The motto of Survivor is outwit, outplay and outlast, and the forbidding Fijian island of Savusavu is about to be taken over by the reality show’s strongest and most fearless contestants battling it out to be the sole survivor in All Stars.
WATCH: FIRST LOOK: Australian Survivor All Stars 2020
Host Jonathan LaPaglia says of the battle, “They might be the best of the best, but this time, we’re not going to make it easy.”
With barely a break between Survivor stints, international model David Genat is
back for another crack at the title after impressing as a contestant on Season 4 last year.
But after being dubbed the villain of his season and being unexpectedly voted off the island, Genat, 39, says he’s learnt a few valuable lessons to make it all the way this time around.
“The thing I’ve learnt is being likeable is so important in Survivor,” Genat says. “I’m going to have to turn it on even more. This is a new chance to charm.”
But Genat’s former Survivor co-star Shaun Hampson tells WHO he believes his friend needs to take a different approach.
“Likeability was never David’s weakness but if he can show a bit more restraint
when it comes to trying to take charge and steer the ship, it will really improve his game,” Hampson says.
However, Genat is up against some tough competition. Although he didn’t win his season of Champions vs Contenders in 2018, former footballer Mat Rogers was nicknamed The Godfather due to his power and high status in the tribe.
But the NRL legend has admitted he’s got “scores to settle” after he was blindsided and kicked out by AFL star Brian Lake and Benji Wilson. “I learnt the hard way that you can’t trust anyone in this game,” 43-year-old Rogers says. “I won’t be making that mistake again.”
Former Olympic swimming legend Shane Gould may be 63, but she’s just as capable as the contestants half her age, as she proved during the Champions vs Contenders series in 2018.
Gould surprised the sceptics when she became the oldest person in the world to win any Survivor show. “People make judgements – I make judgements, about young people – and yes, I think people underestimated me because of ideas of what a so-called ‘old person’ is,” she says.
But it’s not just the high-profile contestants from the past who are getting a second chance at victory. In Season 1 of the show, allies Felicity ‘Flick’ Egginton and Brooke Jowett were among the strongest contenders in their tribe, but their union ended on a sour note when Egginton felt threatened by Jowett and turned on her.
With both women back this season, and Jowett “the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been”, there could be drama ahead if Jowett is still reeling from the 2016 betrayal.
But Hampson thinks it’s wise for Jowett to let the past be the past, saying, “I feel Brooke has to be careful … if she goes in set on evening up the score with Flick, it could easily derail her game.”
Among the other notable contestants are Mark ‘Tarzan’ Herlaar and Henry Nicholson from Season 2, former Olympic ski champion Lydia Lassila, nice guy winner Jericho Malabonga from Season 3 and Season 6’s Harry Hills, the ice-cream maker who took out Janine Allis.
If Hampson had his time on the island again, he would change a few things. “I wouldn’t swap any idols … and I would definitely keep my cards closer to my chest,” the 31-year-old says. “There will definitely be some envy watching on, but as alife-long Survivor fan, I’m really excited to see how it all plays out!”
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