The Celebrity Traitors is back with a new cast of stars vying to be the winner (or winners) of the TV mega-hit.

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the show will see a group of famous ‘faithfuls’ attempt to work out which among them are the ‘traitors’ secretly “murdering” contestants each night.

This year’s line-up features award-winning actor and campaigner Michael Sheen, comedian Miranda Hart, EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp and Love Island presenter Maya Jama.

But one of the biggest stars of The Traitors franchise is the venue – Ardross Castle.

The Celebrity Traitors is filmed in Ardross Castle, a 19th Century pile about 30 miles north of Inverness.

It is set in about 100 acres of gardens and parkland near the Easter Ross town of Alness.

The property was built more than 170 years ago in a Scottish baronial style, a type of elaborate architecture featuring complex rooflines with turrets and fortress-like battlements.

More than 200 years ago – long before the castle was built – the land at Ardross was owned by George Granville Leveson-Gower, the 1st Duke of Sutherland.

He had a hunting lodge on the site where the castle stands today.

The duke was a controversial figure in the Highland Clearances.

In large parts of Sutherland, he had people cleared off land where they had lived for generations to make way for sheep farming and agricultural “improvements”.

Some families were moved to coastal villages, while others became emigrants and made difficult journeys to Canada to start new lives there.

There is a statue of the duke on a hilltop north of Ardross.

Known locally as The Mannie, and overlooking Golspie, it has been the target of vandalism and even attempts to topple it.

Years later the estate at Ardross was bought by Sir Alexander Matheson.

Matheson made his fortune trading in China. He was an MP and an instrumental figure in the building of railways in the Highlands.

He had the castle built and, according to Ross and Cromarty Heritage Society, about 400 workers were involved in the construction from 1847.

They built 30 rooms and laid out the castle’s extensive grounds.

According to Ardross Castle’s website, Sir Alexander also improved estate workers’ housing.

After Sir Alexander’s death, the country house and its estate was sold to businessman and philanthropist Charles William Dyson Perrins.

His grandfather William Perrins, in partnership with John Wheeley Lea, created the recipe for Worcestershire Sauce.

The Perrins family was also involved in the production of Royal Worcester porcelain.

Charles William Dyson Perrins joined the family business after four years serving in the Highland Light Infantry.

He and his family were annual visitors to Ardross Castle.

The Perrins’ ownership came to an end in the 1930s and various parts of the estate was sold off.

In 1983, the castle was bought by the McTaggart family and they still own it today.

While not run as a hotel, the property is available as a wedding venue – its popularity undoubtedly boosted by its appearance in The Celebrity Traitors – and UK and US versions of The Traitors.

The castle has accommodation for up to 41 for two nights, and various parts of the property and its grounds can be hired for the wedding ceremony and reception.

In 2023, Loukas Tsarmaklis, a director of Ardross Castle Enterprises, told The Press and Journal, external they “try to keep a low profile… but there is no chance now”.

“This has put us on the map and helped local B&Bs, tradesmen, taxi drivers, cleaners. It was a big operation for this part of the world,” he added.

The castle’s owners have previously politely declined to comment on the impact the show has had to BBC Scotland News, but internet searches for the castle have been on the rise.

Ross and Cromarty Heritage Society said views of its page about Ardross increased significantly because of the US show.

A train has featured in previous episodes of The Traitors, including the finale of the first series of The Celebrity Traitors.

Strathspey Railway is a volunteer-run company that operates a 10 mile (16km) route between Aviemore and Broomhill, via Boat of Garten.

The heritage railway’s line is part of the former Inverness and Perth Junction Railway, later called the Highland, which linked Aviemore with Forres.

It is one of only a handful of former lines to be preserved following rail closures in the 1960s.

Strathspey Railway has a fleet of steam and diesel locomotives which are run and maintained by a mix of volunteers and a small number of paid staff.

It has frequently been involved in restoration projects, including helping to return a 75-year-old steam locomotive to working order.

The Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 engine – No. 46464 – was one of five built in Crewe, Cheshire, in 1950.

It spent most of its working life based at Dundee Tay Bridge Steam Shed 62B, operating on services in Angus and Fife.

Last year, Strathspey Railway received a £1m donation from a mystery American donor which secured the railway’s long-term future.

The railway runs trips throughout the year and is now operating to a winter timetable, which includes a festive Elf Express.

An unusual landmark was the backdrop for a task in the penultimate episode of series four of The Traitors.

Fyrish Monument, near Alness, is a mock ruin called a folly on the summit of the hill Cnoc Fyrish, which overlooks the Cromarty Firth.

The stone structure and the hill are popular with walkers, with the walk taking about two to three hours to complete.

Sutherland-born landowner, Gen Sir Hector Munro of Novar, had the folly built and paid for it with prize money and pensions he earned serving with the British Army in India.

The monument is a line of arches and pillars constructed to resemble the fortress gates of Negatapam – a town in India and the scene of fighting between British and French forces in the 1780s.

According to local tradition, Munro used the folly as a way to create employment in the area.

Before the building work started, the general was said to have rolled large boulders found at the summit – and ideally suit for construction – downhill.

It was said this was an attempt to extend the length of time of the project – and improve the workers’ opportunity to earn more money.

It is a category B-listed structure and was originally painted white.

And if that is not enough places to visit while in “Traitors Territory” there is always Inverness Airport where the celebrities arrived by plane – and appears in the big reveal of the new contestants.