It’s a family affair on The Traitors Ireland (RTÉ One, 9.30pm) – but just for a few hours – as father-and-son duo Paudie and Andrew conspire against the other contestants, only for Andrew to be voted out at the round table.
Worse yet, because nobody else knows that Paudie and Andrew are related, the devastated dad had to play along as the other faithful whoop for joy. “I was feeling very deflated,” says Paudie, once again the last traitor standing. “I had to celebrate, I had to go around doing high-fives.”
It’s one of the most dramatic round tables yet. You could cut the tension with one of presenter Siobhán McSweeney’s statement Countess Markievicz hats as the players go back and forth over whether to give the boot to civil servant Andrew or their other chief suspect, former Las Vegas casino manager Patrick.
The first vote finishes in a draw – requiring a second ballot. This time, enough votes shift to Team Shaft Andrew – and off he goes, though not without some harsh parting words. “If you haven’t found your voice, find it,” he says.
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This is presumably a swipe at his frenemies – maybe just enemies – Nick and Ben, who viciously turned on him at the previous round table and then criticised the other competitors for voting out Katelyn, even though she was, in fact, a traitor.
Here was The Traitors’ equivalent of mansplaining – and you wonder if the duo’s insistence on talking over everyone else will have consequences (some viewers will have been annoyed that Ben kept referring to Andrew as “Andy”). As he leaves the building, Andrew seems to be telling the contestants not to allow the annoying A-types in the room consume all the oxygen.
But maybe we should not become too invested – and avoid rushing to paint any particular player as hero or villain. Following her departure, Katelyn talked about the “cruel trolls” who had called her a “witch” on social media. The Traitors isn’t real life, and everything we see has been edited for maximum drama. So let’s not get carried away.
Paudie certainly isn’t. Andrew may be gone, but three contestants are still on “Death Row” – including the eternally put-upon Patrick. He was selected along with Mark, Christine and Joanna as a potential victim. Having tracked the quartet to a sort of grimdark Wanderly Wagon via a thematic version of orienteering, the rest of the cast decided to give Christine a shield. Meaning that one of Patrick, Joanna and Mark is for the chop – once Paudie has picked his next traitor.
Whatever happens, the faithful have already made history as the first in the franchise to vote out three traitors in a row. Can that winning streak continue? Or will Paudie extend his 15 minutes of infamy – and without his son Andrew at his side? With the grand final of this season of treason to take place in just over a week, the clock is ticking. Expect lots more figurative blood on the carpet in the days to come.
