Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia dishes out on the shocking changes and challenges this year’s contestants will face – and confirms it’s the ‘toughest season yet’
Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia has spoken out about the challenges this year’s contestants have faced ahead of the show’s premiere on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the 51-year-old told news.com.au that this year’s Brains V Brawn season is the ‘toughest yet’, largely due to the ‘intense heat’ of the filming location.
The show was due to be recorded in Fiji, but due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions it was instead filmed in the unforgiving Australian outback.
The toughest season yet: Jonathan LaPaglia, 51, has dished out on the shock changes and challenges for the contestants on this series of Australian Survivor
‘It’s a really intense heat,’ he admitted. ‘It keeps ramping up all the way through sunset and then stays at 35 degrees after the sun has set.’
In the interview, the host says it was a ‘shock’ for both himself and the contestants adapting to the conditions.
The actor claimed the climate was so ‘crazy’ and ‘unbelievable’ and that even he was ‘wasted’ after an hour.
Crazy hot: The host says it was a ‘shock’ for both himself and the contestants adapting to the intense heat and the conditions
Besides the weather, Jonathan also revealed that the contestants had shortages in food and had to resort to catching yabbies.
‘I think it has really added a new element,’ LaPaglia continued. ‘It’s already difficult as it is. Then you ramp up the conditions and I think some of them initially were like, “Wow, what did we sign up for?”‘
Additional concerns at the location was the local fauna, particularly the poisonous snakes, spiders and the crocodiles roaming in the nearby dams.
‘Some of them initially were like, ‘Wow, what did we sign up for?’: Besides the weather, LaPaglia also revealed that the contestants had shortages in food and concerns arose from the local fauna such as snakes, spiders and crocodiles
Jonathan says that many of the Brains V Brawns competitors had to find the snakes in the area by taking a stick and ‘poking it into crevices and hoping for the best.’
He also confessed they had compete in the dams where the freshwater crocodiles were residing.
‘They’re all excited to be doing the first season in Australia,’ the host added when it came to the advantages for the competitors. ‘But I don’t know if there’s any (other) advantages.’
The first episode of Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn will premiere Sunday July 18 at 7:30pm on Channel Ten
Coming soon: The first episode of Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn will premiere this Sunday July 18, 7:30pm on Channel Ten