Ireland is braced for an orgy of back-stabbing, truth-bending and questionable wardrobe choices – but before the presidential election it’s time for the first season of our own, made-to-measure version of the international social-deduction hit The Traitors (RTÉ One, Sunday, 9.30pm).
The gripping format will be familiar to anyone who has caught the Claudia Winkleman edition on the BBC (or suffered through the far more annoying US Traitors, hosted by Alan Cumming). Two dozen competitors are trucked off to a misty castle in a dim and distant part of the country – the Co Meath commuter belt in the case of the Irish show – where a sarcastic host subjects the punters to elaborate and extensive psychological torture while wafting around in creative evening wear.
The Irish mistress of ceremonies is Siobhán McSweeney, best known for Derry Girls but also a seasoned presenter of reality TV, having hosted The Great Pottery Throw Down on Channel 4. As The Traitors Ireland begins, she delivers a heightened impersonation of her deadpan Derry Girls character, Sr Michael – all while dressed in a cape-and-ruffs outfit she describes as a mix of Enya and Countess Markievicz. “The games will begin,” she cackles to her Irish wolfhounds. “Soon you’ll feast.”
RTÉ, which has presumably paid handsomely for the rights to The Traitors, will hope that a ratings banquet likewise awaits.
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McSweeney’s costumery aside, the Irish Traitors is enjoyably true to its predecessors. There’s a delicious thrill in seeing contestants lie through their teeth – or try to do so and end up sweating bullets of guilt and trepidation.
One of those struggling to keep it together after their arrival at Slane Castle is garda Eamon, whose bonhomie evaporates when McSweeney gives him the secret tap on the shoulder that confirms he is one of three Traitors.
[ The Traitors Ireland: ‘It’s a safe way to be a treacherous, backstabbing person’Opens in new window ]
Eamon’s change in personality draws the suspicion of estate agent Nick. But this causes as much trouble for Nick as for Eamon. His twitchy nose puts him in the firing line for an early elimination by Eamon and his fellow traitors: Katelyn, a leadership consultant, and Paudie, a retired prison officer.
There is another twist as it’s revealed that Paudie has previously met civil servant Andrew. They are father and son but did not know that the other would be going on television. “We’re both big liars,” Paudie says. “We didn’t tell each other.”
The cut-throat nature of the game is confirmed at the outset as Andrew is voted most trustworthy at the door of the castle and required to choose two contestants to eliminate. Farewell, firefighter John and holistic therapist Gemma. They turn tail and walk down the driveway before they even have a chance to cross the threshold.
The Traitors works because it strips human nature down to its brutal essence. How far would you be prepared to bend the truth for a big cash prize? For many people, it turns out, lying comes as easily as smiling for the camera, although it’s sobering to hear several contestants reveal that they would put the €50,000 payout towards buying a house. Even in the fantasy world of The Traitors, reality intrudes now and then.
An addictive opening episode ends on a cliffhanger as Eamon, Katelyn and Paudie decide which of the Faithful to “murder” on their first night. Slane hasn’t witnessed such tension since Noel and Liam Gallagher sulked their way through an end-of-days Oasis concert in 2009. Some might say RTÉ can’t carry off big, ambitious productions, but with The Traitors it has delivered a murderously enjoyable parlour game.
