Good night and thank you for your company. Watch out for Laura Slattery’s behind the scenes report and interviews with Traitors finalists on irishtimes.com in the morning
The winners!
Kevin McGahern asks Siobhán on UnCloaked who is your favourite child? She answers Diane because she wishes she got to see more of her.
And there we have it. The traitors outfoxed and the faithful walk away with the prize money. What a tense conclusion to a spectacular first season of The Traitors Ireland.
Hugs, tears… fireworks.. It’s like a Coldplay concert without the €400 tickets.
Vanessa has rung the bell - the game is over. “In a room full of people that you can’t trust it’s nice to know there’s at least two.”
Oyin votes to end the game. “I have full confidence. I know we’re all faithful.” Kelley agrees. What will Vanessa do?
“It’s been an absolute pleasure playing the game - but more importantly getting to know you…I am a traitor,” he says. Everyone’s crying – except Ben. Probably because he knows he’ll soon be back with Nick. Now the faithful must decide if there is another traitor.
Three votes for Ben. The faithful win!
Oooh...Oyin votes to banish Ben .Might the jig be up?
Cut to Slane Castle exterior and a big fire-pit straight out of Love Island. Siobhán is back – and the contestants are voting whether to end the game or banish again. White smoke from the fire – they’ve voted to banish again. Smartly played faithful. And Ben, who is pretending that he suspects there is a traitor out there.
Should there be a steward’s inquiry over Nick’s “half right” comment to the faithful. Is he trying to influence the outcome of the game and hand the win to Ben after he has been eliminated? The internet has opinions.
“I’ve dodged every murder. I’ve gotten rich to the finale,” says Ben. The contestants can end the game now if they believe everyone left is a faithful. But if they do, the traitor wins.
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Ben pretends to be shocked at the departure of Nick. But as last traitor standing / skulking he’s in pole position to win. Next comes the end game. Stay under the radar and all that lolly is his. Perfect time for another ad break and a deep breath.
How are you holding up? I didn’t think The Traitors could top the Joanna/Faye round tables for sheer tension. But we’re only halfway through the final and already I’ve run out of nails to bite.
The estate agent has lost the keys to the castle. The Nick-aissance ends tonight!
Nick has chosen to banish Vanessa. She goes for Nick. Ben writes down Vanessa’s name. Oyin thinks it’s Nick. What will Kelley write?
“I’m so confused,” says Kelley. She suspects she’ll have the swing vote at the round table – might she be the kingmaker and traitor slayer?
“There’s not a scrap of evidence. You’ll make the wrong decision on me,” says Nick. This could be the end of the road for him.
Nick and Ben kept schtum when the faithful turned on Faye the previous night – and Oyin seems to have twigged something is amiss. Nick on the backfoot here.
Oyin has Nick in her sights. Was he recruited by Paudie? She suspects he’s “slipping between the cracks” at the round tables. He is rattled - but here comes to Ben to defend him. Peak Ben.
Quick recap from Siobhán. If only faithful are left at the end, they get the loot. If there’s a traitor among them, the conspirators walk away with the dosh.
Back to the show ...
Side-eye from Kelley as she suggests Paudie recruited Nick and Nick nods along. And now the round table. Can you taste the tension?
Laura Slattery is reporting from the Clayton Hotel
Irish wolfhounds, hooded people in gold masks and RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst are all in attendance at an RTÉ screening of the finale in Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge.
The cast — including the final five — and host Siobhán McSweeney are the guests of honour at the event, compered by Uncloaked presenter Kevin McGahern.
RTÉ and the producers, Kite Entertainment, have been toasting a massive hit for the broadcaster, with commissioning editor Gráinne McAleer, describing the series as being “like 12 All-Irelands” in terms of viewer ratings.
They’ve bagged the ten grand - which is good. Aaaand they’re singing ole, ole, ole – which is bad. Now Nick is trying to turn Kelley in the car journey back to the castle. It’s like Game of Thrones with added estate agent.
The challenges are always a bit of filler. But at least this one has decent production values. That tower looks spectacular.
They’re talking to a man on a walkie talkie. Now there’s a helicopter. Carry on like this and there won’t be any money left for another of Siobhán’s statement capes. Just to reiterate I have no idea what’s going on: I have unleashed the Wilkin within.
Ooh cinematic drone shots of the players pegging it across the countryside in their huge golf-carts. That’s one fifth of the budget gone right there. And now they’re in a dungeon. They see an orc guarding a chest. Only joking – Vanessa has found clues leading to the next elements. Is anyone following this?
It’s all gone a bit ZX Spectrum text adventure. They’re looking for crystals to unlock a spire – I’m having flashbacks to that time I was locked in the goblins’ dungeon playing The Hobbit.
We’ve reached the first ad break. What do we think of Nick and Ben’s plan to separate Vanessa and Oyin by turning Kelley against Vanessa? It was all tears and hugs at the last supper the previous evening - but the traitors are ruthless out of the gate tonight. This could turn nasty. Who am I kidding. This WILL turn nasty.
The last mission. Siobhán in another statement ruff – and ten grand potentially added to the pot. She explains the mission – something to do with the elements. I’m not sure the players understand. I certainly don’t.
“I know it has to be one of the boys. I’m just trying to figure out which one,’ says Kelley. Then the penny drops. “Is it there a chance it’s both of them?”
Oyin isn’t buying it. “I would jump in the river she says.” Oh Oyin – can’t you see?
Vanessa has arrived for brekkie. “The highs are really highs, the lows are so low,” she says. She sounds traumatised – as she would having faced down round table truth bombs from Joanna and Faye over the last two round tables.
Enter Nick, the estate agent who has been selling himself as Mr Trustworthy over the past three weeks. He and Ben have a plan – persuade Kelley to vote Vanessa out at the round table. Devious. But will it work?
Aah, we begin with an emotional flashback to the start of the series. How innocent and hopeful they look. Except for Wilkin. He was just giving us peak Wilkin from the outset.
We open with creepy music, Siobhán sounding severe…and breakfast. “I didn’t think I’d make it this far,” says Oyin. Too modest! Viewers had her tagged as one of the sharpest faithful from the start.
Daggers at the ready, here we go. May the best faithful or traitor win. Actually could they just bring back Paudie and give him the money. Who would object? Aside from Ben and Nick, who weirdly have yet to receive their own portmanteau (Bicholas? Brick?)
As we prepare to visit Traitors Castle for the last time, it as good a moment as any to look back at the highlights and lowpoints of the season.
Where to start? The Nick and Ben bromance becoming a “bow-mance” when they mimed pinging a target with their arrows of truth.
Paudie’s “I’m not a hugger” speech – the Gettysburg Address of auld fella banter… We could go on – but, much like Wilkin at the round table, we’re just going to sit in silence for a while instead.
Welcome to the Irish Times’ coverage of the final of The Traitors Ireland. This is your last warning before the backstabbing begins for the final time (sob).
