With arguably one of the best groups in Australian Survivor history still battling it out for the title of Sole Survivor, finale week is shaping up to be one epic showdown.
Just days out from the finale, the six remaining Survivor contestants chat to TV WEEK about the cheating, lies and shock eliminations still to come…
Making Survivor History
The final three contestants will face their biggest challenge yet next week, putting their physical and mental strength to the test.
They’ll tackle the longest challenge in Australian Survivor history, which lasted a gruelling six-and-a-half hours.
Luke Toki says this season’s challenges have been particularly tough, and at one point he even injured his shoulder.
“It’s like putting your body through a blender,” he reveals.
“The challenges were really tough – even now, I feel older than I should be. I’m 32, but right now I feel about 45!”
Who will win?
Inside The Biggest Blindside Ever!
It’s been a season of epic blindsides. And, with the finale just around the corner, TV WEEK can reveal another shock elimination is on the way.
“In terms of taking out a big player and making sure they weren’t in the final two, it was up there,” Baden Gilbert, 23, explains.
And with Luke, Janine Allis and Harry Hills appearing to pull the strings on the show, any elimination from here on will send jaws to the floor.
“As a businesswoman, Janine likes to call the shots,” Baden explains. “She obviously took that mindset into the game and, from the outside, it looked like she was running the show. You can tell there’s a hierarchy and she’s at the top of it.”
“Everyone is playing such an amazing game,” he adds. “Luke is playing an amazing social game. He has this amazing social connection with everyone; he’s a huge threat.
“The jury would love to see him win, not just for his game play but for his story.”
“Janine was running the show” says Baden.
Tribal Council Secrets Revealed…
Over in the US, contestants spend up to three hours deliberating at tribal council, and Baden reveals it’s not much different down under.
“Tribal can go on for a little while,” he says. “Jonathan asks a lot of questions and he’s trying to get to the heart of why people are voting a certain way.
“The problem is we don’t have access to the time – you don’t know how much time passes. It’s really frustrating.”
Baden says tribal council is not only mentally painful, but physically as well.
“The seats aren’t comfortable – they’re made of tree stumps and are very firm,” he explains, adding that while Jonathan counts the votes, they take the opportunity to “do a stretch”.
As for tactics, the contestants would try to “disguise their handwriting”, so that no-one could identify who had voted for who.
“I tried to change mine, but my calligraphy isn’t so good,” Baden says.
Baden reveals tribal council was a “frustrating” experience.
“I’d go on US Survivor”
Fan-favourite Luke hasn’t ruled out appearing on US Survivor should he miss out on the title of Sole Survivor for the second time.
“Why not?” he says of the option to take part in the game a third time. “I’d represent Australia for sure.”
Pia Miranda also says she’d “never say never” to the US series. In fact, the Looking For Alibrandi star has applied before – but her application wasn’t taken further because she wasn’t an American citizen.
“For me, the biggest hurdle was trying to get to merge, because the challenges were so physical and strength-based,” she says.
For a 46-year-old mum, it didn’t come easy.
“In America, I feel the team challenges are more evenly spaced,” she says. “They’re not so physical; I don’t think it would be as hard for me.”
Luke would love a shot on the US version of Survivor.
A Month To Recover
Actress Pia tells TV WEEK that going straight back to work after Survivor was a shock to the system.
“I went from being on a set where people starve you and yell at you [contestants rely on a diet of rice and beans, and challenges are tough], to a set where people make you cups of tea and offer different sorts of breakfast,” she explains.
Even simple things, such as exercising, had changed following her time on the show.
“Janine and I would do yoga on the beach, but by day 21, you’d stopped because you had no energy,” she spills, saying it took a month to regain her form on the mat back in Australia.
“When I went to my first class, I felt like I was going to die!” she says.
Pia reveals the series took a toll on her health.
Who will win Australian Survivor: Champions Vs Contenders? Find out when the series continues Monday and Tuesday, 7:30pm, on Network 10.
