We all know that the contestants will provide the main talking points on The Traitors Ireland - but host Siobhán McSweeney also aims to put Irish couture on show during the 12-episode run of the global smash.
"I think we all know what the Traitors is really about," says Siobhán McSweeney, with a mischievous look in her eyes. "It's about the clothes."
We’re in a hotel in Slane, just up - or is it down? - the road from Slane Castle, which has been transformed into the setting for the first season of The Traitors Ireland - the Irish version of hit reality show that’s been a sensation since it debuted on Dutch TV in 2021 as De Verraders, which is Dutch for The Traitors.
Since then, the show where contestants have to figure who amongst them are traitors in order to win a pile of cash, has become something of a phenomenon, with franchises popping up in the likes of the UK, USA and Australia.
Each country does its own version of the show - basically the same, but with the odd parochial twist - but one of the many common threads is the attire of the hosts. They’re all very differently dressed, but they all look amazing.
Now it’s the turn of Siobhán McSweeney, as she hosts The Traitors Ireland, which lands at 9.30pm on RTÉ One on Sunday, August 31.
As she sips her cup of tea, there’s a pretty obvious first question on the subject of host clobber: Did they give her a stack of money so she could land a mighty wardrobe for the duration of the 12-episode run?
Like, she's hardly expected to dress herself here . . .
Her response is rhetorical. "Do you think they give me a stack of money for wardrobe? No, but they realise that a lot of the success, I mean, a little bit of the success of this show, is because of the iconography of it.
"Like we know Claudia [Winkelman]’s fringe, we know Alan [Cummings]’s costumes, really, and his brilliant use of his accent, or whatever.
"So it would be incredible - I think I'd have let the country down - if I hadn't made a really strong effort to continue the tradition of the series, of the franchise, but to also give it that unique Irish flavour."
We all know the Irish can chat, lie and spoof like no one else on Earth, but Siobhán insists that there’s also the far from little consideration of the country’s collective creativity. It’s another facet of life where the Irish tend to excel.
So why not put some of that creativity on display in a show that will end up sprinkled across TV channels dotted around the globe?
"Listen," the former Derry Girls star urges, "we are brilliant in this country at many things, but one of the things that we're brilliant at in all the creative arts is design.
"It would be very stupid of me to miss an opportunity to not get dressed up in a good frock - and my mother did not rear a stupid woman.
"So, a rake of money? I don't know. None of us are in television for the money. Is there money in journalism? I should be asking you the questions!"
One thing’s for sure about The Traitors Ireland: Siobhán McSweeney won’t be short of a few words during the show’s run. Her towering personality should make the show even more unmissable as the contest develops.
But she’s also avidly keen to be an ambassador for the country. After dressing up as a nun in Derry Girls, it's an opportunity for her to show a more stylish side.
In that respect, she feels it’s imperative that a distinctly Irish look for her as host is maintained. "Only Irish designers," she insists. "It's hugely important. Because, as an actor, I know it's hugely important.
"I want to promote not only Irish designers, but Irish designers who aren't necessarily well established, Irish designers that don't do what we think Irish designers do, that aren't part of the establishment.
"Because there is a wealth of talent out there, and we're all very proud of the wealth of talent that is out there. But," she adds a caveat, "we haven't a clue of half of it.
"And I have the great privilege of being able to find people at the start of their careers and place them quite rightly in the spotlight."
On top of that, there’s also the matter of body shape. Siobhán won’t be entertaining anyone who might not want to entertain all figures and builds.
"As a plus size woman, it's incredibly important to me that every designer I work with is inclusive in their sizing," she says. "Otherwise, they're of no use to man or beast.
"It's pointless," she insists. "They're not doing it for for their customers. They're doing it for themselves."
The Traitors Ireland begins on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday August 31 at 9.30pm.
