He was lied to, betrayed, and blackmailed by his cunning father - but Andrew Moloney insists he doesn’t have any ‘daddy issues’ after his memorable stint on hit TV show The Traitors Ireland.

Despite that rap sheet, the Cork contestant still adores his da’ Paudie, and shrugs that his treachery was “all part of the game”.

When I spoke to Andrew this week, he also laughed off the remark by his father on the show on Monday that he isn’t a “f***ing hugger”.

“Sure, he hugged me on the show,” he laughs. “Dad is sound, he’s a nice dad, great craic, he was always there for me growing up and very supportive. My mam Bernadette’s the same.”

Traitor Paudie is the stand-out star of the series so far - a kind of everyman, everydad figure; not surprisingly, Andrew still wanted him to win the €50,000 first prize when I chatted to him soon after he was banished by the Faithful, after being blackmailed by his dad into becoming a fellow Traitor.

“I want dad to win,” said Andrew, “but of the Faithful, I’d back Amy or Christine.”

Then, on Tuesday, Paudie himself got banished, along with Christine Duff - Cork’s last hope of success in the show!

We can claim nice guy Andrew has one of our own on Leeside. He has lived in Douglas for four years and married Aisling, an Inchigeelagh woman. They are expecting their first child in October.

He and Paudie, of Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, kept their kinship secret throughout the show - having both been stunned when they saw each other on the opening day of filming. It was a wise move, as any obvious alliances........

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