Slane Castle revealed as location for The Traitors Ireland

Ellen O'Donoghue

Slane Castle has been officially confirmed as the setting for The Traitors.

Filming has finished on the Irish version of the hit show that will air on RTÉ One later this year.

The Meath site will be the backdrop for the mind games, missions, and unexpected twists, while Siobhán McSweeney is on presenting duties.

The show will feature contestants from all around the country, after a national casting call for applications last year.

Contestants will have breakfast along the banks of the Boyne River as they find out day by day who has been murdered, and Slane Castle's towering walls will be where contestants plot their next move, whether they are in the midst of a faithful alliance or whispering behind closed doors as a Traitor.

The Traitors has enthralled audiences around the world, including award-winning versions in the UK, US and the Netherlands.

Head of documentaries and series at RTÉ, Gráinne McAleer, said that they are delighted to have been given access to "one of the country's most iconic castles" for the series.

"It was a real privilege to work in such a fantastic location. Slane has been an ideal production base - the castle is suitably imposing, and the Boyne Valley makes for a stunning backdrop," she said.

Alex Mount Charles of Slane Castle said that the castle may be their home, but it was built for entertaining.

"Having The Traitors here is an enthralling evolution of this theme as the dramatic setting of the castle and its grounds now provide the backdrop for world-class entertainment on the screen. The whole team at Kite Entertainment have dug deep on this one.”

The psychological reality competition sees a group of strangers arrive at the castle to play the ultimate game of deception, betrayal and trust in the hope of winning €50,000.

Hidden among them are the Traitors, who will attempt to secretly murder a player every night without getting caught, and it is up to the others, the Faithfuls, to try to detect who the Traitors are and banish them from the game before they become their next victim.

Each day, the group embark on missions as they work together to add more money to the prize pot.

Those who survive to the end have the chance of winning the life-changing cash, but if a Traitor remains undetected, they will steal all the money.