Secrets from the set
Jonathan Lapaglia reveals how he plans to torture the contestants
He’s better known for playing a handsome doctor on Love Child, but Jonathan Lapaglia has ditched his stethoscope to play host of Ten’s hotly anticipated series Australian Survivor, due to hit screens in a matter of months.
With filming of the show already well underway, Woman’s Day had the tough job of catching up with Jonathan, the cast and the crew in beautiful Samoa – and the trip didn’t disappoint!
“I’m a huge fan of the show, so when they approached me I was very honoured, though I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of hosting,” says the 46-year-old. “I have a sick compulsion to do things that scare me a little bit, so it seemed like the perfect challenge.”
More than 15,000 Australians applied to appear in the show, but only 24 lucky contenders made the cut. They arrived in Samoa last week under a cloak of secrecy.
Cut off from all communication with the outside world, they haven’t met Jonathan yet. But the soon-to-be survivors can rest assured he’s the perfect mix of firm but fair – not unlike his counterpart on US Survivor, Jeff Probst. But can Jonathan compete with Jeff ’s killer dimples?
“I’ve grown a beard, so I don’t have to worry about that,” he laughs, adding that he recently had a face-to-face meeting with the legendary host.
“The biggest tip he gave me was to just be yourself. At which point I completely panicked, because that was kind of daunting!”
Beyond trying to be himself, Jonathan says the most difficult part of running the show will be the Tribal Council – but even there he has a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Knowing how to peel back all those layers and press the right buttons is tough,” he says. “But I think I’m going to shake things up a bit. The producers don’t know this, but I plan to eat burgers and drink beer at Tribal Council, just to add that level of extra torture to the game.”
We can’t wait to see how all the Samoan drama unfolds!
‘I have a sick compulsion to do things that scare me’