By CAITLIN LENG
Published: | Updated:
Its guests lie, scheme and murder their way to fortune.
But the Celebrity Traitors castle has a dark past of its own - which the BBC would rather its viewers did not know.
For Ardross Castle - the 19th-century Scottish home where the UK and US versions of the hit show are filmed - was constructed on the back of its owner's drug smuggling business.
Sir Alexander Matheson, a railway entrepreneur and British China merchant, came into possession of the castle in 1845, after he established the 'most successful' opium smuggling company in the world alongside his uncle, Sir James Matheson.
The pair, through their firm Jardine Matheson, trafficked significant amounts of opium from China to British-controlled India, and launched a newspaper detailing the prices and availability of the drug to prospective buyers.
According to Neil Sinclair, co-author of a biography on Sir Matheson, the businessman had 'no qualms' about being involved in a company that traded the drug.
'Alexander had no qualms about becoming involved in a company which traded in opium, which was a legitimate trade in the eyes of the British, if definitely not the Chinese government,' Mr Sinclair said.
The Traitors castle has a dark past of its own - which the BBC would rather its viewers did not know (Pictured: Host Claudia Winkleman outside Ardross Castle)
Ardross Castle was constructed on the back of its owner Sir Alexander Matheson's drug smuggling business
Sir Matheson came into possession of the castle in 1845, after he established the 'most successful' opium smuggling company in the world
But in a BBC article from 2024 detailing the building's history, the broadcaster offers only a brief insight into his dark past - and neglects to mention Sir Matheson's opium dealings.
Instead, it reads: 'Matheson made his fortune trading in China, and was an MP and an instrumental figure in the building of railways in the Highlands.'
A Celebrity Traitors contestant - who wished to remain anonymous - also told The Times the BBC were hesitant to acknowledge the castle's connection to the drug trade.
They said: 'You are never going to see the poppies on screen or hear anything about opium or China.
'It is more convenient for them to allow that part of the castle's past to remain firmly under wraps. The history is undeniable, but that's not the story they want to tell.'