Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Traitors on RTÉ.

YOU’D HAVE TO have been living under a rock recently not to have gotten wind of the Irish version of The Traitors. For me, I say “gotten wind of” rather than “watching” because until recently, everything I knew about the show was gleaned only through broadcasts on the radio. My daily update arrived on a breakfast show, sometimes via a comedy sketch.

It’s a game where everyone is for themselves in a setting where creating an atmosphere thick with tension and paranoia was actively encouraged. Such cut-throat shenanigans are proving to be highly addictive content for viewers. I was heartened to discover certain tactics are deliberately employed to tap into peoples’ fears and anxieties surrounding betrayal. You see, personally, I don’t have a poker face. It’s more of a “what on God’s green earth is going on here?” resting face.

The series premiere earlier this month drew in more than 600,000 viewers. What else has the show delivered besides persuading a sizeable number of the country’s population to gather round their viewing medium of choice three times a week and see journalists celebrating the power Siobhan McSweeney could yield with one theatrical arch of an eyebrow?

It transpires this suspenseful reality competition has also raised some interesting conversations around age.

At the end of Monday night’s episode, 68-year-old Paudie revealed he had thought he was going to get knocked out of the competition early in the game purely because he was the oldest contestant. Yet, mid-way through proceedings, he is very much still standing.

Paudie, 68, is one of the contestants on the show. RTÉ RTÉ

The first contestant to be banished from the roundtable by her fellow players was Diane,........

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