The British are quite obsessed with The Traitors and have been since it burst onto their TV screens a few years ago.
The game of cloak and daggers, as presided over by Claudia Winkleman, is a ratings winner and has spawned a celebrity version that is due to air soon. I’ve never really taken to it as I found the tasks they have to do a bit dull but it’s harmless fun.
On Sunday, I watched the Irish version to see if it might be any better, and I’m glad to say it’s much more interesting to watch your own people stabbing each other in the back than the foreign version!
As an Irish person, you speak a very different language and operate on a completely different level to, say, the English. I don’t say this in a judgmental way but rather by way of observation.
The Irish and the English are simply different species. It’s something I continue to notice in the UK. The Scots and Welsh have more in common with us as storytellers and social extroverts via a Celtic connection, whereas the English are simply more reserved and maybe self-controlled with it.
So that makes the Irish version of The Traitors an utterly different (and more interesting) viewing experience.
Kudos to Kite Productions for doing such a professional job on the franchised show, with impeccable casting of Derry Girls favourite Siobhán McSweeney, pictured, as the high-camp and suitably snarky host.
I knew they were onto a good thing when my eldest told me she’s hooked, which is golden demographic material in a very difficult time for terrestrial television.
I’m not sure I have time to commit to the whole thing, and it’s very hard to avoid spoilers the next day if you miss the proper broadcast, but I have no doubt it’ll be a hit.
