WEBVTT - George Mladenov - Australian Survivor - Reality TV Contestant

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<v Speaker 1>It's in the news today, but it was actually on

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<v Speaker 1>TV Reload the podcast plant to deep theirline. Welcome back

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<v Speaker 1>to TV Reload. My name is Benjamin Norris and this

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<v Speaker 1>is your podcast to get all the inside goss on

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<v Speaker 1>the popular TV shows you may be watching from around

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Undeniably, our TV sets are a major part

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<v Speaker 1>of our home entertainment and very little is known about

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<v Speaker 1>how our favorite shows get made. Each episode, I find

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<v Speaker 1>guests that want to dive just that little bit deeper

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<v Speaker 1>into the shows they're currently making, so that you can

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<v Speaker 1>hear all their exclusive stories and gain access to the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest names in Australian television. I want to thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for downloading or subscribing to this podcast. I love hearing

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<v Speaker 1>your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment on

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<v Speaker 1>your chosen podcast platform. On today's episode, I have a

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<v Speaker 1>full debrief with the most talked about player ever seen

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<v Speaker 1>on Australian Survivor. It is King George from Heroes Versus Villains.

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<v Speaker 1>We were first introduced to George on Brains Versus Braun

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<v Speaker 1>only two years ago, but nothing could have prepared us

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<v Speaker 1>for what we got this season. More confident, more strategy,

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<v Speaker 1>more awkward, conversations this time on the beach, and one

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<v Speaker 1>epic tribal council that really broke the internet. George really

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<v Speaker 1>polarized his audience, but he also made this season what

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<v Speaker 1>it was. And I know Liz has won, but I

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<v Speaker 1>think George is the real winner from this season and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm really excited to talk to him today. We will

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<v Speaker 1>talk about George's ability to read people and how he

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<v Speaker 1>managed to manipulate and control his fellow players. George will

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<v Speaker 1>discuss his pregame preparation and if he and Haley did

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<v Speaker 1>get together to plan out their season. I'll also ask

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<v Speaker 1>about the impact George's game had on the other players

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<v Speaker 1>and where his friendship with Simon, Shannie and Liz, amongst others,

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<v Speaker 1>has landed. I will also unpack that epic tribal council

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<v Speaker 1>and find out if George thinks he went too far

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<v Speaker 1>and if he felt that he was antagonizing Simon. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll get some exclusives on the whole series, including some

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<v Speaker 1>behind the scenes secrets which I'm sure you're going to love. However,

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<v Speaker 1>let's bring George into the podcast and celebrate his exciting

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<v Speaker 1>time on Australian Survivor, which you can now catch up

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<v Speaker 1>on on tenplay. Hey George, congratulations on the most epic

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<v Speaker 1>season I have ever seen for any contestant in any

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<v Speaker 1>reality TV show ever.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you, It's all true, and thank you for having

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<v Speaker 2>me on your show.

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<v Speaker 1>This season of Heroes Versus Villains. You really came to play,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't you.

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<v Speaker 2>Well. I walked in with the motto of glory or

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<v Speaker 2>death and that was my strategy as well. I wanted

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<v Speaker 2>this to be the best season of Austraian Survive and

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<v Speaker 2>it was mission accomplished. It's been by far the best

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<v Speaker 2>Australian season ever. It's been so widely acclaimed around the world.

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<v Speaker 2>It broke the Internet in the USA, and we've shown

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<v Speaker 2>that the Australian domestic TV industry is in a very

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<v Speaker 2>strong state. And the fact that I've played a huge

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<v Speaker 2>role in that. I feel a great deal of personal

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<v Speaker 2>delight in that I have.

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<v Speaker 1>Been looking forward to having this conversation with you for

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<v Speaker 1>quite a few days now because I knew it was coming.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think a lot of people who have been

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<v Speaker 1>watching the show want to know is who we see

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<v Speaker 1>on television? Is that your authentic self? Or is King

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<v Speaker 1>George something that has been cooked up? For reality television.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm exactly the same in every kind of situation and

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's what worked for me. And a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of people try and go on TV shows and they

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<v Speaker 2>think it's going to earn them money in different aspects

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<v Speaker 2>and whatnot, and that wasn't the case for me. When

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<v Speaker 2>I played the first time, I was a Survivor fan

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<v Speaker 2>that went through the audition process that's open right now

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<v Speaker 2>for the next season of Survivor that'll be on Channel ten,

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<v Speaker 2>and I told myself I'm going to play a phenomenal

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<v Speaker 2>Survivor game and by doing that, it changed my life.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think part of the reason why I have

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<v Speaker 2>such a huge appeal in mainstream Australia, particularly where I'm

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<v Speaker 2>from in Western Sydney, is because when people sitting down

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<v Speaker 2>at home in their living rooms and they watch me,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a kind of like a normal person. I'm the

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<v Speaker 2>kind of person they see at the pub, at the

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<v Speaker 2>local soccer ground, at the local coffee shop. And that's

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<v Speaker 2>what worked for me. That's my secret, and I think

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<v Speaker 2>that's why this season of austraiand Survivor has been so

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<v Speaker 2>good as well. We've had a very strong cast, very

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<v Speaker 2>good decisions made in terms of going back to a

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<v Speaker 2>more basic Survivor game, less twist, small organic gameplay, and

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<v Speaker 2>it all results in the best season of Survivor ever.

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<v Speaker 1>Have you passed on some of your knowledge that reality

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<v Speaker 1>TV really works when people are just being themselves.

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<v Speaker 2>I think there's a great production team. I'm not just

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<v Speaker 2>saying that. In particular the new ep David Foster, who's

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<v Speaker 2>a huge Survivor fan, really kind of like left his

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<v Speaker 2>mark on this season and it went back to kind

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<v Speaker 2>of classic Survivor challenges, still with a big kind of

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<v Speaker 2>exciting physical aspect that we have on austrained Survivor but

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<v Speaker 2>not on American Survivor for instance. The show's in great hands.

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<v Speaker 2>It's been phenomenal in terms of like the way they

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<v Speaker 2>were able to convey the story on the episodes themselves

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<v Speaker 2>and just sitting back and watching it at home myself

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<v Speaker 2>or when I was watching it with friends or family.

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<v Speaker 2>Every episode was such a delight, and I'm just so

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<v Speaker 2>proud to have played just a role as just a contestant. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>I generate the content, but all the production values and

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<v Speaker 2>the storytelling have just been exemplary for heroes v villains,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think Survivor's got a very bright future on

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<v Speaker 2>Channel ten and in the Australian reality TV space.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you think we'll get another season of it this year?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we are getting another season. They're looking for contestants now, Ben,

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<v Speaker 2>So if you're interested, go on the ten play casting

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<v Speaker 2>website and give it a go. Maybe you can be

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<v Speaker 2>our first Big Brother contestant that wins Big Brother and

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<v Speaker 2>wins Survivor.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think they want me, but I would definitely.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, it's really funny that you mentioned that

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<v Speaker 1>show because people write to me all the time saying

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<v Speaker 1>George reminds me of you in Big Brother, and I

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<v Speaker 1>get these comparisons from people on the internet all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I would be honored, But how does that

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<v Speaker 1>land with you?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we're both very good looking men, Ben, and can

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<v Speaker 2>you blame them? And they're only human? But there's one

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<v Speaker 2>big difference. You actually won quite a significant sum of

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<v Speaker 2>money and I only won sixty thousand dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>It's still cash in the bank, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, it's yours, and I'm very grateful.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to know a little bit more about you.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure that you've been talking about Survivor all day

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<v Speaker 1>but when I was thinking about talking to you, I

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<v Speaker 1>was thinking, I want to know a little bit more

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<v Speaker 1>about the day to day George. What is your life

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<v Speaker 1>really like?

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<v Speaker 2>Like?

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<v Speaker 1>What is what are you doing? And what has your

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<v Speaker 1>life been like between the last time here on Survivor

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<v Speaker 1>and now.

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<v Speaker 2>Well after the last time I was on Survivor when

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<v Speaker 2>that finished airing in September twenty one, I went back

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<v Speaker 2>to my day job as a public servant, but I

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<v Speaker 2>was so bored I quit it in December twenty one,

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<v Speaker 2>and I knew I was going to play in Samoa,

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<v Speaker 2>so I put basically all of my time and energy

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<v Speaker 2>into improving my body. More importantly than that, just kind

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<v Speaker 2>of like living my best life. So what I'm grateful

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<v Speaker 2>for is playing Survivor the first time changed my life

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<v Speaker 2>in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. And now

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<v Speaker 2>that I've finished this glorious season a second time, I've

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<v Speaker 2>got the world at my feet and I can't wait

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<v Speaker 2>to see what happens next.

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<v Speaker 1>I just dream of these, you know, George in the

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<v Speaker 1>real world moments, like you know, you're ordering Hungry Jags

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<v Speaker 1>or KFC and just being you know, typically George really

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<v Speaker 1>amuses me.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think what is interesting is a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>people like me in Southwest Sydney or Western Sydney, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's a very kind of like normal experience. And you

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<v Speaker 2>know why some other TV shows fail is because the

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<v Speaker 2>only thing that you see people from NUSA and Bondai

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<v Speaker 2>and they're all the same and Australia is a very

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<v Speaker 2>different place. And what you saw on this season of

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<v Speaker 2>Australian Survivor in terms of its impeccable casting, is you

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<v Speaker 2>had all kinds of different people from all walks of

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<v Speaker 2>life and all different kinds of ethnic backgrounds come together

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<v Speaker 2>and play out the game of Survivor and it made

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<v Speaker 2>a phenomenal TV product. That's what I want to see

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<v Speaker 2>as a viewer myself, not just you know, not when

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<v Speaker 2>I watch other TV shows. And I think that's why

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<v Speaker 2>this season of Survivor was just so widely acclaimed. People

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<v Speaker 2>can identify with me if they're from Southwestern Sydney and

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<v Speaker 2>I'm one of us, and that's what you know, one

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<v Speaker 2>of them, and it's kind of like what worked for

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<v Speaker 2>me and what worked for Survivor in particular.

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<v Speaker 1>I did hear that. I mean I haven't clarified this statistic,

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<v Speaker 1>but someone said to me that the numbers for Survivor

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<v Speaker 1>this year were up considerably in Sydney. They were saying

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<v Speaker 1>that's all because of you.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, thank you. I would if I can

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<v Speaker 2>take claim for that. That's fantastic. But I walk down

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<v Speaker 2>the streets of banks down all the time and they're

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<v Speaker 2>the kind of people that are watching Survivor that you

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<v Speaker 2>wouldn't expect. They people that aren't, you know, the usual

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<v Speaker 2>under forty demographic, and it's good to see. And I

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<v Speaker 2>want these kind of people to be engaged with reality TV.

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<v Speaker 2>And if they're watching Channel ten and they're watching Survivor,

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<v Speaker 2>I hope they stay on board because there's there's lots

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<v Speaker 2>of other good things to watch on Channel ten.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, there's so many good stories to tell, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think that Survivor has a very good platform to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>So I actually think that the numbers are going to

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<v Speaker 1>be quite considerably high for the people applying for this

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<v Speaker 1>next season. And I think that does have a lot

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<v Speaker 1>to do with you. But I want to move into

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<v Speaker 1>asking you a little bit about the psychology of George.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I want to know more about how you're

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<v Speaker 1>able to read people, because watching this season, yes, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of and maybe there's a little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>magic on top of that, but your ability to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to read what people are thinking and what they're

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<v Speaker 1>going to do is uncanny. Where does that skill set

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<v Speaker 1>come from?

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<v Speaker 2>I think for me it's just life experience. So having

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<v Speaker 2>worked as a political staffer, you have to be really

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<v Speaker 2>engaged in terms of issues that matter. For instance, when

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<v Speaker 2>I was advising on shadow portfolio matters, campaigning on local matters.

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<v Speaker 2>I've been a campaign director for elections. I think it

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<v Speaker 2>might have even been five and you have your finger

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<v Speaker 2>on the pulse. But for me, I'm a poker player

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<v Speaker 2>as well. Jackie wasn't the only poker play on the

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<v Speaker 2>Villain Scribe, and when you cop a lot of bad

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<v Speaker 2>beats you tend to learn how to predict human behavior

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<v Speaker 2>and how to take the opportunities when you sense weakness.

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<v Speaker 2>And when I combine all of you know, street smart

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<v Speaker 2>from banks down campaign and political experience from my former

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<v Speaker 2>professional life, and just judgment and instinctal moves that I've

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<v Speaker 2>learned from playing pocers since I was eighteen, it all works.

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<v Speaker 2>What I will tell future Survivor player is the ones

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<v Speaker 2>that probably will apply in record numbers for season nine.

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<v Speaker 2>Whenever it happens is don't waste an opportunity. Don't think

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<v Speaker 2>this is Instagram. We can put a filter on and

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<v Speaker 2>pretend you have a personality, go out there, be bold,

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<v Speaker 2>be brash, do things, and then more likely than not,

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<v Speaker 2>will work. And if it doesn't, at least it would

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<v Speaker 2>have been fun to watch.

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<v Speaker 1>It is like a superpower. You know your ability and

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<v Speaker 1>you know what I want to ask here is what

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<v Speaker 1>do you say about the speculation that you had a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of help along the way from producers? And so

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<v Speaker 1>when you hear that kind of stuff or read that online,

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<v Speaker 1>is that offensive to hear?

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<v Speaker 2>I do find that highly offensive because it's like with

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<v Speaker 2>these people with Tim Foy or hats on. Every single

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<v Speaker 2>twist that's happened over to two seasons has really screwed

0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:42.360
<v Speaker 2>me over because I'm the kind of person that maps

0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.680
<v Speaker 2>out the game and I need stability in terms of

0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.840
<v Speaker 2>gay mechanics for that to happen. And for instance, I

0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.360
<v Speaker 2>survived the skin of my teeth when two of the

0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.520
<v Speaker 2>three people working against me found an idol. They found

0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:55.680
<v Speaker 2>an idol because they were looking for one. When you're

0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:58.559
<v Speaker 2>controlling the numbers, you can't spend twenty four to seven

0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.240
<v Speaker 2>walking around the bush looking for an idol, and then

0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:05.480
<v Speaker 2>I make a tactical decision to focus on politicking at

0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:07.880
<v Speaker 2>the merch part of the game, to maintain my government

0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:09.840
<v Speaker 2>that I built where I'm the king and the Premier

0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.400
<v Speaker 2>and the governor all in one. But it's just like

0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:16.000
<v Speaker 2>the producers and Survivor, they literally are not even there.

0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.040
<v Speaker 2>They don't talk to you. The only time they talk

0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:20.360
<v Speaker 2>to you is when they're interviewing you, when you're alone

0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.240
<v Speaker 2>in front of them doing a confessional, and that doesn't

0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:24.160
<v Speaker 2>even happen every day.

0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:26.560
<v Speaker 1>How far away do they have to drag you to

0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:27.520
<v Speaker 1>do those confessionals?

0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.360
<v Speaker 2>Well, in both seasons there's a George IV spot. I

0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.199
<v Speaker 2>am loud, I don't want the plays hearing what I say,

0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:36.480
<v Speaker 2>and they have to walk me at least a kilometer

0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:37.280
<v Speaker 2>away from camp.

0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:40.560
<v Speaker 1>They'll take you back to Bankstown just to do some much.

0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:44.599
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, to Bankstown. They should have given me my passport.

0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.000
<v Speaker 1>Did you and Haley get together and tell each other

0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:51.240
<v Speaker 1>that you were coming back? Because I even asked Flick this,

0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:52.800
<v Speaker 1>They said, you know, do you reckon? Those two got

0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:56.320
<v Speaker 1>together and started working out a few plans, and she said, probably,

0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:58.720
<v Speaker 1>what's the story with that, did you and Haley get

0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:00.560
<v Speaker 1>together and map out a plan together?

0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:03.360
<v Speaker 2>No, to be honest with you, so obviously there was

0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:06.439
<v Speaker 2>a lot of speculation about who was and wasn't playing beforehand,

0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:09.160
<v Speaker 2>But Hailee's a very close friend of mine. I mean,

0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.840
<v Speaker 2>I brought Carra to my family visit, but like I

0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:14.800
<v Speaker 2>have Haley in the same category in terms of just

0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.960
<v Speaker 2>a general life friendship. And I do recall having a

0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.760
<v Speaker 2>phone call with Hailey several weeks before the game where

0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.640
<v Speaker 2>we just decided it was best to stop communicating with

0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.360
<v Speaker 2>each other just so we wouldn't get in each other's heads.

0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:30.080
<v Speaker 2>But never in a million years would anyone have expected

0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.120
<v Speaker 2>that Haley and myself would have both gotten to the

0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.120
<v Speaker 2>merged part of the game, particularly having never played together.

0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.400
<v Speaker 2>The proof is in the putting on what actually happened

0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.000
<v Speaker 2>out there. Haley didn't want to work with me, She

0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.199
<v Speaker 2>was trying to deceive me, and if she pulled that off,

0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.719
<v Speaker 2>I reckon the Queen would have rained right to the

0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:47.720
<v Speaker 2>very end of the game and deservingly would have had

0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:48.360
<v Speaker 2>a back.

0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.200
<v Speaker 1>To back win, which people want to see. You know,

0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:53.080
<v Speaker 1>I've heard that a few times, even chatting to Liz

0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:55.360
<v Speaker 1>this morning, Liz was saying, you know, she'd love to

0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:56.920
<v Speaker 1>see a winner win twice.

0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.559
<v Speaker 2>I'm sure Liz might be thinking about playing again herself,

0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:01.839
<v Speaker 2>but good luck to them. And then it's like, I'm

0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:03.480
<v Speaker 2>the kind of player when I go out there, I

0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:05.719
<v Speaker 2>don't care what they've done in a previous game. I'm

0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:07.920
<v Speaker 2>going to judge the cards that have been dealt to

0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.840
<v Speaker 2>me and play the hand accordingly. You can't play a

0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.280
<v Speaker 2>second time and think about what happened the first time

0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:14.840
<v Speaker 2>unless you're trying to course correct.

0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:17.240
<v Speaker 1>It's interesting that you came back because I think your

0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:20.160
<v Speaker 1>game was better this time around, from a point of

0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:22.920
<v Speaker 1>view of maybe your social game is a little bit better.

0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.559
<v Speaker 1>I think that you managed to win people on side.

0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:27.520
<v Speaker 1>You know, did you have to try and work out

0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.400
<v Speaker 1>a strategy how to change some of that behavior from

0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:32.000
<v Speaker 1>brains versus brawn to this season.

0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.520
<v Speaker 2>My behavior was actually the same over both seasons, but

0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.600
<v Speaker 2>this time I was just dealt with better hand. I

0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:42.360
<v Speaker 2>was duds in the outback. I was dealt a cast

0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:46.600
<v Speaker 2>of players, majority of whom had never seen Survivor before,

0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.880
<v Speaker 2>and when they saw a hard game play, it was

0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.640
<v Speaker 2>kind of being transported back to season one. In the

0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.840
<v Speaker 2>year two, thousand, So most of them got voted off

0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.720
<v Speaker 2>before the merge. This is in the outback I'm talking about,

0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:00.720
<v Speaker 2>not in somea Some of the on the jury were

0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:03.520
<v Speaker 2>incredibly better. And the key lesson that I took from

0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.439
<v Speaker 2>the outback that I was very conscious of was I

0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:11.080
<v Speaker 2>can't have somebody poison the jury. Every time someone went there,

0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.440
<v Speaker 2>he just poisoned them, and it killed my chances of

0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:18.080
<v Speaker 2>winning the game. Not because I had a poor aspect

0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:21.240
<v Speaker 2>of my game, but because someone was actively campaigning against

0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.040
<v Speaker 2>me at the Jury villa in Concurry. Here in Smut

0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 2>was a very different situation. You've got eleven of the

0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:31.040
<v Speaker 2>twenty four players were returning players, all playing a second

0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.480
<v Speaker 2>time or a third time in Sewanne's case, to try

0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:38.320
<v Speaker 2>and play a better game, or to try and you know,

0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:40.600
<v Speaker 2>live their dream a second time if they went earlier

0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:43.440
<v Speaker 2>on people like Stevie and Jackie. So I was dealing

0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:46.480
<v Speaker 2>with a very different set of players. But what I

0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:49.480
<v Speaker 2>did a real kind of like conscious effort to do,

0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.920
<v Speaker 2>and a lot of people wonder why Jerry and Matt

0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:56.320
<v Speaker 2>and Liz all were very kind of like loyal to me,

0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:58.200
<v Speaker 2>if you want to frame it like that, is because

0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.280
<v Speaker 2>I made them the best possible versions of themselves that

0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.080
<v Speaker 2>they could be out there's first time Survivor players, and

0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.200
<v Speaker 2>they felt equals when they were working with me. They

0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:10.920
<v Speaker 2>felt like partners. And perception is reality. And you know,

0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.600
<v Speaker 2>if they perceived that they were equal contributors in decision making,

0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.600
<v Speaker 2>great for me. But if other you know, jury members

0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.560
<v Speaker 2>for instance, didn't value that and called them pawns, well

0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:22.520
<v Speaker 2>that's not my problem. That's how I kind of looked

0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:22.800
<v Speaker 2>at it.

0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.600
<v Speaker 1>I felt like you were building these people up only

0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:27.560
<v Speaker 1>for them for you to know that they were going

0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:29.160
<v Speaker 1>to be on that jury at the end, and that

0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:31.120
<v Speaker 1>they were going to vote for you because you'd been

0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:31.640
<v Speaker 1>their friend.

0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:33.600
<v Speaker 2>Well, I think everybody on the jury would have voted

0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.040
<v Speaker 2>for me, to be honest with you, Ben, I played

0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.600
<v Speaker 2>an incredible game. I played the best game Survivor ever.

0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:42.640
<v Speaker 2>And what is important is not thinking about the end

0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:44.680
<v Speaker 2>when you've got two or three weeks to go in

0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.600
<v Speaker 2>the game. So when I'm building up capacity in Jerry,

0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.720
<v Speaker 2>for instance, and turning him into a vicious player, that's

0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:54.000
<v Speaker 2>empowering him. So I think with Jerry, and what's important

0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.600
<v Speaker 2>to know is he felt empowered. I listened to Jerry,

0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.360
<v Speaker 2>I took what Jerry said on board, and what I

0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:05.760
<v Speaker 2>did is I identified people's intent, their motivation, their priorities, and

0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:09.600
<v Speaker 2>I conducted my campaign on the ground around those and

0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:14.000
<v Speaker 2>I found a solution every time that probably benefited the

0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:16.360
<v Speaker 2>other person more than it benefited me, but it was

0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:20.840
<v Speaker 2>a win win, and that's what basically kept everybody aligned

0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:22.120
<v Speaker 2>behind my rule.

0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.880
<v Speaker 1>Your rivalry with Simon was definitely the juiciest thing of

0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.320
<v Speaker 1>the whole season. If you ask me, does Simon represent

0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:33.040
<v Speaker 1>anyone on the outside that you had previously clashed with,

0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.520
<v Speaker 1>because it just felt like that river run really deep

0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:37.080
<v Speaker 1>with him.

0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:42.240
<v Speaker 2>I was targeted by Simon, and Simon spoke the way

0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.880
<v Speaker 2>he spoke to people in the early part of the

0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:47.960
<v Speaker 2>Villains Tribe, and that's on him. That's something that he

0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.960
<v Speaker 2>had to own. But I think Simon as a person

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:55.160
<v Speaker 2>is very genuine back at home, and I think Simon

0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.120
<v Speaker 2>just made a few bad decisions at the start of

0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.000
<v Speaker 2>the game and then came home like a wet sail.

0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:04.640
<v Speaker 2>Part of the reason why I thought, particularly with six

0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.119
<v Speaker 2>players left, to get rid of Simon as a priorities

0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:10.480
<v Speaker 2>because I could see the jury benchers constantly smiling and

0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.520
<v Speaker 2>cheering him on at every tribal council, and I was like, well,

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.760
<v Speaker 2>Simon's not someone that's going to be carried to the

0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.840
<v Speaker 2>end with this plucky underdog story and be told you

0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:21.800
<v Speaker 2>haven't done anything. He's going to get to the end

0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.119
<v Speaker 2>and he might actually beat me. So I am just

0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:27.920
<v Speaker 2>out of sheer respect for the huge game that he played,

0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:29.159
<v Speaker 2>had to vote him off quick smart.

0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:31.320
<v Speaker 1>Do you think though, that, stepping back a little bit

0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.760
<v Speaker 1>and looking at that epic tribal council that went down,

0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:35.400
<v Speaker 1>do you think that you went a little bit too

0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.520
<v Speaker 1>far in the way in which you were definitely antagonizing him.

0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:40.879
<v Speaker 2>Well, I actually think he was antagonizing me if you

0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.600
<v Speaker 2>watch that back then. But Simon fell into a trap

0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.160
<v Speaker 2>and he fell hook line and sinker for and I

0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:51.240
<v Speaker 2>needed to get certain things over the line at that

0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.159
<v Speaker 2>epic tribal council, and all of it was done on

0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.680
<v Speaker 2>very very short notice, literally a five minute walk from

0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.520
<v Speaker 2>a surprise challenge back to the tribal count and it

0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.320
<v Speaker 2>all happened in real time. I needed Simon to specifically

0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:05.359
<v Speaker 2>burn the bridge with Stevie, and he did that. He

0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.440
<v Speaker 2>did that much better than I could have ever imagined.

0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.760
<v Speaker 2>I needed Stevie to know that Jordie was about to

0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:14.320
<v Speaker 2>vote him off, and Stevie was aligned doing what Stevie

0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:17.400
<v Speaker 2>does and just attaches himself to a group of alpha males.

0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.000
<v Speaker 2>He respected me and my game, as he told me

0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:22.320
<v Speaker 2>a number of times, and then he realized I was

0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.800
<v Speaker 2>the best person to work with him. And more excitingly

0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:28.159
<v Speaker 2>for me was I burnt the relationship between Jordy and Simon.

0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:32.840
<v Speaker 2>And it was spectacular because from that point on I

0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:34.919
<v Speaker 2>took complete control of the game. I was in a

0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.560
<v Speaker 2>block of three people in a six person tribe where

0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:41.960
<v Speaker 2>the minority three literally refused to work with each other,

0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:44.240
<v Speaker 2>and I did that on the turn of a dime,

0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:46.160
<v Speaker 2>and it was the best thing ever.

0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:48.720
<v Speaker 1>I think what was really interesting about that tribal council,

0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:50.800
<v Speaker 1>and I've watched it a few times, by the way, George,

0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:53.320
<v Speaker 1>so I definitely still stand by the fact that you

0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:55.840
<v Speaker 1>both probably antagonized each other, and I still don't know

0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:58.760
<v Speaker 1>whose behavior was worse than the other. But my question

0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:00.880
<v Speaker 1>aside from that is there's a bit of a rule

0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:03.520
<v Speaker 1>at the moment where they say that conflict on television

0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.760
<v Speaker 1>doesn't really work and that people tune off. But after

0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:10.600
<v Speaker 1>that particular piece of conflict, the ratings went up. Do

0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.600
<v Speaker 1>you think that Australian viewers at home should be wrapped

0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:15.679
<v Speaker 1>in cotton wall or do you think that we should

0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:18.000
<v Speaker 1>still be allowed to see conflict like that on television.

0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:21.880
<v Speaker 2>This isn't some cheapscape relationship show and another network ben

0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:26.800
<v Speaker 2>Survivor is a very complicated political game and sometimes the

0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:30.640
<v Speaker 2>drama that a game like this generates is the best thing.

0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:34.640
<v Speaker 2>And tribal councils are very intense. Playing Survivor brings out

0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:37.960
<v Speaker 2>a lot of emotions out of people. It's raw, it's real,

0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:42.359
<v Speaker 2>it's unscripted, and that was the best ever tribal council

0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.840
<v Speaker 2>in history. And like many people probably watched it multiple times.

0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:49.679
<v Speaker 2>It broke the internet in the USA, and I say,

0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:51.919
<v Speaker 2>if that's what's working, I'd love to see more of

0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.560
<v Speaker 2>it myself. In terms of raw reality TV. That's not

0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:59.320
<v Speaker 2>just fitting you know, stereotypes, and you know you have

0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:03.560
<v Speaker 2>people that unrepresentative of normal people walking on the streets

0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:06.080
<v Speaker 2>in places like I live in Western Sydney. It's like,

0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:07.119
<v Speaker 2>I don't want to watch that.

0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:10.080
<v Speaker 1>You know, it would have been obvious to everybody whilst

0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:13.159
<v Speaker 1>you were in competition that you were the noisiest player,

0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:16.320
<v Speaker 1>and you were probably gonna get the most amount of

0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.200
<v Speaker 1>screen time. What I don't understand is why didn't more

0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:21.200
<v Speaker 1>people try and take you down immediately.

0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:25.439
<v Speaker 2>Look, when you're working with people, you can kind of

0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:30.000
<v Speaker 2>like identify what is kind of like in their best interests,

0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:32.760
<v Speaker 2>And it was in my best interest to survive from

0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.240
<v Speaker 2>a crudely selfish perspective, but every time you strike a

0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.040
<v Speaker 2>deal with someone, if it's a good deal, you take it.

0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.320
<v Speaker 2>And for two Survivor seasons in a row, me and

0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:45.720
<v Speaker 2>my allies got to the end and one of my

0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:49.479
<v Speaker 2>allies won, And it's like, what's the point of just

0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:51.920
<v Speaker 2>making a move for the sake of making a move

0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:55.000
<v Speaker 2>and then having no control in the game. I look

0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:57.800
<v Speaker 2>at what kind of like what Liz and Jerry and

0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:01.359
<v Speaker 2>Matt achieved is they all made an active choice to

0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:03.520
<v Speaker 2>work with me as I did with them, and we

0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:07.000
<v Speaker 2>all got to the end together. People think, why didn't

0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:09.600
<v Speaker 2>they try and vote George off. It's like, toward that

0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:11.879
<v Speaker 2>end of the game, I was basically picking up no

0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.760
<v Speaker 2>votes because I run a very aggressive campaign on the

0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:20.440
<v Speaker 2>ground and sometimes through just you know, counter intelligence alone,

0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:24.160
<v Speaker 2>I would turn people that even thought would be voting

0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:27.239
<v Speaker 2>for me against each other. It's just like Nina and

0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:29.679
<v Speaker 2>Simon kept voting for each other, and they never voted

0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:32.680
<v Speaker 2>for me. That wasn't because they worried about other things,

0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:34.320
<v Speaker 2>because they thought that was the best thing for them

0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:34.800
<v Speaker 2>to do at.

0:21:34.680 --> 0:21:37.360
<v Speaker 1>The time, putting Lizz aside and her tactics to take

0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:40.359
<v Speaker 1>you down, which was successful prior to that, do you

0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:42.880
<v Speaker 1>think that anyone got close, Like who do you think

0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:45.880
<v Speaker 1>was the closest person to ever taking you down before

0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:47.200
<v Speaker 1>Liz took you out of the competition?

0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:52.359
<v Speaker 2>I was definitely Haley. I survived by a miracle when

0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:56.480
<v Speaker 2>Nina and Sean mispaid their idols. And I always thought

0:21:56.480 --> 0:21:58.840
<v Speaker 2>Sean had an eye dool I thought he found one

0:21:59.080 --> 0:22:02.280
<v Speaker 2>at the Sandwich Rule Wards. So everything I was doing

0:22:02.400 --> 0:22:06.720
<v Speaker 2>was factoring a suspicion that Sean had an idol. But

0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:09.560
<v Speaker 2>I had no idea that Nina had an idol. And

0:22:10.560 --> 0:22:14.600
<v Speaker 2>sometimes human behavior is a very interesting thing. Ben I

0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:17.040
<v Speaker 2>always thought that Sean would only ever play an idol

0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:22.040
<v Speaker 2>for himself and fortunately for me, mean another daughter of

0:22:22.680 --> 0:22:27.560
<v Speaker 2>anyone but me. Creator of that strategy, Queen Sandra herself

0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:30.800
<v Speaker 2>also was of the mindset that she was only going

0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:33.560
<v Speaker 2>to play an idol for herself because that's how anyone

0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:37.000
<v Speaker 2>but me works. And I survived by the skin of

0:22:37.000 --> 0:22:42.400
<v Speaker 2>my teeth. And then I also, you know, maintained control

0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:47.159
<v Speaker 2>of relationships and kept doors open with people there. But

0:22:47.320 --> 0:22:51.200
<v Speaker 2>I came so close to going home in that episode.

0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:54.879
<v Speaker 2>I knew it afterwards. You could probably see it in

0:22:54.920 --> 0:22:58.680
<v Speaker 2>my face when that second idol got played, And that's

0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:01.320
<v Speaker 2>probably the only time I got lucky. But that's also

0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:05.480
<v Speaker 2>just kind of like, you know, that's just how those

0:23:05.480 --> 0:23:08.800
<v Speaker 2>players were. They were you know, they were told the

0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:12.720
<v Speaker 2>plan by Hailey, like the leaks information was correct, and

0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:14.840
<v Speaker 2>they didn't listen to her and I survived.

0:23:15.240 --> 0:23:17.240
<v Speaker 1>It was crazy? Was it crazy? The message in a

0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:20.040
<v Speaker 1>bottle that got lost at sea? And I just was like,

0:23:20.400 --> 0:23:23.439
<v Speaker 1>what is wrong with these people? Can I ask you

0:23:23.480 --> 0:23:25.919
<v Speaker 1>the only questions? I'm probably going to be the only

0:23:25.960 --> 0:23:28.159
<v Speaker 1>person's going to ask you this today, and you complete

0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:29.639
<v Speaker 1>the fifth if you want to. But I hope you

0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:34.040
<v Speaker 1>come with me on this random survivor question. Do you

0:23:34.119 --> 0:23:36.560
<v Speaker 1>end up having feelings for other people on the show?

0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:38.679
<v Speaker 1>I mean, you guys are living in such close proximity,

0:23:38.760 --> 0:23:41.119
<v Speaker 1>and some of the people on the show are like

0:23:41.640 --> 0:23:45.840
<v Speaker 1>ridiculously attractive and really lovely, and you're living in close proximity.

0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.000
<v Speaker 1>I wonder whether or not you ever develop any romantic

0:23:49.040 --> 0:23:51.000
<v Speaker 1>feelings for your opponents.

0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:53.680
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, I definitely don't have feelings for Simon or

0:23:53.720 --> 0:23:55.879
<v Speaker 2>Sewan for the record, maybe they're just not my type.

0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:57.720
<v Speaker 1>Ben, what's your type?

0:23:57.920 --> 0:24:00.800
<v Speaker 2>Still trying to work that out. Yeah, but if anyone interested,

0:24:00.880 --> 0:24:02.600
<v Speaker 2>please feel free to sliding too my DMS.

0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:07.640
<v Speaker 1>Well, anyway, I'm going to move aside of that because

0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:09.119
<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure there's going to be some people out

0:24:09.160 --> 0:24:12.120
<v Speaker 1>there saying, mind your own business, Ben, But I'm going

0:24:12.119 --> 0:24:14.760
<v Speaker 1>to move back into the survivor question for you. Let's

0:24:14.760 --> 0:24:18.399
<v Speaker 1>talk about Jerry and Matt, you know, and the fact

0:24:18.400 --> 0:24:20.320
<v Speaker 1>that to a lot of people watching this show they

0:24:20.320 --> 0:24:24.080
<v Speaker 1>seem like the weakest players. Was it really okay for

0:24:24.200 --> 0:24:26.440
<v Speaker 1>them to be there right at the very end when

0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:29.560
<v Speaker 1>their resume was so was so poor? You know, like,

0:24:29.960 --> 0:24:33.280
<v Speaker 1>could they ever have possibly won standing in there and

0:24:33.359 --> 0:24:35.800
<v Speaker 1>pitching there, you know, doing their sales pitch? Could they

0:24:35.840 --> 0:24:38.680
<v Speaker 1>ever have won considering they really both didn't do too much?

0:24:38.800 --> 0:24:41.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah? I didn't really agree with that. I mean, if

0:24:41.400 --> 0:24:43.760
<v Speaker 2>if Jerry had won, or even Matt, you'd still have

0:24:43.840 --> 0:24:48.160
<v Speaker 2>worse to strange survivor winners, and like sometimes there's many

0:24:48.200 --> 0:24:51.800
<v Speaker 2>ways to skin the survivor can and playing an under

0:24:51.800 --> 0:24:54.360
<v Speaker 2>the radar game is a legitimate strategy. But that's why

0:24:54.440 --> 0:24:57.120
<v Speaker 2>I try to obliterate those players as quickly as possible

0:24:57.640 --> 0:25:00.040
<v Speaker 2>in the early part of the game, because then you

0:25:00.200 --> 0:25:03.480
<v Speaker 2>have a blood bee water situation where the entire endgame

0:25:03.600 --> 0:25:08.280
<v Speaker 2>is filled by seven mats rather than one. And it's

0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:12.639
<v Speaker 2>just a case of tactics. But I felt like I

0:25:12.840 --> 0:25:16.600
<v Speaker 2>really enjoyed working with Jerry in particular. I loved his

0:25:16.720 --> 0:25:20.199
<v Speaker 2>revenge mission suited me to a t and it was

0:25:20.240 --> 0:25:23.280
<v Speaker 2>a good win win for us, and Matt made the

0:25:23.359 --> 0:25:26.240
<v Speaker 2>choice to come on board with me. I gave Matt

0:25:26.280 --> 0:25:29.320
<v Speaker 2>several days to make his mind up, and I knew

0:25:29.359 --> 0:25:33.280
<v Speaker 2>Matt's word was good because Matt himself worked out that

0:25:33.440 --> 0:25:35.760
<v Speaker 2>was the best thing for him to do. I knew

0:25:35.800 --> 0:25:38.440
<v Speaker 2>Matt probably wanted to cut me at a Final three.

0:25:38.520 --> 0:25:42.520
<v Speaker 2>I'm not an idiot, but the fact that I had

0:25:42.640 --> 0:25:46.800
<v Speaker 2>multiple Final three deals and I knew what people's priorities

0:25:46.840 --> 0:25:49.800
<v Speaker 2>were within these different deals is part of the reason

0:25:49.840 --> 0:25:51.280
<v Speaker 2>why I got to the end myself.

0:25:52.000 --> 0:25:54.719
<v Speaker 1>Well, truth often does hurt but your takedown of Matt

0:25:55.119 --> 0:25:58.760
<v Speaker 1>was very accurate, and you asked him very specific questions,

0:25:59.200 --> 0:26:01.000
<v Speaker 1>but that must have hurt his feelings and it kind

0:26:01.000 --> 0:26:03.000
<v Speaker 1>of left him looking like, you know, a little toddler

0:26:03.000 --> 0:26:05.800
<v Speaker 1>that was being told off. How has your relationship with

0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:09.800
<v Speaker 1>Matt host that interaction been. Have you been able to

0:26:09.840 --> 0:26:11.440
<v Speaker 1>maintain a friendship with him out of the show?

0:26:11.640 --> 0:26:14.000
<v Speaker 2>Yes, of course. I visited him on the Gold Coast

0:26:14.080 --> 0:26:17.960
<v Speaker 2>quite recently. I love Mattie. I've met his wife, haven't

0:26:18.000 --> 0:26:20.919
<v Speaker 2>met Little Hugo the baby yet, but it's in that

0:26:21.000 --> 0:26:25.720
<v Speaker 2>same kind of category of past players where we, you know,

0:26:25.760 --> 0:26:29.600
<v Speaker 2>we're in constant communication with each other, and usually the friendships,

0:26:29.600 --> 0:26:31.800
<v Speaker 2>particularly the ones you form in the game, get replicated

0:26:31.840 --> 0:26:32.680
<v Speaker 2>outside as well.

0:26:32.720 --> 0:26:34.560
<v Speaker 1>Did you think it was a little brutal watching it back?

0:26:34.600 --> 0:26:36.200
<v Speaker 1>Like it might not have been brutal at the time,

0:26:36.280 --> 0:26:39.120
<v Speaker 1>but watching it back on television, how do you think

0:26:39.160 --> 0:26:39.880
<v Speaker 1>you came across.

0:26:40.880 --> 0:26:42.760
<v Speaker 2>I just don't think it was brutal. I think it

0:26:42.840 --> 0:26:45.440
<v Speaker 2>was just the reality of the situation. I was very

0:26:45.440 --> 0:26:48.240
<v Speaker 2>willing to vote for Matt and Liz had a phenomenal

0:26:48.680 --> 0:26:51.440
<v Speaker 2>game full stop, and she had an even better performance

0:26:51.480 --> 0:26:52.679
<v Speaker 2>at the final tribal council.

0:26:53.280 --> 0:26:55.680
<v Speaker 1>I love it. You went out of the competition last

0:26:55.680 --> 0:26:58.159
<v Speaker 1>time and you went and got your tattoo of your idol,

0:26:58.200 --> 0:27:01.480
<v Speaker 1>which we got to see throughout the How what is

0:27:01.520 --> 0:27:03.359
<v Speaker 1>your souvenir this time? Have you gone back and got

0:27:03.359 --> 0:27:04.080
<v Speaker 1>another tattoo?

0:27:04.280 --> 0:27:06.440
<v Speaker 2>Well, I did get the tattoo. I got that quite early.

0:27:06.480 --> 0:27:09.560
<v Speaker 2>You can see it on the Survivor Instagram page. You know,

0:27:09.560 --> 0:27:11.520
<v Speaker 2>it would have been nice to tattoo the crown on me,

0:27:11.680 --> 0:27:12.600
<v Speaker 2>but not this time.

0:27:14.280 --> 0:27:17.399
<v Speaker 1>Would Would you get a full tattoo of a crown?

0:27:17.440 --> 0:27:18.320
<v Speaker 1>Have you got it on it?

0:27:18.359 --> 0:27:20.120
<v Speaker 2>I've already got a different mark there. Ben.

0:27:20.400 --> 0:27:23.040
<v Speaker 1>How close were you to leaving the competition, you know

0:27:23.080 --> 0:27:24.720
<v Speaker 1>at that point because of that injury.

0:27:25.000 --> 0:27:27.520
<v Speaker 2>I was very close. It was very touch and go,

0:27:27.560 --> 0:27:30.439
<v Speaker 2>and then I did play the next forty six days.

0:27:30.880 --> 0:27:34.680
<v Speaker 2>Definitely nowhere near one hundred percent, but I'm very lucky.

0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:38.000
<v Speaker 2>You had great care from the Survivor medical team, who

0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:41.159
<v Speaker 2>are foremost experts in the world. I know that, you

0:27:41.200 --> 0:27:44.560
<v Speaker 2>know talking to them. They've done like Everest expeditions. So

0:27:45.560 --> 0:27:49.400
<v Speaker 2>I got patched up, I got the CLEI to go

0:27:49.640 --> 0:27:52.680
<v Speaker 2>back in noting I wasn't at one hundred percent. But

0:27:52.680 --> 0:27:57.080
<v Speaker 2>more importantly, I was given the choice. So when when

0:27:57.160 --> 0:27:59.680
<v Speaker 2>I got you know, offered the chance to go back

0:27:59.720 --> 0:28:01.520
<v Speaker 2>in and the state that I was, I'm the one

0:28:01.520 --> 0:28:03.480
<v Speaker 2>that made that decision, and thank god that I did,

0:28:03.680 --> 0:28:07.680
<v Speaker 2>because you know, imagine this season if I wasn't in it, Ben.

0:28:08.640 --> 0:28:11.439
<v Speaker 1>I was hoping to see another friendship like what you

0:28:11.440 --> 0:28:14.159
<v Speaker 1>had with Kara from your last season. You know, is

0:28:14.280 --> 0:28:17.440
<v Speaker 1>having a bestiet like Kara an advantage or a weakness

0:28:17.480 --> 0:28:20.520
<v Speaker 1>in a season? And did you try and recreate that

0:28:20.600 --> 0:28:22.679
<v Speaker 1>friendship with her with any of the other contestants this

0:28:22.720 --> 0:28:23.200
<v Speaker 1>time around?

0:28:23.280 --> 0:28:24.520
<v Speaker 2>Well, I think what was good for me is I

0:28:24.520 --> 0:28:26.840
<v Speaker 2>had more than one Karra this time. I had a Liz,

0:28:26.840 --> 0:28:29.840
<v Speaker 2>I had a Jerry, I had a mate. I had Seannie.

0:28:30.600 --> 0:28:35.719
<v Speaker 2>I was close obviously with Haley. I was close with Nina.

0:28:37.040 --> 0:28:39.080
<v Speaker 2>I was close with Stevie up until I got rid

0:28:39.120 --> 0:28:42.120
<v Speaker 2>of him. I was close with so many people, So

0:28:42.440 --> 0:28:45.080
<v Speaker 2>what's better than one? Karra ten carras.

0:28:45.200 --> 0:28:47.840
<v Speaker 1>The Spice Girls was the best thing ever. Like I

0:28:48.040 --> 0:28:49.640
<v Speaker 1>when as soon as that formed, I was like, this

0:28:49.680 --> 0:28:52.680
<v Speaker 1>is the best name for this group ever, and everyone

0:28:52.720 --> 0:28:55.400
<v Speaker 1>loved it. It melted down. The Internet was so good. I

0:28:55.440 --> 0:28:58.680
<v Speaker 1>did worry though, with Seannie. Shannie looked like she was

0:28:58.720 --> 0:29:01.560
<v Speaker 1>pretty upset when I think you got rid of her twice.

0:29:01.840 --> 0:29:04.360
<v Speaker 1>What did Shannie say, Because we haven't seen that meeting

0:29:04.440 --> 0:29:06.480
<v Speaker 1>of you two together, what did Shaannie say to you

0:29:06.520 --> 0:29:08.600
<v Speaker 1>when you finally got to see each other after the show.

0:29:08.920 --> 0:29:12.080
<v Speaker 2>Shawnee's one of the greatest EPP of five players, and

0:29:13.080 --> 0:29:16.840
<v Speaker 2>she's someone that has played a third time. She's played

0:29:16.840 --> 0:29:20.360
<v Speaker 2>more days than anyone else, and I think she respects

0:29:20.400 --> 0:29:24.640
<v Speaker 2>the game enough to know that a blindside isn't something personal.

0:29:25.600 --> 0:29:28.880
<v Speaker 2>But my instinct was right. Seannie wanted to vote me

0:29:28.920 --> 0:29:32.320
<v Speaker 2>off next and sometimes been the cream just rises to

0:29:32.680 --> 0:29:36.080
<v Speaker 2>the top. I backed in the numbers to vote Seannie

0:29:36.080 --> 0:29:40.160
<v Speaker 2>off and that's exactly what happened. If Shannie had more

0:29:40.200 --> 0:29:42.200
<v Speaker 2>cut through in other players of the game, they would

0:29:42.200 --> 0:29:43.840
<v Speaker 2>have stopped me from doing it, but they didn't.

0:29:44.040 --> 0:29:46.000
<v Speaker 1>Well, the last question I have for you, though, is

0:29:46.040 --> 0:29:47.760
<v Speaker 1>what's something for? Oh? I'm not allowed to ask what's

0:29:47.760 --> 0:29:49.480
<v Speaker 1>something from behind the scenes because I get into trouble.

0:29:49.560 --> 0:29:51.600
<v Speaker 1>So instead I'm going to ask you just what's your

0:29:51.640 --> 0:29:54.000
<v Speaker 1>favorite moment from the season? So can you just tell

0:29:54.040 --> 0:29:57.560
<v Speaker 1>me what is the what's your hero moment when you

0:29:57.600 --> 0:29:59.600
<v Speaker 1>look back at this season? What are you going to

0:29:59.600 --> 0:30:00.760
<v Speaker 1>be the most.

0:30:00.560 --> 0:30:02.680
<v Speaker 2>I'm so proud I won that endurance challenge and I

0:30:02.720 --> 0:30:05.000
<v Speaker 2>got what I was craving for after you know, eighty

0:30:05.080 --> 0:30:07.800
<v Speaker 2>days of playing Survivor, lots of KFC.

0:30:09.440 --> 0:30:11.920
<v Speaker 1>George. I am obsessed with you. I think that you

0:30:11.960 --> 0:30:15.200
<v Speaker 1>are fantastic. I've absolutely loved watching you this season. I

0:30:15.240 --> 0:30:17.800
<v Speaker 1>think that you've been fantastic. I can't wait to see

0:30:18.080 --> 0:30:20.280
<v Speaker 1>what you do next. I can't imagine what other worlds

0:30:20.760 --> 0:30:21.720
<v Speaker 1>George belongs in.

0:30:22.400 --> 0:30:25.640
<v Speaker 2>After this waiting see, wait and see. Thanks so much,

0:30:25.640 --> 0:30:26.719
<v Speaker 2>Ben reppreciate it.

0:30:27.440 --> 0:30:28.040
<v Speaker 1>Thanks mate,