to stardom is a powerful testament to finding success and self-acceptance through art, with her viral hit 'Go' being the launchpad for a triple-platinum-selling career.

By bravely sharing her personal diagnoses with ADHD and autism, and embracing her identity as a queer, Black woman, she has cemented her role as a vital advocate for neurodiversity and representation.

As she takes on the challenges of The Celebrity Traitors, her story proves that understanding and loving all aspects of oneself is the true measure of human strength.