The Traitors Ireland might have been one of the most talked-about shows last year.
And we won’t have to wait too long before we head back to Slane Castle and meet our next bunch of Traitors and Faithfuls.
VIP Magazine got to head down to the castle earlier this year to chat with Siobhán McSweeney ahead of the show’s return on August 30th.
“Last year we learned so much just from the act of doing it. It was such a remarkable monster,” she tells us with a smile.
“You start it, and you hold on for dear life, and then it finishes, and after you’ve slept for two weeks you’re like, ‘What happened?’”
And while we couldn’t imagine anyone else helming the series, Siobhán admits that she was “nervous” when she stepped back into the castle.
“It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s great fun, and the response to it has been a lovely aspect. I’m too long in the tooth to know that you can’t count on it, but it would be lovely if there was even an iota of the same response we had last year.”
She jokes that she knew they had a hit on their hands when her brother told her that he was watching.
“Our neighbours were watching it. Everybody who wouldn’t necessarily watch a sit-down show, I was hearing stories from people I know that they were sitting down with their kids. That’s when I knew something was up.”
It’s safe to say her intuition was right as over 2.1 million viewers watched the first season of The Traitors Ireland last autumn.
For the second season, over 8,000 contestants applied for just 24 slots on the show.
Of course, they’re hoping to replicate the success of season two. But they’re very aware that the show can’t just be a copy-paste of the incredible cast of characters the first time around.
127 prison guards applied after the success of Paudie Moloney on the show. The Traitor was a firm fan favourite, appearing on Gogglebox and Dancing with the Stars after the fact.
“You’re getting a completely different gang with a completely different dynamic and way of working with each other,” Siobhán explains.
Last year, we saw Faithfuls Vanessa, Oyin and Kelly win the prizepot of almost €43,000. They beat out the final two Traitors Nick and Ben in the final.
“I oscillate between respect and contempt for how amazing our Faithful and Traitors are able to play the game. It’s so hard to not get emotionally involved,” Siobhán adds.
“You know, if this happened in real life it would be so horrible! It’s all betrayal and stuff. But they know it’s a game, they go into it willingly and it’s really impressive.”
And of course, they’ll be bringing in all the Irish-isms and their cúpla focal once again.
“This year we’ve really embraced it, and we have contestants who spontaneously bring [Gaeilge] to the table every single night,” she adds.
“There seems to be a wonderful thing about the show, is that we seem to be reflecting what’s happening in Irish society at the moment.”
