![\"unnamed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789306452_862_.jpeg\")
\n Denis (39), a writer and pychotherapist from Cork RT\u00c9<\/p>\n
Warning: This article contains spoilers for season two, episode six of The Traitors Ireland.<\/p>\n
AS THE SECOND season of The Traitors Ireland gets into full swing, no doubt families and friends watching at home have pondered whether they\u2019d apply next year.<\/p>\n
Traitor or faithful, it\u2019s a big commitment to be part of the major RT\u00c9 and Kite production.<\/p>\n
Former contestants Gr\u00e1inne and Denis spoke to the media this week about tall tales told and behind-the-scenes surprises.<\/p>\n
Cover stories<\/p>\n
Contestants must commit to two weeks of no phones, no internet and no contact with family. This is to prevent them leaking any details of the show (including their involvement) or researching gameplay.<\/p>\n
Even if a contestant is banished or killed early on, they have to live a reclusive life until the two weeks are up and filming has wrapped.<\/p>\n
For Denis, who was murdered in episode six, this posed some challenges.<\/p>\n
\n Denis (39), a writer and pychotherapist from Cork RT\u00c9<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9\n<\/p>\n
He and his husband Diego, who is also a contestant this year, had told family and friends that they were doing a \u201cdigital detox\u201d in Wexford for two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It] felt like a great idea until I left the castle and had to hide at home and not go on my phone or online,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gr\u00e1inne, a horse riding instructor from Sligo, told her friends and family she\u2019d got a gig on a film set teaching an actor how to ride.<\/p>\n
She told them she signed a non-disclosure agreement and couldn\u2019t have her phone on set.<\/p>\n
![\"unnamed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789306453_820_.jpeg\")
\n Gr\u00e1inne (59), a horse riding instructor from Sligo RT\u00c9<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9\n<\/p>\n
Secret couple<\/p>\n
As if there wasn\u2019t enough deceit, Denis had the added challenge of pretending to have never met fellow contestant Diego. In reality, they\u2019d been married for 11 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to urge Diego to apply first, because I thought he\u2019d be excellent. And he said, \u2018I\u2019ll apply if you apply\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the whole process, they continually said to us that we were possibly being looked at as individual contestants, and possibly as a secret couple. So that wasn\u2019t confirmed until the very, very end.<\/p>\n
It was nerve-wracking all the way throughout, hoping that we\u2019d get on this together.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"unnamed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789306453_472_.jpeg\")
\n Diego (40), a physician associate from Cork RT\u00c9<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9\n<\/p>\n
They each created their own backstories: Diego said he was married to a Brazilian in Dublin, and Denis said he had just got out of a 20-year relationship.<\/p>\n
As seen on screen, the pair took the show in their stride, and other players hadn\u2019t an inkling that there was any connection between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was actually fine. I think when me and Diego socialise, we always separate because we love chatting to people. So it was like we\u2019re just at a party with loads of strangers,\u201d said Denis.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t avoid each other completely, deciding even if they were strangers, realistically, they\u2019d get along very well. Denis admitted, however, they maybe held hands a bit too much in the castle.<\/p>\n
Production<\/p>\n
On set, everything is controlled.<\/p>\n
Gr\u00e1inne says it was a much bigger production than she expected, and it brought some challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get very used to the people being around you, but it is quite restrictive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re only talking on camera, and the rest of the time, you\u2019re not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a surprise when I was in there, the interaction. Because there\u2019s so many people at the beginning, it\u2019s very difficult to get around to talk to everybody because everybody\u2019s in different areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the hardest part for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denis was a self-described \u201csuperfan\u201d of the show before entering the castle, and he loved seeing behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just incredible just how much they have to schedule and focus on, and they also have to maintain the secrets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crew were just incredible, because it\u2019s long hours, of course, for us, but also for them, and also for Siobh\u00e1n (McSweeney). So everybody\u2019s operating on high energy, powering through and maintaining so much professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shock exit<\/p>\n
Gr\u00e1inne\u2019s exit from the show came as a shock to her and viewers.<\/p>\n
During a challenge on episode six that involved running, she ruptured her Achilles. She needed surgery immediately so there was no way she could finish the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t put my leg under me, and the castle\u2019s full of a lot of steps,\u201d Gr\u00e1inne said.<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t put any weight on her foot for three months after surgery and, while she\u2019s doing much better now, she says she still has regular physiotherapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warning: This article contains spoilers for season two, episode six of The Traitors Ireland. AS THE SECOND season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[33831,93,61,60,255408,10796,6762,13081,6568,6569],"class_list":["post-623429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-behind-the-scenes","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-television","tag-reality-tv","tag-siobhan-mcsweeney","tag-slane-castle","tag-the-traitors","tag-the-traitors-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}