The Traitors Ireland is the most anticipated TV show of the year. Michael Doherty pays a (secret) visit to the set before sitting down with its host, Siobhán McSweeney, to get the inside track.
It arrived by hand. The hand of a shadowy figure that melted away into the night as soon as the parchment had been delivered. ''By order of The Traitors," it read, "you have been summoned to a Set Reveal".
Ok, it wasn’t a hand-delivered parchment; it was a standard e-mail, but you get the idea.
On the day of said secret set reveal, waivers were signed and embargoes duly imposed. As it turned out, there was little need for such skulduggery. In an era of social media and wagging tongues, the location of Slane Castle as the venue for the Irish series of The Traitors proved to be as much of a secret as General Haig’s war plans were to Captain Blackadder, i.e. "only myself, and the rest of the English-speaking world is to know".
Driving into the grounds of Slane Castle, the first things one notices are the flags on the ramparts bearing the famous Traitors logo. The route to the castle entrance itself is dotted with white marquees, carefully blacked out so prying eyes are unable to detect the various props for the show being housed within. An estimated crew of 175 people are on set, not including the contestants, who are (not coincidentally) nowhere to be seen, off on their daily mission to add more money to the overall prize pot.
In case you have been living under a rock, the format of The Traitors is simple. A group of strangers arrives at a remote castle to play a game of deception and trust. Three of their number are immediately chosen to be Traitors and will attempt to secretly "murder" a player every night, without getting caught. It’s up to the others, the Faithfuls, to detect the Traitors and "banish" them from the game, before they themselves become their next victim.
If a Traitor remains undetected to the end of the series, they’ll claim all the money in the pot, a pot that has been bolstered by daily tasks. In the Irish version of the game, that pot can reach up to €50,000.
The origins of The Traitors
The Traitors originated in The Netherlands in 2021 and there are now more than 30 international iterations of the show including the US version, hosted by Alan Cumming, and the BAFTA-winning UK version, for which Claudia Winkleman does the honours. For the Irish edition, Siobhán McSweeney (of whom more later) will don the hooded cape and guide viewers through all the Machiavellian intrigue. Casting for the Irish version began at last year’s Ploughing Championships and, according to the producers, ‘’every type of identifiable character is in the mix’’.
On the day of the Slane Castle set visit, all of these identifiable characters have gone to ground, but the production gallery is a hive of activity. A bank of 36 TV screens is being monitored by director, Sharon Dalton; series producer, Maireád Whelan, and five story producers.
In addition to the manned camera crews, remote cameras have been installed at all key locations. These include the dining area where a kitchen island is already groaning with breakfast foods, and three remote cameras are ready to capture every reaction as the contestants deal each morning with the loss of a cereal companion.
Remote cameras are also visible in the lounge area, where contestants can chill out and either shoot the breeze or compare conspiracy theories with their peers, depending on their status as Traitor or Faithful. Music fans might be interested to know that this chill-out area was once a studio, where U2 wrote and recorded The Unforgettable Fire in 1984.
Outside the lounge area, one takes a spiral staircase down to the castle basement where the all-important Conclaves are held in what can best be described as an atmosphere of Stygian gloom. This is where, in the wee small hours of the morning, the Traitors ensure that the bedtime reading of at least one of their fellow contestants is contained within an envelope bearing a wax seal.
Finally, it’s time to visit the most important location of them all - a room of tension, tears, and recrimination, better known as The Round Room. This houses the famous circular table which today boasts 19 goblets, 19 slates, and 19 individual pieces of chalk. The table features a rotating 360° camera at its centre, and is surrounded by 19 wooden chairs, imported from Galway.
The surrounding wood panelling, complete with dagger motifs and all-important camera hide, is the work of production designer Claire Morrissey, whose previous credits include LOL: Ireland and Don’t Forget The Lyrics. Whoever is lucky enough, skilful enough, or dastardly enough, to maintain their presence in this modern-day Star Chamber to the bitter end will be rewarded with a hefty prize pot and the full attentions of the Irish media.
Let the games begin!
The Host With The Most
There were numerous names in the hat when it came to prospective hosts of The Traitors Ireland, but Siobhán McSweeney was universally hailed as a fantastic choice when her name emerged.
The Cork actress made her name as the acid-tongued Sister Michael in Derry Girls, and has since appeared in numerous TV and film productions, including Graham Norton’s Holding and the crime series Redemption, with Paula Malcomson and Moe Dunford. Since 2021, she has hosted The Great Pottery Throw Down, and will take a lead role in the upcoming BBC six-part series, Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue, co-starring Eric McCormack.
Michael Doherty: Can I take you back to when the call came in to offer you The Traitors’ hosting gig. First of all, how exciting was that? And secondly, did you have to sign something in your blood?
Siobhán McSweeney: Hahaha! Do you know what, and I can say it now, I actually said no when I was first offered the gig. I just didn't think I was the right person for it. Thankfully, I was convinced otherwise! And then instead of getting excited as you mentioned, I got very scared because I thought, ‘Oh, jeepers, what have I just signed up for?’ It's such a big show, and it's such a well-loved show, you immediately feel pressure. But there’s also the fact that I can’t keep secrets. Not only was I petrified of saying anything outside the castle, I was petrified of saying anything inside the castle! I met Alan Cummings and I was like ‘any tips?’ He simply said: ‘’poker face’’.
Were you already a fan of the show, or did you have to binge-watch it immediately after getting the gig?
I came to it quite late, having only watched the previous series of the UK version. I loved it, and then went back to watch a bit more of the earlier seasons. The game it's based on, Mafia, is a game my friends don't allow me to play because I get so upset playing it!
There was an episode on holiday in the Lake District, where I had to come down the next morning and apologise to everyone for the way that I had reacted in the game the night before. I got very upset and called everyone a bully, before basically knocking over the table and going to bed! But it goes to show you need to have a certain personality for it, and I just don't have that personality.
So did you turn being a host into an acting role in order to become that person?
Yes, I had to treat it like a role. It was like when I did The Great Pottery Throw Down for the first time. I played her, and still do play her, as a sort of character, because it was the only way I could think of presenting it. So I had this character, and she evolved into something else during this series of Traitors Ireland. I call her Lady Muck. Once the lipstick goes on, I’m like, there she is now.
For the US version of the show, Alan Cumming is showcasing his Tartan outfits, while Claudia is working her own Balmoral style to great effect on the Beeb. I believe you took the opportunity in this series to highlight Irish fashion...
Yes, and I hope I managed it successfully. We all worked very hard on it because, like I said, I sort of approached it as a role. My mood board had Enya and Countess Markievicz: together at last! I went to the Abbey archive to source some clothing because I have a theatrical background, and there's something innately theatrical about this show.
Through word of mouth and people I’d worked with before, I found young designers whom I worked with alongside designers I'd worked with. We adapted a lot of existing clothes by embellishing and added things. That fed into my own ideas about sustainability and using natural materials.
From what you’ve said before, I know that you were careful in your choice of designers . . .
I didn't work with one designer that doesn't normally design for bodies that are shaped like mine. That's really important to me, because I have been on both sides of the ‘’acceptable body’’ scale, and I couldn't bear that level of hypocrisy. It's a disgusting aspect of the fashion business.
How important was Slane Castle itself in helping you get into character?
So important. When I got the job, everybody was asking me, ‘oh, will you be doing it in Scotland?’ And I was, like, no Ireland has many things, and one of them is a good castle! Doing it in Slane, I mean, God almighty, REM 1995, all that. The art department was wonderful but the bones were already there, in the grounds and with the Boyne. This place just lends itself to mythological stories.
What is it about the Irish psyche that lends itself either lends itself to keeping secrets or lend itself to enjoy becoming a traitor?
We don’t shut up. That’s the main thing! We love to talk, and that’s handy in an environment where silence can be very suspicious. We were worried when the contestants arrived that the stature of Slane Castle would be so imposing that they would be very nervous. I mean, God love them, they're normal people.
We thought it would take them a while for them to warm up, but they got straight into it. We couldn't get them past the front door! They started talking and they didn't stop talking until the bell rang. Apparently that was unusual, because we had somebody who had worked on all the different versions of the show and when asked what was different about the Irish version, he simply said, ‘you talk a lot!’
How did you view your role as host?
When I've presented before, the host has very much been a guiding force or a comforting force; friendly and stern when needs be, almost parental. I assumed The Traitors would be a more arch version of that. But what I found in this scenario is that the show is led by the contestants more than any other shows I've worked on. Our timetable is led by them. We do not know when we wake up in the morning or what time we will be going to bed, because that depends on what the contestants discover about each other on any given day.
For example, it's eight o'clock and everybody's talking about Mr Phone, and they're definitely going to throw out Mr Phone. And then they go to the Round Table, and you realise that it's Mrs Cup. It changes like that. And that surprised me, because people have an idea with these shows that there's a certain amount of manipulation done or that a certain amount of the narrative is constructed through the editing process. It’s not. This is a show that is led by the contestants.
For somebody who started out in drama school and had expectation of theatre and film, was being a TV host and TV presenter on your bingo card?
Not at all. When I was a really small child, before I even knew what an actor was, all I wanted was to be an actor. I wanted to be behind a curtain. I wanted to wear my mom's skirt over my head, and I wanted to wave it around. When I started acting, you barely moved from theatre to telly, and you barely moved from telly into film. There was no crossover.
Now it seems far more acceptable, but I had no interest back then in crossing over. I was a theatre nerd, and all I was ever going to be was a theatre nerd. Now I can't imagine my life being in one area. And so, not only was TV presenting not on my bingo card, I didn't even think you could have a bingo card!
I’m guessing Derry Girls totally changed the landscape for you?
Oh, Derry Girls changed everything, without a shadow of a doubt. Before that show, I was a jobbing actor who worked primarily in theatre, and loved it, and paid my rent, and was delighted. That's a success. I was in the background of every show you've ever seen, and I loved every second of it. Derry Girls blew open the doors for something else. And then The Great Pottery Throw Down opened up a different type of door. Pottery Throw Down proved that so many people in the UK and Ireland just love to watch entertainment shows.
You recently directed a short feature, Spud, in which you play a woman caring for her dad, played by Dermot Crowley. It has been well received at festivals and was BAFTA-nominated. Is there a feature version in the offing?
Potentially, yes, is the answer. I loved making it. I think there is something more in there, perhaps something more in the surreal aspect of it. It is a world I will continue to investigate, because I think the world of being a carer and the world of being a certain age and being a woman, and the world of being a rural woman is one that deserves to have a light shone into all its wobbly nooks and crannies. Irish identity is wrapped up in that idea of womanhood as well. I'm very moved by you asking me about my short film. Thank you very much.
The Traitors Ireland airs at 9:30pm on Sunday 31 August on RTÉ One. Catch up later on RTÉ Player.
