TV: Traitors Ireland makes a return to our screens

Eight thousand people applied to take part in the second series of The Traitors Ireland, after the success of last year’s run.

And when the first episode airs on RTÉ1 on Sunday at 9.30pm, we will get to see who has made it to Slane Castle with a chance of winning the €50,000 prize, and whether Cork gets represented at the famous round-table.

The series has become hugely successful across the globe in just a few years, and the Irish version, hosted by Cork actor Siobhán McSweeney, was a hit a year ago, with more than half a million viewers for each of the 12 episodes.

The latest batch of contestants will be taking part in the ultimate murder mystery game. In the first episode, McSweeney will select the secret traitors, but this time there’s a twist that causes immediate confusion amongst the group.

One player emerges a hero from the first mission, but has this put a target on their back?

The traitors meet nightly to plot and murder one of the others - called faithfuls - and it’s up to the faithfuls to try and work out who are the traitors in their midst and murder them at the round-table.

After the main event, a new series of The Traitors Ireland Uncloaked begins on RTÉ1 on Sunday at 10.30pm.

Comedian, actor, and presenter Kevin McGahern is once again the mischievous host as he invites celebrity super-fan guests and the banished or murdered players from the show to provide analysis and reaction to the latest betrayals, mind games, and manipulations.

In the first episode, Kevin welcomes last year’s champions, Vanessa Ogbonno, Kelley Higgins, and Oyin Adeyemi, to the attic, as they dissect the opening episode. Joining them are diehard fans, comedian Catherine Bohart and actor Owen Colgan, who weigh in with their theories, suspicions, and predictions.

In the second episode of Uncloaked, Traitor devotees, DJ Dave Duke and comedian Enya Martin, dissect the latest intrigue, while the first murdered and banished players sit down with Kevin to discuss secret alliances and share the gossip. Celebrity Traitor and actress Ruth Codd and broadcaster Bláthnaid Treacy will be the guests for the third episode.