Everything you wanted to know about ‘The Traitors' castle but were afraid to ask
The grandiose castle on 'The Traitors' is an apt setting for the conniving game show, immersing players in a historic location in the Scottish Highlands. Both the U.S. and U.K. versions of the series use Ardross Castle, a 19th century structure once owned by the grandson of the creator of Worcestershire sauce. It's now owned by the McTaggart family, who graciously allow 'The Traitors' to take over multiple rooms and the vast grounds during filming.
'There's something about coming to a place that's so steeped in history and playing a game there,' says executive producer Rosie Franks. 'The castle has contributed so much to the identity of the show. We'd struggle to make the same show without it. It is a gift of a location because you don't need any TV trickery.'
'If it wasn't for that environment, I don't think the players would get so invested,' adds executive producer Mike Cotton. 'That feeling of being somewhere special in the middle of an isolated place allows us to create this very three-dimensional world they can inhabit.'
Here, Cotton and Franks answer all of your burning questions about 'The Traitors' castle.
How was Ardross Castle selected?
The producers looked at more than 40 castles. Scotland was always a draw, as was something with fantastical flourishes. 'It's like a Disney castle that's got Gothic and dark undertones to it,' Cotton says. 'We wanted something that had that feeling but also had a great hall where we could house the round table. We needed a really big room for that.'
Do we see all of the castle on the show?
Not even close. When 'The Traitors' first arrived, the team discovered that areas of the building were desolate. 'There's huge parts of that castle that we don't use within our show because they're not renovated or haven't been touched for a long time,' Franks says. 'Plus, to rig an entire 19th century castle with cameras would be a big job.'
'What you see onscreen is a majority of the downstairs of the castle,' Cotton adds. 'The cast can roam free in our space, but obviously we can't have them roaming free over the entire castle because it would be impossible to cover it.'
The castle's size has led to new discoveries during the series' run. 'It wasn't until Season 2 that we discovered it had this space that felt like a dungeon,' Cotton recalls. 'When Phaedra asked Kate to become a traitor, she was in this dungeon. It was a discovery we didn't realize was underground. We'd walked over it for a whole year.'
How many cameras are in the house?
There are about 50 cameras in the castle, most of which are hidden. In the great hall, the cameras are behind wood paneling that was built inside the room to surround the round table. There are also cameras in the pillars throughout the house in addition to actual camera operators. 'A lot of the pillars look like they've been there for 50 or 100 years, but they've actually been built specifically for us,' Cotton says.
Not all of the cameras are recording at once. 'We've got a gallery of screens where we can see all of them, and then we choose a certain number that we're recording,' Franks says. 'We're located separately in a production village in the castle's stable block, and we're very hands off with the game.'
Does the set change from the U.K. to the U.S. editions?
The sets are mostly the same, but the art does change. For the U.S. show, there are pictures of Alan Cumming and Andy Cohen added to the walls. Occasionally, small trinkets will be swapped out.
Does the set evolve between seasons?
Yes. The producers make 'small alterations,' Franks explains. 'We like to freshen up little bits each time,' she says. 'We did create a little secret room, which has been through different iterations. Last season, it was a wine cellar you access through the bookcase.'
'It feels like it's a real place,' Cotton adds. 'Yes, we fill it with some slightly eccentric decor at times, but we want it to be its own thing. With all these big Scottish castles, they don't redecorate every single year, so we don't either.'
What was the inspiration for the round table?
The round table is 14 feet in diameter to accommodate all the players. Season 1 production designer Mathieu Weekes looked at the table on the original Dutch show, 'De Verraders,' which featured a compass, and added the phases of the moon. It houses a few cameras and is as hefty as it looks. 'The top is a really big, solid piece of wood that's got some light slightly embedded in it,' Cotton says.
Are there Easter eggs in the decor?
Of course there are. The producers hide tongue-in-cheek details in the rooms each season. For example, the book that opened the wine cellar in Season 3 was titled 'The Seer,' a nod to the big finale twist. 'The artwork sometimes alludes to the tones of the show or things that are going on in the castle or missions,' Franks says. 'We like to drip-feed viewers throughout so that the whole thing feels like a joined-up experience.'
Do the players sleep in the castle during filming?
The producers refuse to answer this definitively because it could affect future games. 'The success of 'The Traitors' really does rely on us maintaining the integrity of the game, and that includes us keeping the details of what happens behind the scenes a secret,' Franks says.
'Keeping the traitors' identities secret is the No. 1 thing for us,' Cotton adds. 'For everyone to go to their rooms and go to bed, and then for us to get the traitors back out is a military operation. As soon as we start to talk about exactly where they sleep and how it works, we're really worried that might unpick it all. The players are desperate to find out who the traitors are and they'll go to any means possible to do it.'
Does the show film all of the outdoor challenges on the actual castle grounds?
Cotton says about 90% of them are filmed on site. The other 10% are done at a nearby loch. But one of the main attractions to Ardross was its 2,000 acres of land. 'It's got a river that runs through it. It's got its own hills, it's got fields, it's got forest, it's got marshland,' Cotton says. 'And we use all of that. Part of the appeal was that it has a huge natural playground around it that we could use for missions.' Are there any restrictions on using real fire when filming?
None. 'The Traitors' even has its own fire team to light the medieval-looking torches around the castle. 'We love fire,' Cotton says. 'There's nothing like when you go in somewhere and you can smell a wood fire. We always say that the game plays really psychological because they're immersed. So much of that is down to the castle and the set and the smells.'
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