'We were in it together': 'The Traitors' Ireland stars on emotional toll of the show
The Traitors Ireland finalists Vanessa Ogbonna, Kelley Higgins, Ben Donohue and Oyin Adeyemi at the fore pit with host Siobhán McSweeney.
came to an explosive end on Tuesday night as the three remaining mná in the game came out victorious.
Girl power prevailed in Tuesday night’s final as Oyin Adeyemi, Kelley Higgins, and Vanessa Ogbonna were successful in catching the final two traitors – Nick O'Loughlin and Ben Donohue.
Crowned by host Siobhán McSweeney as ‘the traitor slayers’, the OG faithfuls share the prize fund of €42,900.
Following their victory, Oyin, Kelley, and Vanessa joined Kevin McGahern on to talk about their time in the castle and how they banded together to put a stop to Nick and Ben’s conniving plans to take out the faithfuls and take the money for themselves.
Speaking about the moment the penny dropped when Kelley suggested to Oyin at the final breakfast table that the remaining traitors could be Nick and Ben, Oyin said: “I was sure then. And then Ben walked in after and it was like, ‘oh, we were just talking about you’.”
Speaking about how she made the deciding vote to send Nick home at the round table, Kelley said she was confused as to how to vote, but that the infamous moment in the car where Nick slipped up on the way home from the mission stuck with her, and she ultimately voted to banish Nick in the last hour.
Speaking about her reaction to Nick’s banishment at the round table, Vanessa, who showed little emotion in that moment, said: “I was done about three days before. I was begging production to go home. It was just so much tougher, and in the last few days, with just being so wrong, and feeling so deflated.
“I was just sick of being in the middle of everything and even going into the round table and going into breakfast, I didn;t care anymore because I thought Nick was going to win and convince Kelley… it’s very emotional in there and I know it's a game and all, but it genuinely got to me.”
Nick and Ben also joined McGahern on where they discussed taking out their best friend Faye, their game plan, and how they dealt with heightened emotions in the castle.
The pair admitted that they became “too cocky” toward the end and that their gameplay turned on them when Kelley saw through the cracks and voted to banish Nick in the final hour.
It was Ben who made it to the fire pit alongside the three faithful contestants, which the pair admitted they weren’t expecting, with Nick explaining that he had a pitch ready for Ben at the final round table, as they both thought the girls would come for him over Nick.
Speaking about their decision to banish Faye from the castle, Ben said that while the name of the game was to get to the final and win the money, they struggled with voting to banish her and felt “terrible” after doing it.
“When we got rid of Faye, it was like, we’re really going to struggle to pull the wool over – those three women are so smart – and obviously they caught us,” Nick said.
Described as the queen of the castle, McSweeney, who has been away filming for another project, said she was “overwhelmed and bewildered” at how the show has been received in Ireland.
Speaking about the ‘Irishness’ of the show and how special it was to put such an Irish twist on the popular show, she gave a nod to the cúpla focal and the iconography used throughout, as well as the Irish designers whose outfits she wore.
“There’s such a wealth of talent in this country and we tend to think that we know what that is because we’re usually trying to sell it to the yanks, but actually, there is such a wealth of talent when it comes to textiles and fashion, and it’s not just literature,” she said.
“If you noticed even last night’s episode, a beautiful kimono I was wearing had ‘Cara dílis’ written on it, there were little easter eggs there that only added to the design,” she said, saying she was “very proud” to wear them.
She spoke highly of all contestants, who she said she and the production crew spent a lot of time with during the filming of the show.
“I’ve just seen all the contestants there and it's really gorgeous to see them all,” she said.
“I think what people need to understand is that the production team and myself went through it with them [the contestants]. We were working the same hours, although nobody worked as hard as Paudie. But we were all doing it together, and it really felt like we were together, so by the end we were all on our very last shred of sanity. We were all demented.”
Speaking about who some of the stand-out contestants were for her, she said that she would have loved it if Diane had remained on the show for longer, who she said is the “epitome of the kind of Irish woman that I don’t see enough of on telly”.
“What I loved about you is that you were completely, authentically yourself… I thought you were wonderful and I was gutted to see you go,” she said.
McSweeney said she was also gutted to see Joanna leave, who she said she really enjoyed.
Referring to some comments made about the contestants on social media over the course of the show, she defended the contestants by saying: “Until you’ve been through what these lads have been through, what I’ve been through. We went through it all together; production went through it with you. It is so intense. I behaved in a way that I don’t recognise good, bad, or indifferent, because you’re in extremis, and we are doing it for you, for your entertainment, so cop on and don’t be at us.”
One scene that stood out over the season was the emotional banquet dinner on Monday night’s penultimate episode, where the contestants shared what winning the money would mean to them.
Ben shared that both of his parents had been diagnosed and overcame cancer, while Vanessa reflected on the time she spent in direct provision as a child.
Speaking to Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1 on Wednesday morning, Vanessa opened up about her experience of living in direct provision and thanked the people who believed in her and made her who she is today.
“The cultural and racial climate in Ireland right now is very heated. I’m not going to go into the economic or the social factors that have to do with direct provision, because honestly, I cannot speak on those. What I did want to share was a story of overcoming – a story that my community in Tramore came together to help this little girl randomly, and that has changed my entire life," she said.
"I come to tears a lot because I think I am so blessed, and I would honestly be nothing without the people of Tramore, especially Tramore FC, and they have been the people who have made me the person that I am.”
Following the success of the show, the question on everybody’s lips is will there will be a season two of ? While nothing has been confirmed, speaking on , McSweeney joked that she had never done a job like this before, and would never do a job like this again.
“You would start your day in the middle of the night, and you did not know when you would finish work that day. Every single time I went into the round table going, ‘I know what’s going to happen’," she said.
"The production team said they knew what was going to happen… we know how many cars we need, maybe tell catering we don't need the sandwiches at midnight, but no. It would all change. We could never, ever call it."
Fans of the show can catch up on seasons one and two of The Traitors UK, US and Australia now streaming on the RTÉ Player.
