Every Thursday and Friday evening from 1 October, millions watch celebrities scheme and deceive each other on the BBC's The Celebrity Traitors — but the real star of the show sits about 30 minutes north of Inverness. Ardross Castle, a 19th-century pile on the banks of the River Alness, hosts both the UK and US versions of the format, and its on-screen presence has turned the estate into one of Scotland's most talked-about destinations.
The show's pull is hard to overstate: the final of series one was the most-watched UK television broadcast of 2025, when Alan Carr outwitted the faithfuls to win a prize pot for charity. The new celebrity season fields a cast including Michael Sheen, Bella Ramsey, Sharon Osbourne's fellow passengers-in-drama Richard E Grant, Romesh Ranganathan, Miranda Hart, Jerry Hall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, among others, all dodging Claudia Winkleman's cloaked selections.
The castle itself has a proper Highland backstory. The estate belonged to the first Duke of Sutherland in the 18th century, who used it as a summer hunting lodge. Sir Alexander Matheson bought it in 1845 and hired architect Alexander Ross to expand it, adding rooms and pleasure grounds. It changed hands over the following decades until the McTaggart family bought it in 1983 and restored it to the polished state you see between rounds of banishment.
Here's the twist regular viewers may not know: the contestants don't actually sleep at Ardross. Those early-morning Land Rovers ferrying them in reveal the truth — the cast stays at a hotel off-site, with the castle reserved for filming. That said, you can get inside. The estate covers more than 100 acres of parkland and is available for exclusive hire, whether for a wedding or a large group trip, with guests staying in the castle itself. Weddings are a particular speciality: ceremonies can run indoors or out depending on the Highland weather, and the bridal party gets bedrooms to prepare in. Just note the fine print — the venue is hired 'as is', so you'll need to arrange your own caterer and bar, complete with cooking facilities, tableware and glassware.
If hiring an entire castle is beyond the budget, the surrounding area offers more accessible stays with the same drama. Tulloch Castle Hotel, a short drive away, is a 12th-century castle converted into a cosy Highlands hotel, while Inverlochy Castle near Fort William delivers the full gothic-lair atmosphere for anyone chasing the same energy as the show's lair.
For fans of the show, this is a rare case where the filming location is genuinely visitable — not a studio set, but a working estate in the Scottish Highlands you can actually book. Whether you're planning a wedding with a side of reality-TV bragging rights or just want to stand where the roundtable sat, Ardross makes a strong anchor for a Highlands trip, with Inverness as your practical base for exploring the wider region.
