The star of the first series of The Traitors, Paudie Moloney, has revealed how he struggled to keep the bombshell revelation that a fellow contestant was also his real-life son under wraps as the TV cameras rolled.
The retired prison officer also told how he would speak to himself in the third person off camera to keep his head in the game during the filming of the first series of the Irish version of the hit show.
And despite finding fame for lying his way through the series before he was eventually outed as a Traitor, Paudie has advised the contestants set to take part in the new series to ‘be honest’ – and to try and ‘enjoy’ what promises to be ‘a once-in-a-lifetime experience’.
RTÉ this week announced that the first episode of the second season of the international smash hit will be broadcast on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player on August 30, featuring a whole new group of players honing their deception and skullduggery skills at Slane Castle.
The star of the first series of The Traitors, Paudie Moloney, has revealed how he struggled to keep the bombshell revelation that a fellow contestant was also his real-life son under wraps as the TV cameras rolled
Paudie and seven other contestants from the first series of The Traitors Ireland – who spoke to the Irish Mail on Sunday this week – agreed they shared an incredible experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
A year on from the televised chaos at Slane Castle, Co. Meath, the original cast told of the breakfast‑table dread, the late‑night plotting, shock banishments, friendships forged under pressure – and how the paranoia still lingers.
In an indication of the show’s popularity, some of the contestants revealed they still get recognised in supermarkets, festivals – and even on the scene of minor traffic accidents.
And almost all of them admitted it took weeks – if not months – to return to normality after filming.
For Paudie, the infamous ‘the Daddy moment’ – when his real-life son and fellow contestant, Andrew, accidentally yelled ‘Daddy’ during a chaotic challenge, nearly exposing their hidden relationship to the other players – remains his standout memory from the show.
And he revealed he also almost gave the game away but ‘stopped himself’ at the last moment.
‘I remember that vividly as it happened and how I nearly turned around and I stopped myself,’ he told the MoS this week.
Later, after he was finally exposed as a Traitor, Paudie dropped the bombshell that Andrew was indeed his son.
The 70-year-old – whose popularity with the public was cemented after he went on to reach the grand final of Dancing With The Stars without having to endure a single dance-off – said he would do it all again ‘in a heartbeat’.
Katelyn Divilly said the lack of sleep during filming was the tipping point that ultimately broke some of them down
Asked if he would do anything differently this time around, the Limerick native insisted: ‘No, I can’t say I would.
‘I was very happy with how it went for me.
‘And, obviously, I didn’t want to be knocked out, but that’s the way it happened.
‘When it happened, it was a long time, I mean, I survived a long time.
‘I was pleased enough… it’s very difficult to win it as a Traitor.
‘Had I survived another night, I might have got away with it.
‘I don’t know.
‘But the other side is when you do get to that last three or four, you have to be absolutely ruthless to win it then.’
He admitted the experience was an intense one, and that he ‘spoke about myself in the third person’ to keep his head in the game.
Other members of the original cast also spoke of the intensity of taking part in the show.
Katelyn Divilly said the lack of sleep during filming was the tipping point that ultimately broke some of them down.
Recalling the first night the Traitors removed their hoods to reveal their true colours, she said: ‘I was giddy as a goat.’
But the fun faded quickly.
‘If we had gotten a little bit more sleep, we might not have unravelled so quickly,’ the Galway woman added.
Eamon O’Keeffe – one of the series’ standout Traitors – said of the constant pressure of being switched on: ‘The smallest slip could ruin you.’
The Cork man said the Traitors had to continue filming late into the night, long after the Faithful had gone to bed.
‘We weren’t getting home till half two or three in the morning,’ he revealed.
‘You had to be on the ball all the time.’
He admitted it took a full month for him to feel normal again after he left the castle.
Now the garda is back on the beat – and he told the MoS how he still regularly gets recognised on the street.
In one incident, his fame even took the heat out of a tense situation when he arrived at the scene of a minor traffic accident to find two drivers having a row.
‘I pulled them up and they both stopped, and they were like: ‘Are you your man from The Traitors?’ he recalled.
‘All was forgiven then, and they all kind of went on their merry way after it.’
Now the garda is back on the beat – and he told the MoS how he still regularly gets recognised on the street
While the Traitors on the show endured an extra layer of stress, some of the Faithful contestants were also left shaken by the experience.
Michele Maher said she went into the show thinking she would be able to read people easily but admits the game shook her confidence.
‘You forget it’s a game,’ the fitness instructor said.
‘Things become personal and the paranoia is elevated.’
The Dublin woman said she remembers looking at people she liked and wondered if they were about to ‘kill’ her that night.
She said the hardest part came after filming, as the cast were not allowed to contact one another once they left the castle.
‘We weren’t in contact with each other when we came out and we found that really, really difficult,’ she said.
She told how the no-contact rule proved such a wrench that half the cast were reduced to tears in the first week after the show until one of her fellow contestants finally set up a group chat and ‘everyone felt normal again’.
‘Faithful’ Amy Meehan said she trusted her instincts during filming but admitted she felt it deeply when she got something wrong.
‘I started to doubt myself,’ the tattoo artist said.
‘I kept asking why I came to that conclusion and what evidence I really had.’
She said the emotional hangover from taking part in the show stayed with her long after the cameras stopped rolling.
For Nina Shelton, the hardest part was feeling ‘misunderstood’.
The financial director from Wexford, who was banished early in the show, said it felt like having an argument that never gets resolved.
‘You turn it over in your mind,’ she explained.
‘You think about what you could have said if you weren’t overwhelmed.’
Joanna Masiarek – who lasted ten episodes – said the biggest shock was how quickly being in the castle stripped away normal life.
‘Being away from your day-to-day messes with you,’ she said.
Joanna also spoke of the strong bond among the contestants, telling the MoS, ‘some of them were even at my wedding’
The logistics specialist from Kildare said watching the show back with her wife was surreal, and she paused it every few seconds to explain what was happening off camera.
Joanna also spoke of the strong bond among the contestants, telling the MoS, ‘some of them were even at my wedding’.
Nick O’Loughlin, one of the last surviving ‘Traitors’ on the first series, said the emotional strain came late in the game.
The estate agent said lying to fellow cast members with whom he had forged strong relationships was the hardest part.
‘It was brutal,’ he said.
‘Seeing cracks happen and knowing you’re the cause.’
The Wicklow native said he struggled to watch the show back because it felt strange seeing himself on national television.
All eight contestants who spoke to the MoS agreed the castle created a kind of pressure they never felt before.
Long filming days, little sleep, constant suspicion and the knowledge every word could be used against you all took their toll.
And the missions proved a welcome relief as they were often the only times people relaxed.
Michele said it was only during these trials that contestants could forget they were playing a game.
‘You were just out to do the challenge and have a bit of fun,’ she told the MoS.
But the round tables were the opposite.
Nick O’Loughlin, one of the last surviving ‘Traitors’ on the first series, said the emotional strain came late in the game
Although the contestants all agree they were the most intense part of the show, everyone remembers them differently.
While Joanna called hers her ‘standout moment’, Nina described hers as ‘overwhelming’.
Amy said she trusted her gut even when others doubted her.
For Nick, the finals were the hardest to sit through.
Eamon recalled how he watched people turn on each other, knowing he was the cause of the chaos, while Paudie said he dreaded breakfast more than the round table because he already knew who was gone.
Once the show aired, the cast discovered a new kind of chaos.
Recognition came quickly – and often in the most unlikely places.
Nick had just finished the Dingle Marathon when people started shouting ‘Traitor!’ at him from the footpath.
A week later, ‘at my mate’s wedding in Spain… out of nowhere, there were people coming up and you’re like, “Wow, this was much bigger than we thought it was going to be.”’
Despite the intensity of their collective experience on the show, all agree they would do it all over again tomorrow if given the chance.
‘I would do it in a heartbeat,’ said Paudie.
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