diff --git a/panel/widgets/tables.py b/panel/widgets/tables.py
index e89f7236fa..5199e0b163 100644
--- a/panel/widgets/tables.py
+++ b/panel/widgets/tables.py
@@ -1814,10 +1814,10 @@ def _config_columns(self, column_objs: List[TableColumn]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]
                 col_dict['formatter'] = formatter.pop('type')
                 col_dict['formatterParams'] = formatter
             title_formatter = self.title_formatters.get(field)
-            if title_formatter:
+            if isinstance(title_formatter, str):
                 col_dict['titleFormatter'] = title_formatter
             elif isinstance(title_formatter, dict):
-                formatter = dict(title_formatter)
+                title_formatter = dict(title_formatter)
                 col_dict['titleFormatter'] = title_formatter.pop('type')
                 col_dict['titleFormatterParams'] = title_formatter
             col_name = self._renamed_cols[field]