BBC's 'Celebrity Traitors' Castle Built on Opium Smuggling Fortunes

The BBC's popular reality competition series 'Celebrity Traitors,' filmed at the historic Ardross Castle, has a murky past connected to the opium trade. The 19th-century Scottish castle's construction and ownership are linked to Sir Alexander Matheson, a railway entrepreneur who profited significantly from a successful opium smuggling enterprise with his uncle, Sir James Matheson.

Their firm, Jardine Matheson, trafficked large quantities of opium from China to British-controlled India and even published a newspaper detailing the drug's availability and prices for potential buyers. According to Neil Sinclair, co-author of a biography on Sir Matheson, the businessman had "no qualms" about his involvement in the opium trade, which was considered legitimate by the British government at the time, despite being illegal in China.

However, a 2024 article by the BBC detailing the castle's history offers only a brief mention of Matheson's past, omitting his significant involvement in the opium trade. The broadcaster's account states that Matheson "made his fortune trading in China, and was an MP and an instrumental figure in the building of railways in the Highlands."

An anonymous contestant from 'Celebrity Traitors' told The Times that the BBC has been reluctant to acknowledge the castle's historical connection to the drug trade. "You are never going to see the poppies on screen or hear anything about opium or China," the contestant stated. "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."

Ardross Castle, built in 1858 by the nephew of Sir James Matheson, has served as the filming location for both the UK and US versions of 'Celebrity Traitors.' The show's premise involves contestants deceiving each other to win a prize, mirroring the hidden histories associated with the estate itself.