In the footsteps of the faithful

TV show The Traitors has boosted economies, shaped fashion trends and showcased a host of stunning locations in the UK and beyond. Portal North explores the phenomenon

Seat of the Conyngham family since the late-18th Century, Slane Castle is fringed by the kind of green hills Irish ambassadors stake their reputation on. An imposing pile looming over historic Boyne Valley, the house itself is ideally suited to mystery.

This is where The Traitors Ireland is filmed, the show that sees contestants complete daily challenges to raise prize money while weeding out plotters hiding among their numbers.

Said schemers bump off one Faithful player most nights to try and walk away with the cash themselves, and the whole thing is steeped in Gothic atmosphere, with befitting backdrops like leather-clad Browne’s Bar, the iconic domed Ballroom and elegant Drawing Room.

As well as Slane Castle, filming took place at Slane Distillery, the Hill of Slane, and the Spire of Lloyd, showcasing some of the heritage on offer in the Boyne Valley region. Despite being just half an hour from Dublin, this verdant landscape is a world away, with monuments older than the Egyptian pyramids.

The Boyne Valley tourist board confirms that the show is boosting interest in the region and it’s easy to see why. There’s plenty to take in. While you can’t stay at Slane Castle unless hiring the entire venue, Rock Slane Farm, within the estate, plants you in a prime spot with incredible views of the big house and grounds. Here, bell tents, yurts and shepherd’s huts hide within a lush grove of sycamore, oak, ash and chestnut trees. Guests unwind in hot tubs, select home-grown produce from the farm shop, meet the animals and head for the River Boyne to raft or kayak.

Neolithic burial mound Newgrange is nearby. Dating to around 3100BC, making it older than Stonehenge, this fascinating monument, steeped in intrigue and secrecy, aligns to the winter solstice. When dawn breaks on the shortest day of the year a central tomb floods with light in a jaw-dropping case of “how did they do that?”.

Outside, huge standing stones are covered in megalithic art. Until a monuments protection act was introduced in the 1800s, this was a honeytrap for illicit treasure hunters. Now visitors can enjoy guided tours in small groups but it’s not for the claustrophobic as you’ll have to crouch in line to enter the tomb.

The history lesson continues at the Hill of Tara, which has played a prominent role in Irish culture since the Stone Age. It’s said all the country’s early roads led here, helping St Patrick make his way across the wilds during the 5th Century and it later hosted the inauguration of all Ireland’s High Kings.

Gothic masterpiece

The Traitors’ has now spread to more than 30 countries worldwide, reaching as far as Mongolia, New Zealand and Argentina. Each show has its own ideas and games but is ultimately rooted in the same concept and embraces a similar macabre aesthetic reliant on heritage locations. The brooding sense of suspicion and danger is omnipresent.

In Portugal, producers looked to majestic Montebelo Historic Hotel at Alcobaça Monastery. Established in 1153, the religious complex was the country’s first example of Gothic architecture, complete with eerie cloister and ornate fountain house, and has at least one gruesome tale to tell which is that of Prince Pedro.

When his wife died, Pedro eloped with a Spanish noblewoman he had long loved, Ines. Aghast, his father, King Alfonso, murdered his new foreign daughter-in-law, sending his son into a fit of madness. Leading an uprising and seizing the throne, the newly empowered Pedro had the dead beauty exhumed and crowned queen, demanding his entire court kissed her decomposing hand in respect.

Secrets and sorcery

Hungary has more than 2,000 castles to visit in various states of disrepair, but it was Nádasdy Kastely that was chosen for The Traitors, with its aesthetics plucked straight from the pages of Dracula. In the Hall of the Ancients, intricately carved timber fittings line a room cast in deep reds and black, and an enormous chandelier Tim Burton would be proud of hangs over the wooden floor. The sinister Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed moved here after wedding Count Ferenc Nádasdy and tales of murder, witchcraft and alchemy abound.

Closer to home

Before these stately residences were even considered, The Traitors started life as a Dutch series, created by the company behind the original Big Brother. In the Netherlands, filming began at 14th Century Erenstein Castle in Kerkrade, near Maastricht and the Belgian border. Originally a watchtower protecting the van Ederen family from deadly plots, it’s now a hotel and restaurant within a nature reserve, close to Rolduc Abbey’s jaw-dropping frescos and stained glass windows.

All this screen time is paying off for tourism. According to reports, The Traitors UK, set at Ardross Castle, added £21 million to Scotland’s economy in 2025. Meanwhile, VisitBritain estimates nine in 10 potential UK visitors are interested in screen connections, and that one in six overseas tourists left London for the regions because of TV and film associations.

This year a new feature adaptation of Wuthering Heights will showcase the natural poetry of the Yorkshire Dales. Meanwhile Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon returns, with Wales providing a rugged backdrop.

Manchester continues to be a major hub for productions, with its ever-expanding high-rise horizon often doubling for other global locations too. The Locationist, a tour company which guides people around parts of the city used on screen, shows just how much demand there is, and a new Peaky Blinders Netflix movie is bound to keep the viewers-turned-visitors coming.

Get your fill of The Traitors on BBC iPlayer and keep an eye out for the second series of Celebrity Traitors, due out later this year.