Traitors Ireland star Paudie Moloney speaks about deceit, tactics and how he is '100% a hugger' to Lunchtime Live.

68-year-old Paudie was banished from the castle and revealed his identity as a traitor on Tuesday night’s episode, providing a double shock factor as he also confessed that player Andrew was in fact his son to his fellow contestants.

He joined Andrea Gilligan on Lunchtime Live to discuss how he has been feeling since the show has been aired.

“It's surreal to be honest.

“You never know at that [round] table, it changes in a heartbeat!” he says.

Prior to leaving, he had a pretty theatrical departure from the show.

“The funeral was pretty brutal” he says, as he described it as a 'bad way to go for Christine', who was murdered in plain sight.

Despite this, and in true traitor spirit, he says “I totally got into it, I was double hand shaking people, thanking them for coming, the whole lot. I went full funeral mode. I really enjoyed it!"

Paudie from Traitors Ireland

Paudie was asked if he put on a front for the production, or if the audience got to see his true colours.

“I didn’t change a thing going in there, except that I was watching my back and watching my front.

“That is me as I am, including the swear words, which I didn’t think I did so much of!"

Paudie says that he tried to go in there with a strategy.

“Stay low, don’t get involved and stay out of the way, and then that was blown into the air”, he says,

“After the trial in the church, I was looking down the barrel of the gun so I needed to ramp it up a bit.”

Nonetheless, he definitely displayed some strategic moves that the audience observed throughout the series, like telling Nick that he wasn’t a hugger so that he didn’t have to carry out the murder in plain sight of Christine.

“I am absolutely 100% a hugger, all my grandkids were on to me and said grandad what are you on about, you’re a great hugger,”, he confessed.

“They [the other players] said 'ah, he’s the old man, he’s harmless,'” he says.

“But I 100% wanted to be a traitor, I was delighted.”

The public have come out in storm with their love for Paudie, with some calling him a national treasure and many sad to see his departure from the show.

“I don’t know what to make of that. It is completely alien to me,I don’t understand it but I’m enjoying it.”

Some viewers have even said that Paudie should be entering the Áras race for the President of Ireland.

“I’d be lucky to get something like the president of the local resident association to be honest !”.

Paudie's son Andrew was also a contestant this year, and he revealed this shocking information to his fellow players upon his banishment.

He says he genuinely didn’t know that Andrew would also be in the game when they first arrived.

“I told my wife and I didn’t tell anybody else - I was afraid in case I missed the opportunity to do it because I spilled the beans.