After much hype and excitement in the build up, The Traitors Ireland kicked off on RTÉ on Sunday night and viewers weren’t left disappointed.
The UK version has been a big hit and when an Irish version was announced last year, fans were eagerly awaiting to see if the RTÉ series, presented by Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney, would live up to the BBC version, reports RSVP Live.
The game starts with all of the contestants arriving at the castle – the iconic Slane Castle in Co Meath in this case – as Faithfuls.
Once they are there, they sit at the Round Table blindfolded and find out if they will play as a Traitor or a Faithful. The host typically picks three Traitors by tapping them on the shoulder, so their identities are kept a secret from the rest of the group.
24 contestants were introduced at the beginning, only for two to be dismissed by a selected contestant in a shock elimination before they had even set foot in the castle.
A further twist emerged later in the show when it was revealed that Andrew – who had been asked to eliminate the two guests – is the son of another contestant, Paudie… and neither knew that the other was going to be on the show.
“When I saw you first I was totally shell-shocked!” Andrew told his dad when they had a moment alone.
“The first thing I was going to do was look down the line to see who was there,” Andrew said. “I look over and I see… my dad. I actually did a double-take. Almost had to verify it was him when I saw him.”
Viewers were impressed with the twist, even if they did think it somewhat predictable. Taking to X, one person wrote: “OMG I knew he was someone’s dad.”
Another said: “HIS DAD!”
Some viewers questioned how true the twist was: “Trying to work out how the Producers could cast 2 family members without the individuals realising – you hardly have to give the details and pics of your whole family to apply surely?!”
“But HOW?? How did they make the connection and how could they both not realise if they were going ‘off radar’ for a few weeks at the *exact* same time – and does their poor wife/Mammy know where they’ve both vanished to!” they added.
“JESUS Paudie and Andrew are father and son. Spanner in the works already,” one viewer said.
Another viewer joked: “Paudie has that dog in him. You better believe he’s selling his son down the river at the first opportunity.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
