Chaos on the set of Australian Survivor as production is plagued with problems that put presenter Jonathan LaPaglia out of action for weeks
Jonathan LaPaglia has returned to present the eighth series of the Channel 10 reality show Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains.
The series, which premieres on Monday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m., turned out to be an exhausting experience for the presenter this time around, reports the daily telegraph.
With filming taking place in Samoa rather than the Australian outback, the production was affected by food poisoning and Covid-19, not to mention challenges caused by the elements.
The new season of Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains turned out to be a grueling experience for host Jonathan LaPaglia (pictured)
The 53-year-old actor didn’t contract any foodborne illness, but he had more important things to worry about.
He tested positive for Covid on the last day of filming, after a long shoot that saw 80 crew members fall ill at one point or another.
“I heard a lot of anecdotal stories, you know, people saying it was just a little cold and it was done and dusted,” he said.
Australian Survivor opens on Monday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m.
But that was not the case for LaPaglia, who was sidelined for six weeks before making a full recovery.
Elsewhere in the interview, LaPaglia admitted that the show’s budget did not match that of the US version of Survivor.
“We don’t have a lot of redundancy when it comes to crew,” he said.
With filming taking place in Samoa rather than Australia, the production was affected by food poisoning and covid, not to mention challenges caused by the elements.
With a new ‘Heroes vs. Villains’ theme this year, past contestants clash with new ones as the ‘good guy’ squares off with the ‘evil’.
LaPaglia believes that all of the returning contestants took a great risk given the fast-paced nature of the competition.
Some of the high profile names taking part include actress Sharni Vinson, former Miss World Australia Sarah Marschke and author Benjamin Law.