Where is The Traitors castle and can I stay there?

Think of the hit BBC series The Traitors, and you might think of Claudia Winkleman, contestants scheming below their hooded cloaks - and that castle.

It is one of the biggest stars of the hugely popular reality show which pits a handful of secret traitors against faithfuls to win a potential cash prize of £120,000.

A third series has already been film and this week it was announced there would be a fourth series and also a celebrity version.

But delve into its past and the castle has links with the makers of Worcestershire Sauce, and the land it was built on with the Highland Clearances.

The 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.

And he had the castle, so familiar to Traitors fans today, constructed.

Ross and Cromarty Heritage Society says that from 1847, about 400 workers were involved in the property's construction.

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 Traitors.

Last year Loukas Tsarmaklis, a director of Ardross Castle Enterprises, told The Press and Journal 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 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 last January because of the US show.

Travel information site Places to Travel said Google data analysis suggested Ardross Castle had become the most searched for Scottish castle.

On the day episode one of the second series of the UK show aired in January, searches increased by 4,500% compared to the average volume over the last five years.

The BBC said series two has had 46m views on BBC iPlayer and an average of 8.1m views per episode.