It’s been a HUGE week of shock eliminations, and tonight was no exception when fan-favourite John Eastoe became the 16th person sent home from Australian Suvivor.
The four old Contenders planned to be united and vote out a Champion. The Champions planned to vote for Harry, armed with the knowledge that Daisy had an idol. But what they didn’t know, at first, was that Daisy was thinking of playing the idol for Harry.
In a move that had fans yelling “OH NO BADEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Baden spoke with Luke and revealed the Contender’s plan to the Champions. In a bid to shock them, the Champions chose to vote out John instead of Daisy or Harry. Talk about a blindside!
Based on how hard the Champions were selling their “Daisy” story at tribal council, John came to realise he might be going home.
“The fact that you’ve emphasised that there are two names says to me that maybe you guys are trying to throw off a little bit too hard. Maybe I am the name,” he said. “But hey, one in four chance, I like them odds.”
John sensed his time was up during a tense tribal council.
Following a tie-breaker with Abbey Holmes, John was sent packing to join Shaun Hampson and David Genat in Jury Villa.
TV WEEK caught up with John to chat all about his elimination and his thoughts on the fans calling for him to be the next Bachelor.
You weren’t one of the ‘Survivor super-fans’ going in to the show, what did you think when you got to Fiji and realised what you were in for?
Mate, the first night it was pissing down rain and we didn’t get a fire going, and I thought ‘what the hell have I gotten myself in to?’ I didn’t anticipate just how hard it was going to be, and I don’t think the super-fans did either. It was all a big surprise, really!
Which element did you find harder: the social, mental game or the physical challenges?
I really enjoyed the challenges, I was like a big kid on a big playground, you know! But the mental stuff… it doesn’t come naturally to me to lie to people, to backstab, apparently it does come quite naturally to some people, though! That’s probably where I struggled a little bit, probably just being too honest in a game that requires you to, you know, not tell your left hand what your right hand is doing most of the time.
“I was like a big kid on a big playground!”
Were there times then where you felt people were doing a bit much, playing the game a little too hard or too sneaky?
Um, look without a doubt old mate Dave. Power went to his head something fierce, but everyone to some extent. Andy gave me the s—s a little because he was always trying to make these moves and they were never really coming off and things like that. You could just see on the surface that he was being sneaky, little bit slimy if you ask me, but that’s all right it’s all part of the game. So no hard feelings!
It was a huge shock to fans to see you eliminated tonight, you kind of became a target out of nowhere! Did you have any idea your name was being thrown around camp as someone to vote out?
Yeah look, based on circumstances I knew my name was definitely getting thrown into the ruck. It was just one of them things, all I could do was try and get someone to flip but it was as simple as being a monkey. I hadn’t had a vote against me up until that point, so to be voted out the way that I was is just unlucky I guess. But, at the end of the day, you create your own luck in the game of Survivor don’t ya?
What was the vibe like at tribal council, because obviously we only see a small snippet. Was there much discussion about you? Did you have any idea you were going home?
Nah I definitely had a fair idea! I made a few little smartass remarks, but I was trying as hard as I could to convince them… but it just didn’t eventuate and yeah, unfortunately I was out of the game.
Only John would throw up elimination shakas.
It’s such a shame to see you go! Though, were you secretly a little bit excited to get to Jury Villa and eat some real food – did you finally get your Mexican parma?
I got my Mexican parma! Ate it with my hands, it was probably smeared across my whole face. I ate until I was full and then I ate a bit more. I’ve never been much of a sweet tooth but I was eating those chocolates like they were going out of fashion. Jury Villa was definitely a nice regroup, I guess, after the starvation we’d been put through.
What did you think when you saw your reflection for the first time in 30 odd days. Were you shocked by your weight loss?
I think that was the first time I’ve had a bloody set of abs since I was about 13 – so it wasn’t a bad thing! But yeah the weight went on pretty quick, there’ll be no Sports Illustrated photo shoots any time soon because I’ve well and truly put the weight back on.
Obviously you’ve wound up in Jury Villa with Shaun and David, did the three of you take the time to catch up on the game? Was it interesting to hear it from their side?
Oh what made me laugh the most was just how deep in to the game Dave went. I mean, I think he just lost himself in the game. But also, to spend a couple of days with Shaun and Dave and see how they got on, it sort of just opened up our eyes to just how formidable an alliance they could have been had they gone together instead of locking horns all the time. They got along really well once we went to the villa and I guess it’s probably a good thing for everyone else involved that they didn’t get along during the game, because they would have been hard to beat.
John joins David and Shaun in Jury Villa!
Coming out of the game, was there anyone you held any resentment towards?
Nah mate, it’s a game at the end of the day. The relationships I’ve built, like, I’m so thankful for them.
Do you have a favourite memory from your time on the show?
Big Shaun owns a café in Melbourne not far from where I grew up and he reckons I’ve got free coffee for life, because I dragged him over the wall in that first immunity challenge. I like my coffee, so I’m pretty happy with that, and I’ll be hanging on to that. Pretty good moment I guess! And definitely the moment I shared with Sarah up on the tower of terror. Being able to be there for her was really nice, despite the fact that we couldn’t get her to jump it was nice just to be able to be there for someone in that situation. There were a hell of a lot of good moments.
It seems like everyone is quite close outside of the game, have you been keeping in contact with people?
Yeah, yeah, I catch up with everyone every now and then, particularly the Perth bunch because obviously I’m in Kalgoorlie. So I pop down there when I can, catch up with Lukie! I love the way he approaches life, with everything he’s got going on he still manages to do it all with a smile. I catch up with Harry, Abbey, like I said all the relationships I’ve made, with so many good people, are awesome.
The faces of true friendship!
Becoming the 16th person voted out of Survivor, you’ve made it really far. Were you proud of your achievement?
Yeah, yeah I was. I was really proud. I went in there with no expectations other than to just be myself and, uh, take the piss a little bit and it got me as far as it did. You know, I’m probably unlucky with how things went I could have gone further. So I’m really proud of how I ended up and I know all of my family watching back home were proud as well, so that’s even better you know.
And you’ve definitely shone through on screen and become a fan-favourite. Have you seen all the fans calling for you to be The Bachelor in 2020? Would you do it?
Yeah I have seen those (laughs). Look, if the offer was there I’d do it just because I think it’d be a hell of a laugh and, I mean, if you can meet someone out of it then why not. But, yeah… it’s been a while since I’ve worn a suit, I only really wear one when I go to the races so I might require a fair makeover to meet the standard but, hey, I’d be keen.
Channel 10, you know what to do.
Australian Survivor: Champions vs Contenders airs Monday and Tuesday, 7:30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, on 10.
