Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last weep their line Welcome back
Speaker 1: to TV Reload. My name is Benjamin Norris, and on
Speaker 1: this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest
Speaker 1: players in television. Each episode you will get a front
Speaker 1: row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors
Speaker 1: and casting agents, plus the talent that we see on
Speaker 1: our screens. TV Reload reloads the shows that you're currently
Speaker 1: watching and gives you a better insight into our television
Speaker 1: industry and our streaming services. Today on the podcast, I
Speaker 1: have the winner of the Traders. Yes, Alex outsmarted them
Speaker 1: all in a dramatic finale which we will get time
Speaker 1: to unpack today. I also want to say a special
Speaker 1: thank you to all the messages throughout the series. I
Speaker 1: felt really supported during the Trader exit interviews by a
Speaker 1: lot of you while I took a deeper dive into
Speaker 1: this new show, which might not have been the highest
Speaker 1: rating series of the year, but something I quite enjoyed. Alex, however,
Speaker 1: really made a lot of bold moves throughout the series.
Speaker 1: The South Australians social media coordinator won the Channel ten
Speaker 1: series taking home a cool two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 1: She defeated Queensland business coach Craig Carr, out smarting him
Speaker 1: in a final showdown that was highly entertaining and probably
Speaker 1: one of the most dramatic moments of twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: On Free to Wear. We will talk about that final moment.
Speaker 1: Did the friendship between Alex and Craig survive, whether Alex
Speaker 1: has been reading the comments on social media, how she
Speaker 1: kept the result a secret from her friends and family,
Speaker 1: plus how she plans to spend the cold hard cash. However,
Speaker 1: let's get started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome Alex,
Speaker 1: the winner of The Traders, to TV Reload.
Speaker 2: It definitely broke Maha as much as it broke his.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it was intense.
Speaker 1: Previously on The Traders.
Speaker 3: You can kind of get away with more than what
Speaker 3: you think you could.
Speaker 1: A trader has to go with can I trust you
Speaker 1: one hundred percent?
Speaker 3: Look, you know, I think it was quite almost a
Speaker 3: necessary evil.
Speaker 1: Then Alex received a secret invitation.
Speaker 3: There's that famous saying keep your friends close, but your
Speaker 3: enemies closer.
Speaker 1: Two traders versus too faithful. I want to win like
Speaker 1: nothing else.
Speaker 2: They have a lot of masterminds behind the show, so
Speaker 2: I'm sure whatever they will do next will be magnificent
Speaker 2: and better than the first season.
Speaker 1: Hi, Alex, congratulations on winning the Traders.
Speaker 3: Hello, and thank you very much.
Speaker 1: For people who are listening to this at home, I
Speaker 1: sound that crazy saying Hi Alex, congratulations and winning the
Speaker 1: Traders because I didn't press record and we're doing it
Speaker 1: again for the second time, so I felt very disingenuous,
Speaker 1: but I am very excited for you for winning.
Speaker 3: Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: What about that look from Craig in the finale when
Speaker 1: you revealed that you were a trader and had in
Speaker 1: fact tricked him out of that money. That is a
Speaker 1: television moment.
Speaker 2: Yes, the television moment if I've ever seen one. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it definitely broke my heart as much as it broke his. So, yeah,
Speaker 2: it was intense.
Speaker 1: Is that intensity of what we saw on TV and
Speaker 1: the finale? Is that what it was in the room?
Speaker 1: Was it more than that or was it less than that?
Speaker 1: Or you have to tell me what was it like
Speaker 1: to be in that room.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think the intensity definitely came through the screen.
Speaker 2: It was probably more intense in real life. But yeah,
Speaker 2: that moment was just heartbreaking really and just very scary
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 1: Have you had conversations with him now offline, like where
Speaker 1: has the friendship gone to this point? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think you know, obviously it's hard for us to
Speaker 2: catch up because we live in different states, but you know,
Speaker 2: we're all one big, happy family here, and I think
Speaker 2: that we all understand that at the end of the day,
Speaker 2: it is a game and only one person could win.
Speaker 1: Well, this is an interesting question to ask because I'm
Speaker 1: wanting to know your traits, you know, the traits of
Speaker 1: a trader. Did you think when you applied for this
Speaker 1: show that you had what it takes? Slight sheet and steel,
Speaker 1: but you know, cunningly manipulate people. I don't know what's
Speaker 1: the best way to describe this without reading it sound offensive.
Speaker 2: Well, I think that initially, you know, I didn't know
Speaker 2: whether I was a very good liar. I think to
Speaker 2: my friends and family, they all can tell when I'm lying.
Speaker 2: So I think to people that you've just met, you
Speaker 2: really build a relationship and rapport and you can kind
Speaker 2: of get away with more than what you think you
Speaker 2: could because these people have only known.
Speaker 3: You for a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2: So I think anyone in my situation probably would have
Speaker 2: surprised themselves, and I definitely surprised myself. But I think
Speaker 2: that I was able to compartmentalize and kind of put
Speaker 2: that trade a hat on as a job role really,
Speaker 2: so it was all business decisions.
Speaker 1: Although you know, it lent me to have a discussion
Speaker 1: with my partner, you know, we're a same sex relationship,
Speaker 1: and it gave us pause for thought. So we're thinking,
Speaker 1: do you think that queer people are good at this
Speaker 1: kind of competition, because at some point we've all led
Speaker 1: a bit of a double life with you know, coming
Speaker 1: to terms with our sexual real and then having to
Speaker 1: come to terms with that and tell other people that
Speaker 1: we are same sex attracted.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a really good point.
Speaker 2: I think also, like my coming out story is quite
Speaker 2: kind of quite quite recent, so I think that maybe
Speaker 2: it does lend itself to being able to hide parts
Speaker 2: of yourself and then only letting in the ones that
Speaker 2: really are there for the long run.
Speaker 1: You know, was it hard to be able to keep
Speaker 1: this a secret? I mean, obviously you've won the show
Speaker 1: because this was filmed a little while ago. You know,
Speaker 1: did were you given any help on how to keep
Speaker 1: this under your hat.
Speaker 3: Look, I just kind of had to pretend nothing ever happened,
Speaker 3: which from my family and friends, they're all very kluey
Speaker 3: and they you know, they drive really hard to get
Speaker 3: secrets out of you.
Speaker 2: But you know, at the end of the day, I
Speaker 2: kept that secret down to the last tooth and nail,
Speaker 2: and when they.
Speaker 3: All found out, it was one of the best moments
Speaker 3: of my life.
Speaker 1: Really, is there a video of your friend? There is that?
Speaker 2: There is a video, And I am completely swallow by
Speaker 2: all of my friends and family, Like, you can't even
Speaker 2: see me. My poor like five month old puppy only
Speaker 2: just made it out of the firing line before I
Speaker 2: run a part on top of me.
Speaker 3: But yeah, it's a great moment.
Speaker 1: Well, two Traders and two Faithfuls was a pretty even,
Speaker 1: you know, even stakes for the finale. Do you think
Speaker 1: that it's luck or why do you think that that
Speaker 1: was the way that the show came down? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think you know, it was all based off of
Speaker 2: all of our own decisions within that game, and whether
Speaker 2: it was the rat or on one. Obviously the universe
Speaker 2: was like, oh yeah, let's have a moment for the
Speaker 2: gays and the days and the girls. So yeah, two Traders,
Speaker 2: two female Traders in the house was a great moment there.
Speaker 1: Well, you know what's interesting. And I wasn't sure if
Speaker 1: I was going to bring this up with you, but
Speaker 1: we're doing it. I was pretty dark on you for
Speaker 1: getting rid of the original Traders, so I went on
Speaker 1: a bit of a journey with you. I was very
Speaker 1: happy for you to win, and as it happened, I
Speaker 1: was like, yes, this is what it should be. But
Speaker 1: was that just a heart Was that a really hard
Speaker 1: decision to get rid of those original Traders or was
Speaker 1: it a necessary evil?
Speaker 3: Look? You know, I think it was quite almost a
Speaker 3: necessary evil.
Speaker 2: Like when I first got inducted, they did say that
Speaker 2: they had just gotten rid of the other two Traders,
Speaker 2: and so I thought, well, if it can happen to them,
Speaker 2: it can happen to me.
Speaker 3: Don't be silly, Alex.
Speaker 2: And also maybe a little bit of revenge for murdering
Speaker 2: all of my friends in the night, you know.
Speaker 1: But I think there's the nature of the show because
Speaker 1: we're introduced to these original four and then to see them,
Speaker 1: you know, be chopped away. You know, it was brutal television.
Speaker 1: It kind of had to be that way, and I
Speaker 1: guess you can look at it as you were offering
Speaker 1: some revenge to the friends of yours that had already
Speaker 1: departed the competition. Yeah, I think Craig made a few
Speaker 1: mistakes in that last hurdle. What do you think the
Speaker 1: Craig could have done a little bit differently?
Speaker 2: I think that you know, throughout the game, it's quite
Speaker 2: hard to separate your head from your heart, and that
Speaker 2: comes just with your personality and who you are.
Speaker 3: And I respect that.
Speaker 2: You know, he kept his integrity the whole way through
Speaker 2: and thought with his heart. But at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, you know this is a mind game and
Speaker 2: you do have to be able to separate both to
Speaker 2: I guess eventually win or use that to your advantage.
Speaker 1: Kate played a great game too. Do you think that
Speaker 1: it was skill or luck that you beat her in
Speaker 1: the end?
Speaker 2: Look, Kate is one of the best board game players
Speaker 2: that I probably have ever met in my life. I
Speaker 2: think that if roles were reversed, she would have beat
Speaker 2: me at my own game. But I do think that
Speaker 2: because in the early days I built very very strong
Speaker 2: relationships with everyone. That is kind of what got me
Speaker 2: through and that skill of me being a people kind
Speaker 2: of person was how it came to be.
Speaker 1: But did you pick Kate because you felt like she
Speaker 1: could She was a contestant you could beat. I mean,
Speaker 1: what was the factors into you know, choosing the next trader?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Look, I mean there's that famous saying keep your
Speaker 2: friends close, but your enemy's closer.
Speaker 3: And at that point in time as trader, Kate was
Speaker 3: one of my biggest enemies.
Speaker 2: Because she was so on the hunting line and I
Speaker 2: was scared of her, so I thought, you know, if
Speaker 2: you can't beat them, join her man.
Speaker 3: She was the best choice. Ever.
Speaker 1: Everyone wants to know. This is the most intrusive question,
Speaker 1: only appropriate for when interviewing someone who's just won a
Speaker 1: reality show. But what are you going to do with
Speaker 1: the money? Did you read on Twitter last night? I
Speaker 1: don't know if you saw this is so funny. Someone wrote, well,
Speaker 1: I guess we're going to now have to watch Alex
Speaker 1: go on overseas holidays and buy handbags now, And I
Speaker 1: was like, it's like, it's the weirdest thing I've ever
Speaker 1: heard Anyone tweet like, oh, yes.
Speaker 3: Much gets set on the internet.
Speaker 2: But the truth of it is, it's all going to
Speaker 2: go to Tiff and my future life together really, so
Speaker 2: they might not see much.
Speaker 3: Because it's all a process.
Speaker 2: She obviously, you know, has to propose to me or
Speaker 2: have a wedding, put a deposit down for a house
Speaker 2: in maybe two years time, and then settle down and
Speaker 2: have some kids, which would be great. So it's really
Speaker 2: like a lifelong progression that you'll see the money.
Speaker 3: Be spent on.
Speaker 1: Also, no handbags and overseas holidays gratuitous and handbags. I
Speaker 1: was just like, did you read that tweet?
Speaker 2: By the way, No, I tend to have stayed off
Speaker 2: Twitter and all of that just because I know it can.
Speaker 3: Get quite cutthroat.
Speaker 1: On there, and yes, probably for the best. Well, I
Speaker 1: need to ask just before you go. Something that everyone
Speaker 1: gets asked is a question of what is something from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes, something that we didn't see that we
Speaker 1: won't see. That's kind of like a behind the scene
Speaker 1: secret from your time making the Traders.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean what you kind of didn't see, maybe
Speaker 2: got a quick glimpse of it, didn't really was that the.
Speaker 3: Entire time I was knitting a.
Speaker 2: Scarf, So anytime I felt like anxious or just like
Speaker 2: so buzzed, I would just start knitting, and I reckon,
Speaker 2: I like started and restarted and restarted this scarf so
Speaker 2: many times I reckon I needed.
Speaker 3: Like the equivalent of like six thousand scars just in
Speaker 3: the one scarf, because I pull it all apart, and
Speaker 3: then I'd start the next day again and knit it again.
Speaker 1: How big is this scarf? By the way, I'm just
Speaker 1: picturing you now, wrapped up from head to toe in
Speaker 1: this look.
Speaker 2: I only had so much wool, so it was only
Speaker 2: like two bales worth of wool there. But I gave
Speaker 2: it to my dog because I can't bring myself to
Speaker 2: wear that scarf anymore.
Speaker 1: It's one thing that people don't know about a lot
Speaker 1: of these shows, though, is there's a lot of downtime
Speaker 1: where they can't miss you talking to other people, so
Speaker 1: they often will make the contestants sit apart and have
Speaker 1: to do things. You know, I've heard crocheting's really popular
Speaker 1: in between takes, so all of that sort of stuff
Speaker 1: is quite interesting. Is that kind of what happens when
Speaker 1: you're making the traders is that they can't have you
Speaker 1: colluding without the cameras being there, so they sort of
Speaker 1: isolate you to knit and crochet.
Speaker 2: Well, can't ging away the magic of TV, but I
Speaker 2: will say I spent a lot of time knitting.
Speaker 1: Well, make congratulations on winning the show. It was a
Speaker 1: fantastic season. Do we know if there's going to be
Speaker 1: act So that's a good question. Do we know? Have
Speaker 1: they announced there's going to be a season two?
Speaker 2: Well, I'm not sure, but something you might have to
Speaker 2: stay tuned for.
Speaker 1: You're giving nothing away. They obviously haven't given you the
Speaker 1: money yet, so you're just like, I've got to I
Speaker 1: have to really look after this to make sure, but
Speaker 1: I get the cash in the bank account. Is there
Speaker 1: anything that you'd want to see different? Actually, if the
Speaker 1: show comes back, is there a twist that you think
Speaker 1: would work well on the show?
Speaker 3: Oh, that's a good question.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: They have a lot of master minds behind the show,
Speaker 2: so I'm sure whatever they will do next will be
Speaker 2: magnificent and better than the first season.
Speaker 3: But I'm pretty damn happy with the first season. I
Speaker 3: reckon it panned out pretty well.
Speaker 1: It was amazing. It was amazing. Well, Alex, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining us today and chatting about the show.
Speaker 1: Good luck with the wedding and the babies. And all
Speaker 1: of that, and we'll be in your audience. Maybe we'll
Speaker 1: see you somewhere else.
Speaker 3: Thank you,