4 days Ago By Ken Sweeney
ACTRESS Amy Huberman is set to land another major role — as the new host of the RTE version of The Traitors. We understand the star, 45, has emerged as the frontrunner to present the show the State broadcaster hopes will take over our screens next year. Television bosses desperate to sell the Irish version of the murder mystery reality show internationally are understood to have plumped for Amy , who has a profile in the UK thanks to her work in Comedy Central sitcom Threesome.
A TV insider told The Irish Sun: “The host of The Traitors also needs to come from a theatrical background. Scottish actor Alan Cumming fronts the US show and Amy has the same acting skills to make grand gestures and arch pronouncements. “Amy’s on screen persona sometimes comes across sweet, but viewers are going to see something darker when they watch her hosting The Traitors.
” Producers Kite Entertainment have already worked with Amy on two previous TV shows. They made documentary series Big Year In Big School, and she also featured in Graham Norton’s LOL Last One Laughing, which the firm made for Amazon Prime. And Kite have mysteriously gone into overdrive promoting Amy lately, with the wife of Brian O’Driscoll chosen as the surprise guest narrator for the recent series finale of Virgin Media’s Gogglebox Ireland.
That prime job was usually handled by comedian Deirdre O’Kane. Dutch-created reality show The Traitors has been a global smash since it went on air, with versions airing in 20 different countries as far away as New Zealand. There was massive competition among the biggest names in Irish TV to become the host on the RTE version of the show.
In the UK, Claudia Winkleman fronts the BBC’s take on the show. However, TV insiders told The Irish Sun producers have halted all further screen tests here because they are sure Amy is the perfect host. Stressing the need for the host to come from an acting background, Kite chief Darren Smith recently revealed producers are looking for “somebody who can be funny, but at the same time play a role” like Claudia, 52, on the BBC Show.
He said: “I think Claudia plays a role when she’s doing the UK version. “And then there’s moments where that breaks and she’s Claudia, when they’re in the middle of a challenge or something.” An industry source told us: “RTE is putting a huge amount of money into The Traitors.
It has to be a success both in Ireland and abroad. Amy is seen as the best person for the job.” The nail-biting psychological reality competition sees 22 strangers arrive at a remote castle to play the ultimate game of deception, betrayal and trust — all in the hope of winning up to €50,000.
Hidden amongst them are the Traitors, who will attempt to secretly ‘murder’ a player every night, without getting caught. It’s up to the others, the Faithfuls, to try and detect who the Traitors are — and banish them from the game before they become their next victim. Each day, the group embark on missions as they work together to add more money to the prize pot.
Those who survive to the end, have the chance of winning that life-changing cash — but if a Traitor remains undetected, they will steal all the money. Jennifer Zamparelli and Lucy Kennedy had also been discussed as possible hosts. Lucy has been enjoying healthy ratings for new latest Virgin Media TV show, Real Life With Lucy , but she is not thought to have landed the job.
And Jennifer ruled herself out of hosting the show. Despite all the hype over the RTE version, the show will not hit Irish screens until at least October next year, with filming taking place in an Irish castle in the spring. Kite boss Darren added: “We’ve been fans of the format since seeing the Dutch version and are delighted that RTE are allowing us to produce the Irish version.
"We’ll do our best not to let them, and importantly Irish viewers, down.”.
