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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Patrick Greenfield

‘You could have an amazing time for £30,000’: UK castles cash in on Traitors-style events

Aerial view of Duns Castle's turreted stone building amid parkland, trees and a winding river
Duns Castle estate in Berwickshire, Scotland, plays host to murder mystery events. Photograph: Maciej Olszewski/Alamy

On Thursday night, the singer-songwriter James Blunt, Love Island host Maya Jama and mathematician Hannah Fry were among the 21 Celebrity Traitors returning to UK screens for another round of deceit and detective work. Famously, contestants do not stay at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands during filming, and the venue is not a hotel, so fans cannot book their own overnight stays without hiring the entire Ross-shire estate. But that has not stopped people from trying to recreate their own versions.

The show’s surging popularity has been accompanied by a bonanza in Traitors-style events across the UK. From stag and hen dos to castle conspiracy weekends, event companies now host year-round imitations for fans looking to recreate the drama of the candle-lit roundtable. The show is also proving to be a boom for the owners of Britain’s crumbling castles – with wealthy fans even hiring them out for their own private events.

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