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The Traitors‘ second celebrity series is set to bring a dose of drama and deception back to our TV screens on Thursday.
As stars from actor Michael Sheen to presenter Maya Jama prepare to check in to Claudia Winkleman’s deadly stronghold, fans might be wondering where the tense breakfast banquets, muddy missions and turret executions actually take place.
We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the Scottish castle hosting celebrity royalty on this series of The Traitors.
Read more: You can play your own game of Traitors at this Cotswolds getaway
Where is The Traitors filmed?
Ardross Castle is used in both the UK version of the show and the US adaptation hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
The 19th-century castle, complete with more than 100 acres of parkland, sits on the banks of the River Alness, just north of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.
Ardross Castle estate was purchased by the 1st Duke of Sutherland in the late 1700s, where he built a hunting lodge.
The castle as we recognise it now began to take shape once the estate was sold to Sir Alexander Matheson, an MP and opium trader, in 1845 for £90,000.
Aiming to attract tenants to agricultural tenancies, he began developing the land and enlisted the architect Alexander Ross to design the castle building in the Gothic Scottish Baronial style.
Ross added around 30 rooms to the original mansion for £7,000, along with the lawns, pond and fountain.
Ardross Castle passed between owners in the 19th and 20th centuries, and was broken up and sold in 1937. It was purchased by the current owners, the McTaggart family, in 1983, when they began renovating the property, and added new trees.
Generally, the day’s missions take place on site, while the discussions, action and banishments are filmed among the castle’s lavish interiors.
Can you stay at The Traitors castle?
Unfortunately for budding Faithfuls, the rooms of Ardross Castle are not available for individual stays.
While the action on The Traitors takes place overnight at the castle, stars of the show actually tuck into the Courtyard by Marriott hotel near Inverness’s airport during filming.
The Ardross stronghold is used as a wedding and conference venue for corporate and private events when it is not the set of bewilderment and backstabbing. The Times reports that prices to hire the castle for a wedding for up to 130 people over two nights begin at £45,000.
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