Waterford's Vanessa wins RTE's wildly popular 'The Traitors'
Vanessa Ogbonna, 28, a content creator from Waterford was one of three winners of the hugely popular Traitors Ireland programme.
The Traitors Ireland reached its epic finale on Tuesday night, with Vanessa Ogbonna, a content creator from Tramore, one of three winners.
The 12-episode run proved wildly popular amongst Irish audiences.
Hosted by Siobhán McSweeney and filmed at Slane Castle, the series followed a group of strangers as they competed in trials to build a prize fund while trying to identify the Traitors among them.
Each night at the round table, the group voted to banish one of their own, as the Traitors plotted in secret.
Tramore's Vanessa shared the winning prize pot of €42,900 with fellow Faithfuls, Kelley Higgins and Oyin Adeyemi.
Across the 12 episodes, the series pulled in an average of 557,000 live and viewed on the same day as live (VOSDAL) viewers, with a 50% share of viewing.
On RTÉ Player, it has been streamed 3.7 million times.
Vanessa, Oyin and Kelley appeared on The Traitors Ireland Uncloaked following the finale on Tuesday night.
Asked by host Kevin McGahern how she was feeling, Vanessa said it was "unreal" to be one of the winners.
"I am really happy and excited," she said.
In an emotional interview with Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio One after the finale, Vanessa paid tribute to the community of Tramore.
"The cultural and racial climate in Ireland right now is very heated, I'm not going to go into the economical or social factors that have to do with direct provision because honestly I can't speak on those.
"But what I did want to share is a story of overcoming, and the story of my community in Tramore, who helped this little girl randomly and that has changed my entire life."
Vanessa moved to Ireland from Nigeria at six years of age. She played underage football with Tramore AFC, university football in the US and also played in the national league with Wexford Youths and DLR Waves.
"I'm so blessed, because I would honestly be nothing without the people of Tramore, especially Tramore AFC. They have made me the person that I am," she said.
Tramore AFC paid tribute to their teammate Vanessa after her win, saying on their Facebook page, "She brought energy to the show but also a softer side where she acknowledged many life events to have shaped her. Well done Vanessa and keep up the great work. We will see you soon in Graun Park no doubt."
