RUSSELL COIGHT

Back on TV (Sundays, 7.30 PM on Ten), the intrepid adventurer talks how life has—and hasn’t—changed.

Why does Australia need All Aussie Adventures in 2018?

We’ve got a lot of people on TV cooking, renovating, singing and falling in love. But no-one is doing all that in an outback setting. Until now.

In your absence, Bear Grylls has become TV’S ultimate adventurer. Reckon you could show him a thing or two?

I’m sure he’s a good bloke, but Bear Grylls really has no idea about Aussie survival. Until you’ve been airlifted from a crocinfested swamp with dengue fever and half a leg missing (like I was last weekend) you haven’t experienced the true wilderness.

Being on TV now involves a social media presence. How’s your Instagram game?

I like to regard myself as a social media influencer. Unfortunately, we’ve had to temporarily shut down the Russell Coight Instagram page after it was taken over by (we think) Russian hackers. Just for the record, I do not own a dog called Vladimir.

Ever thought about finding a Mrs Coight and settling down?

I’ve always considered myself a confirmed bachelor, but I recently made a guest appearance on The Real Housewives of Alice Springs. I was helping one of the ladies with a rodeo segment and something went click. Turned out to be her lower back. We plan on dating as soon as she’s out of the body cast!

Would you say you’re more or less accident prone than the average person?

Look, things sometimes can and do go wrong in the bush. But getting hurt is not the thing, getting back up is what counts. And being able to phone the Flying Doctors.