Australian Survivor's Sue: 'I wasn't going to be walked over'
The retired customs officer from Perth becomes the sixteenth person to leave the game and third jury member.
- by
Cynthia Wang
{title}
{duration}
The Bachelor's Locky Gilbert and Irena Srbinovska get married
1:43
Cate Blanchett at the 2023 Oscars
0:05
Janelle shows up to the MAFS dinner party ready for revenge
0:34
Louis Tomlinson Calls James Corden Out
0:36
Meet the Dancing With The Stars 2019 Cast!
0:56
MKR Amanda confirms the truth about her scary cancer diagnosis
0:48
Justin Lacko addresses what everyone is thinking
2:36
MAFS Jules tells: How things ended up with me and Justin
0:31
Celine Dion Has Something to Say About These Startling Photos
0:31
After Kylie's exit on Night 39, Jennah-Louise knew she was the next to go if she didn't shake things up. She told Matt where he stood in the hierarchy and asked him to think 'big moves,' but the only thought he had was to tattletale on her to Brooke.
While Lee single-handedly won the reward challenge of a Sunday roast dinner for half the tribe, Jennah-Louise tried to talk end-game strategy with Flick over rice and beans. Sensing the chat wasn't constructive and her time on the island was short, Jennah-Louise went into overdrive at the immunity challenge and won her second necklace in a row.
With that, the core alliance scrambled and decided to split the votes between Sue and Kristie. Sue didn't go without a fight, though, and reiterated to anyone not named Brooke, Flick or El that they needed to start playing the game or get picked off one by one.
WHO spoke to Sue Clarke, a 59-year-old retired customs officer and personal trainer from Perth, about becoming the sixteenth person to leave Australian Survivor and the third member of the jury.
Q: What was it about El, Brooke and Flick that had other players under their spell?
A: Oh, well they were the high school girls, I guess. They were all the same age group and they formed this little friendship, and of course the guys were friendly with them. It was the Saanapu group and they just all gelled.
Q: Did you sense that tight bond when Brooke brought you over from Vavau?
A: Oh, I knew I was a goner. Brooke says, 'Oh, no, we brought you over because we thought it would be fun to have someone new,' but I knew straight away that my head was on the chopping black.
Q: Kate said she had tried to reach out to Jennah-Louise when she and Conner came over from Vavau but JL didn't seem to respond. Do you get her frustration?
A: Yeah, I could see where Kate's frustration was, but I could also see JL's reasoning because she had to protect herself as well. We're all playing our own game and you had to be very careful how you played it, whether it was overtly, like Kate did, or covertly like we did.
Q: If Phoebe instead of Kristie were in Fia Fia now, could she have separated El from Brooke and Flick and shaken up the game?
A: No, I don't think so. They were solid.
Q: As someone playing hard in the game, was there something to be admired about what the core girls were doing?
A: No, good luck to them. They had a rock-solid alliance and that's what we all wanted, but I think they got a little bit cocky towards the end, which was very frustrating.
Q: You've said that pursuing a hidden immunity idol would put a target on your back. If you had nothing to lose, was there any risk, then, in trying to find it?
A: The hidden idol on Exile Beach, it was only a very small area, so you couldn't get away on your own, so it was just so difficult, and knew Kylie was going to be going home that night. So yeah, rightly or wrongly, we didn't go looking for it.
Q: Was it refreshing to say your piece at tribal council before you left?
A: Oh, I told them before! [Laughs] But yes, I wasn't going to be walked over and leave like a little puppy dog with her tail between her legs.
Q: Will some of the people you called out at tribal come to regret how they played watching it back now on TV?
A: I'd imagine so. That's up to them how they played their game and how they're going to be perceived, you know? They said it, so they should own it.
Q: What friendships have you gained?
A: Craig and I are close, and I'm close with Kate and Nick, and I'm very close with Jennah. They are life-long friends for sure. Our Vavau tribe, in the beginning, was such an awesome experience. We all clicked very well and as a matter a fact, sometimes we forgot we were in a game! It was very well in the beginning.
Q: So you really got to experience the whole gamut of what Survivor could offer you, all the physical challenges and the mental highs and lows?
A: Oh definitely. I would have hated to cruise through it like the girls. They didn't have to fight for anything while I was always fighting. I thought I wouldn't get through Day 1, but to get to Day 41 was such a bonus for me, and I fought the whole way, so I'm happy with that.
Channel 10
Q: You also fared well in physical challenges.
A: I always knew I was strong and I knew I could do it. I was a little intimidated, not by my tribe but by myself for the first couple. But once I found my mojo, yeah, I was in there. Loved it.
Q: How was your time in the Jury Villa?
A: We were all together. As people were voted off, it was great to have a debrief and reconnect as normal people outside of the game. We formed even closer bonds, particularly myself and Nick. Nick and I had an alliance from Day 1, and he said he was going to take me through to the end. Whether he was or not, I don't know, he reckons he was after the fact! And I said I would never put his name down. Now, when he lied to all of us about that immunity clue, I thought he had lied to me and let me down, so he hurt me, then I hurt him. It was a bit ridiculous, really, but anyway, we sorted it out.
Q: You did what you wanted to do, which was to experience new things. What did you learn about yourself by doing Survivor?
A: I learnt so much about myself. I always had to be quite hard in my work life and sometimes in my family life, and I've always been the go-to person. So having that opportunity to just be by myself for the first time ever, I learnt that I was quite vulnerable, and I love that. I really enjoyed that, and I love the simplicity of the life that we were leading there with no technology and the clean food, or the rice. The detox made me feel amazing. I felt clear-headed, happy and operating on six cylinders. It was great.
Q: What's it like for your family to see you on TV?
A: It's very hard for me to look at myself looking so feral like that! Thank God there is lipstick in the outside world! My family love it. My phone's been going off since last night and this morning. They are very proud.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of WHO on sale now.