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The Traitors is arguably the biggest reality television show at the moment.
In the UK, it is the BBC’s most successful show in years, while the US version draws in millions of viewers too. Not to mention the franchise is also a smash hit in the Netherlands, Australia, France, and Canada. The programme is a mix of reality TV and a game show, and sees a group of strangers compete in a castle to win a large cash prize by completing missions and playing a game of deception.
It is now Ireland’s turn to play the game, with Siobhan McSweeney as host in the iconic backdrop of Slane Castle. If you’ve never watched it, here’s exactly how it works – what the format is and all of the rules.
The game starts with all of the contestants arriving at the castle 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.
If you’re a Faithful, your job is to suss out who the Traitors are amongst the group, and banish them all before the end of the game. Traitors, meanwhile, need to convince everyone they are Faithful, and escape banishment.
If the Faithfuls successfully get rid of all the Traitors before the end of the game, the remaining Faithfuls win the game and the prize money. But if any Traitors are left standing, they win and take it all.
How do the Faithfuls “banish” Traitors and – how do Traitors “murder” the Faithful?
Each evening, the group gathers at the Round Table and has an open discussion over who might be a Traitor. Everyone casts their vote of one contestant they think is a Traitor and explains their reasons why. The contestant with the most votes is “banished” and leaves the castle, and therefore the game, immediately – but not before revealing the truth of whether they are actually Faithful or a Traitor.
Following the Round Table, the Traitors meet in secret and choose a Faithful to eliminate from the game. This is called a “murder”. The chosen Faithful will find out they have been murdered when they receive a letter from the Traitors. The remainder of the group finds out who has been eliminated at breakfast the next morning.
The total number of Traitors in the game at any time is never disclosed to the Faithfuls, but it can change many times throughout the series through banishment or recruitment. If the Faithfuls catch a Traitor and banish them, the Traitors have the opportunity to recruit a Faithful to join them. If they agree, they become a Traitor instantly for the rest of their time in the game.
Where does the money come in to it?
Each day, after breakfast and before the evening Round Table, the Faithfuls and Traitors work together in a series of challenges called “Missions”. Here, they have the chance to earn money towards the prize fund, with a total of €50,000 up for grabs in the Irish version of the show.
The amount of money they win in the challenges is then won by either Faithfuls of Traitors, as explained above, at the end of the game.
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