Alone Australia contestant reveals the real reason the survival show was filmed in New Zealand after viewers were left outraged over the decision

Alone Australia contestant Chace Leitch has defended the hit series’ producers after they were criticized for their decision to film the reality show in New Zealand.

During the grueling program, 10 survivors are dropped into the wilderness, where they must survive the competition for a chance to win $250,000.

Defense combat engineer Chace, 27, said attempting to shoot the show in a place like Australia’s hot desert areas would have been too dangerous for the participants.

He made the comments after a fan suggested producers should have used the Kimberleys in Western Australia, a region notorious for its unforgiving climate.

“I would love that,” he said in an interview with Yahoo lifestyle on Thursday.

“But the problem with that is that it carries its own risks, because heat illness is something that can happen very, very quickly.”

Chace said it was easier to monitor a decrease in cold conditions and that this would not be possible in a warm climate because the effects of heat illness affect the “mental capacity” of patients.

He said participants may not know they are in trouble until it is too late.

During the grueling program, 10 survivors are dropped into the wilderness where they must defeat their competitors for a chance to win $250,000. Pictured: Australia only

Crace, who left the show last week after surviving for 10 days, also discussed the further dangers contestants would face in a region like the Kimberleys.

“So that’s the thing about Australia and the heat, I would love it because that’s where I grew up, in the tropics and the heat and stuff like that,” he said.

“It’s a different story though, especially with the crocodiles and the poisonous snakes and the poisonous plants and things like that – it’s a very dangerous, dangerous place up there.”

Defense combat engineer Chace, 27, said attempting to shoot the show in a place like Australia’s hot desert areas would have been too dangerous for the participants

It comes after fans were outraged by the decision to film the Aussie show across the ditch.

‘Why is it called Alone Australia when it is in New Zealand? Are you now claiming the entire country?’ wrote one fan.

“I’m trying to understand #AloneAustralia being filmed in New Zealand,” another commented.

Chace said it was easier to monitor a decrease in cold conditions and that this would not be possible in a warm climate because the effects of heat illness affect the “mental capacity” of patients.

‘So this is Alone New Zealand. Australia is such a huge country, surely you could find a real Alone Australia somewhere in our own country,” another user raged.

SBS Australia’s Instagram account responded to the various comments and confirmed the network’s decision.

“If you’ve seen other seasons of Alone, you’ll know that they’re not necessarily shot in the same country and filmed everywhere – it’s mainly about the contestants being from Australia,” they said in a statement. .

“The American version of Alone was shot all over the place, including Canada, Patagonia and even Mongolia!”

The first season of Alone Australia was filmed in Tasmania, where strict hunting regulations apply. In Season 2 (pictured), survivors could use a bow and arrow to hunt game

In season one, the contestants tackled the challenging conditions of Tasmania during a ‘polar explosion’.

However, head of unscripted programs at SBS, Joseph Maxwell, told The Guardian last year that Tasmania’s strict hunting regulations prompted producers to look for a new location for this year’s season.

He added that New Zealand’s spectacular scenery sold the producers.

“By choosing New Zealand we can introduce the bow and arrow, which brings whole new strategies and skills… and it’s an absolutely stunning location,” he said.

‘Tasmania had a real, claustrophobic intensity, New Zealand is a place of grandeur. It is absolutely beautiful,” he said.

Alone Australia airs on Wednesdays at 7.30pm on SBS.