It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week. They might welcome back to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris, and on this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. Each episode you will get a front row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and casting agents, plus the talent that we see on our screens.
TV Reload reloads the shows that you were currently watching and gives you a better insight at our television industry and streaming services today. On the podcast, I have kJ from Australian Survivor's Blood Versus Water currently on Network ten. An ex flight attendant who is now a stay at home mum of three, took on Australian Survivor with her
sister Sophie. They boasted a social game, but it was Kj's ability to tame her opinions and listen more than she talked that proved that Kate was a serious contender for the top prize. We talk about that advantage, her sister's postgame opinions, who in the finale has the best resume and if she has any regrets anyway, I'd like to welcome. One of my favorites from this year's Australian Survivor. It's kJ.
My game was never going to be bold and flashy. Previously on Australian Survivor, you should have been discouraged from going on reality television. My ultimate goal is to go home to my three children and say mummy.
One Survivor.
There were things I definitely do differently at certain times of the game. kJ, could tonight's both be a game changing move? To see negativity about the game was quite upsetting for me.
I person voted out of blood versus Water kJ.
The minute you start sort of showing you know, anger or disappointment, you become a target.
Hi, kJ, how are you?
How am I? I'm not sure, I don't know. I am. I'm okay, I'm good, I'm happy, I'm content and I have come to terms with what happened, so I'm alright.
Well, congratulations on a tooth and nail season of Australian Survivor. What were the hardest things about your experience overall?
Oh? Look, there was the materialistic things, the fun things like my no hairbrush, no muscaa, no fake tan, no makeup. Because I love my plants. So that was all a little bit of fun, the sleeping conditions, but then you get down to the nitty gritty, and missing my family just added a whole new layer of emotions onto what's already a really complex and brutal game. So yeah, it was a big decision to leave such young children at home, and the preparation that went into leaving them was quite
a peek in itself. There was spreadsheets and whiteboards and had nannies. There was a lot goes to show how much work us parents do. And then getting out there being able to live out a dream that you've had for such a long time, and it going well for a couple of weeks, and then you know, a good old little survivor twist. The blood versus water element really hit hard for myself. So that was pretty tough out there as well. I didn't go to plan.
Well, you said last night that you actively listened more than you talked.
Thank you so much, guys. I came in here with a strategy of listening more than I talk, and I'm really glad I stuck to it because I got to hear from some really incredible people. It's going to be a pleasure to watch you play. All right, Fay.
Do you think you know ultimately that is why you survived as long as you did.
I really do. I'm the first to admit Ben that my game was never going to be bold and flashy. It's not who I am as a person. I'm pretty low key and pretty private and just like to dedicate myself to family life. But I knew I had the smarts out there, So I know my game probably wasn't interesting to people, but that's okay. That does not bother me in the slidest. My game got me to where I was. I listened more than I talked. I was interested and not interesting. I just wanted to have people
trust me. I wanted to show that I was a supportive person, and I just wanted to gather as much information as I could so then I could adapt my game and help out people I wanted to work with. So yeah, it was a pretty It was a low key game at times, but I feel that I feel it I did all right. I did well in the end. I got there. It was hard, there was a lot, and there was so many twists and turns, and it was complicated.
Well, I think you're being very hard on yourself because you made one of the best moves in my mind in the series. The way that you rolled out your advantage was not only just great television, but it was a strong message to everyone watching the show that we should look at everything from all angles and not just the obvious.
That's right, and I feel that you should have been discouraged from going on a reality television, especially a game like sciber if you are not a big, out there, confident person, that's not necessarily the key to success. Yes, you can be a bit of a wallflower at times, and especially in a game like Survivor, play that up if you want, which I certainly did. And so when I have advantage, I got to really showcase my strategic side and give the audience a glimpse of what I
am capable of. I knew it was within me. It was just about having the opportunity to bring it out because previously I had no alliance, so I never had the numbers to do what I really wanted to do. So it was a really great and empowering feeling to be sitting there and be a little bit cheeky and have a bit of fun with it.
Well, is that how you would play it if you had that advantage again, because when you got to Tribal last night and you got to interact with everyone, people were giving you a hard time, which I thought was super duper unfair because it was one of my favorite things you did. But after hearing that and having the time that you've had now, is that how you would play that advantage?
Absolutely? I stand by all my decisions. I definitely can't say I don't have regrets. I do. Know a lot of people say I played and I don't have a regrets. I do. I'm very realistic and there were things I definitely do differently at certain times of the game, but that's not one of them. I knew we had to break up that really strong alliance. I knew that Jordan, Josh, and Chrissy were such a tight three. The show didn't give their relationship probably as much airtime as it deserved.
They were very tight, and so the writing was on the wall that we had to break them up and we couldn't risk one of us going home. If Sam had played the idol and she was so good and what she did. I loved watching them. From a fan point of view, I was sitting there going she is good. I don't know she's play this. I had to sometimes kind of like, come on, Okate, snap out of this. You're actually playing, you're not watching. So I wouldn't change
that at all. The reception I got back at camp that night was very frosty, and you know that was saying, oh, there's going to be consequences, but these were the consequences of continuously writing my name down, underestimating me, not wanting to listen to me. These were the consequences. And then at Juri Villa, Yeah, once again very frost Sam and I both didn't receive the warmest welcome compared to some
of the guys, but that's just sometimes what happens. And we had some really supportive people in the jury as well that were there by our side. I think you could have gone further with your advantage off the way you used it, you stuck to your majority, played out the way it's played out.
I think you wasted that.
Yeah, yeah, probably in hindsight.
Like it was a good move.
I respect the move, but I feel it was a bit interesting that you didn't stick with the majority after hell and you fought to grab.
It well even Jonathan Lapalia last night took to Twitter to call out your sister's Sophie's shenanigans. Do you think that he was right to exclaim, you know, that she floundered your gameplay.
She definitely said it on a different path to what I had envisis. It was actually quite sad that our games did in the line whatsoever. We're very very different people, very different people, and it was a fear of mind going into the game that something may happen and it would sort of do some damage. And it did, and I was in damage control for a while there. We all handle pressure differently, and I was able to internalize a lot of my emotions, which in the game of
survivor is a very very important thing to do. The minute you start sort of showing, you know, anger or disappointment, you become a target. So she wasn't happy with what had happened at the Blood Tribe came into my tribe, said a few things about, you know, her previous tribe mates for getting maybe, hey, these are their loved ones here and I'm working with them, so let's just chill out a little bit. But yeah, it was a really
draining situation. It was tough, and I felt like it made me retreat a lot, and I lost a bit of confidence and really sort of went into my shell. And I had tribe mates notice that and say, you know,
what's happened? Was Kate gone? And I don't think I recovered from that at all, because then there was writing her name down and I am the big sister, and I felt guilty for doing so, but the writing was on the wall, as I said, I needed to go further in this game, and I was going to go further than she was, and yeah, I did what I had to do.
I loved your public support of Sophie. I thought that was great because there was, you know, a lot of backlash and you know, she did kind of kick up her heels on social media and cause a bit of attention after her exit from the show. But I loved the fact that you still were the big sister and you were looking after her. But do you think that it was warranted? Do you think that you know how her game played out and her reaction on social media, do you think that was warranted?
Not at all. No, it wasn't warranted whatsoever. I wanted her to stop that, and not just for the game. You know, I have so much respect for the game and production and all the people that put their time and effort into it. To see negativity about the game was quite upsetting for me. But also I had made and had made some friendships that will last a lifetime and I didn't want any more damage to them. And also I still wanted her to come away from the
game with some positivity. She did well, not you know, she got three weeks into the game. She was incredible in challenges. I wanted her to feel proud of herself and what she does. But I just didn't want any negativity surrounding our experience because this most likely won't ever happen again. You get one shot, and I'm a pretty positive person and I look at her life with a lot of gratitude, and no matter what happens on the game, I was able to separate that from sort of reality.
And I think Sophie had a bit of trouble doing so. And she wears her heart on her sleeve and she's very outspoken, and yeah, it was a shame the way it played out, and I know she was hurt by certain people. I just could not get involved too much because that then you know, had a negative impact on me sort of mentally.
Absolutely, I can imagine it would be the same as how I would be with my brother. I'd ring him on the phone, he wouldn't answer, and then I'd send him a text message, stop this, put yourself together.
No, I just had to remove myself from the situation, which, you know, maybe that showed I wasn't loyal to her, but I was and I care for her very deeply. But I just needed to power on because I was still on the show, and I knew that I was going to be on until the second last episode, so I kind of wanted to just concentrate on the gameplay and some of the big moves that led to her demise. From a fans point of view, that were great moves,
and I know she respects them. I just wanted her to have more of a positive experience than I think was sort of played out on television. I never expected it to be such a talking point, to be honest, as I said, pretty low key, wanted to get in there, strategize, play the game, come out of the game, and go back to you know, life, and get the trackies back on.
And well, there's been so much talk about the Battle of the sexes this season with a male strong alliance, Do you think that Survivor can be a true representation of where we are in society?
Yes, I think it can. I won't lie. There was a very strong core group of men out there but insane that I have to stick up for them because they were all really lovely guys and that was their strategy. There were some words thrown out that I didn't agree with, calling, you know, the girls weak or you know, I got called flaky things like that. I don't agree with that.
I think there's a better way of putting it. That was their strategy though, But also, we are so hungry and so tired out there, you aren't thinking clearly at all. I can definitely say that I feel like they It was just a bunch of guys they got together. They were all very physically strong, and they bonded over that, and their strategy was to sort of carry each other through as far as they could and then battle it out.
They might have underestimated a couple of the smaller girls in terms of sam her strategic mind and her gameplay was just ten out of ten, like Wow, she played a river of a game. Then you've got Shaye, what a physical power house, who is beating these in these challenges. I don't think they really took that into consideration. You've got Chrissy, who's played one of the best social games
I've ever seen and she's stayed true to it. And then you know, little of Me pops up from time to time and just throws a couple of bombs out there and has a crack. So I feel like we as women, we gave it a fair a fair go. We always behaved with dignity, we spoke well of each other, and I'm really proud that there's two really strong women still there at the end. I wish I could have
been there with them. We wanted that final three, you know, get rid of that boys club and have the ladies at the end, but it wasn't to be.
We still chipped away back to the halfway through that you were thinking it's just going to be an all male finale, and here we are with two really strong women and the fact that you were there right to the end, like it's just the tides the.
Tides, And yeah, there was three girls and two guys at the end. I think the reason they got rid of mad like we kind of yeah, they didn't want the girls.
At the end, Mark did do a sneaky that was in your words. Do you think that Mark has been as good as what he has protested in his bits to camera.
Yes, I do, but I also think we can't ignore the fact that his wife played one of the most epic games we've seen in a while. So those two as a pair, we were brilliant. He's played very very well using Josh A's a shield, Sammy sacrificing her game. They were just so well prepared and they came in, they knew what they had to do, and he is
now in the final four. It's paying off. And then I think Josh's game has been just as good, and it probably hasn't been shown in the edit as well as much, but just speaking to a lot of you know, the Survivor contestants, and we were so impressed with Josh's game, so both equally as impressive. I think Mark can talk, and he certainly talked his way into arts last night. Shane. I just believed the big soldier and you know, there were conversations going on for a couple of days about
him wanting Josh out. But it turns out he was just selling us the candy and it was always me. So that's okay.
Well, Chrissy changed her vote last night, you know, in the revote. Do you think that was fair of what Chrissy decided to do.
I think she made a decision in the moment based on the fact that we hadn't told her the truth, So I don't blame her for that. What had happened was we had to basically choose as that Mark or is at Josh going home. From our perspective, Shane, I there was more chance of Mark making a move than Chrissy because her game was based around loyalty to her alliance, and she often spoke about how close she was to Josh and Mark. We just not for a second thought
then that she was going to flip. We just did not think it was going to happen, and we thought, well, Mark, Mark could Mark could definitely make a move here, and he was telling us he was going to. So I think Chrissy's decision to vote me out wasn't one based on head. I think she went with her heart then, and she was frustrated that we probably, yeah, we hadn't
told her the truth. The reason we didn't tell her the truth was because we knew she'd go and tell Josh that he was our target, and there was a huge chance that Josh would then get the vote on me, which turns out was sort of the plan the whole way along.
Anyway, I love Chrissy. I think that there's something very endearing about her. When she first turned up, I was like, who's that lady with the crazy eyes? And then by the time it's got to the end of like, oh, she's just good.
Telling he's fantastic. She's what a survivor needed this year, just a little bit of yeah, a little bit of light hardness and just keeping things real. And she's exactly like that in real life. She's just a beautiful person inside and out. And I'm very lucky to call her a friend, as I am with she also, who's just as beautiful. So you've got some really great women there at the end. And you know there's commentary out there
that their goats. They're only there to get sort of you know, voted out or go up against the easy beats, and I think that's so unfair because to make the top five of Survivor, you have had to have done something right to get there, and that might mean that at times you have to adapt and play a role and you might have to take a step back, and you might have to be content with you know where
you're at, and not be too flashy, be subtle. And I feel like Shay's done that really well because she knew her physical prowess would probably has put a huge target on her back. Chrissy's just been Chrissy, and you can't ask for much more, to be honest, There's people out there that you know were threatened by a social game, as they should beat because she's just a really, really great person.
What about that vote, the vote that always came out one vote, kJ, What was going through your mind? And did you know where that vote was coming from?
It was? Yeah, So I multiple times I was told that my name would be written down and I still hadn't worked out if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I wanted to shout from the rooftops, like why are you doing this? But that's part of my
game plan. If you do that, and you sort of ruffle some feathers and I was almost walking on eggshells for a while there after, Sophie went home because I didn't want to show any form of aggression, thinking well, they might just pigeonhole me too and get rid of me. So I had to bite my tongue so much. Ben really, as I said earlier, internalized everything, which once I got out that all just came to the surface. But those
random votes, I knew they were coming. I knew most of the time they were from Josh, there was a couple from Michelle, and the intention was for me to never go home. I was never the first target. It was always a just in case, and I got really sick of being a just in case vote and I wanted to do more about it. I just didn't have the numbers. But it's become a bit of a joke now,
and that's all you can do. Sometimes. I'm just having a laugh with it all and focusing on the fact that I got to play and I really did experience the full game of Survivor. From having his sister voted in, his sister voted out, getting voted into another tribe, merge furgatry, finding an advantage, making the top five, There's not much more I really could have done, apart from win the game. So yeah, for someone that's wanted to play for a very long time, I really did get to experience everything
and it was very exhausting. But also I just wanted to play, yeah, and be humble and be kind to people and show my sport and just have some fun and do game of Survivor justice.
I like to say that you bought the full Survivor showbag.
Oh my god, didn't I? I got the big expensive one health who.
Has the best resume and is your most deserving winner for the finale?
Can I? No? I can't split Mark and Josh. Their resumes are incredible, and that's why I didn't want to go up against them at the end. Josh didn't have two idols in his pocket the whole time, so he didn't sort of have that comfortable feeling and he didn't have an absolute weapon by his side in terms of SAM. So I really respect Josh and the way he played was admirable and pretty great to watch, and I would be surprised, yeah, if he didn't win. But then Mark, Wow,
he was brilliant. He came in with a plan, he executed the plan, he stuck by his plan. He had prepared so much, and he played well and he made you feel so comfortable. But then I was an underdog the whole time, So my heart wants one of the underdogs to win. So I'm yelling out for the girls.
I think there'd be a lot of people agreeing with you on that. What is something? Yes, this is something I always ask everyone that joins the podcast, and I've done it for the last year and a half. What is something from behind the scenes that we're as an audience did not see and will not see that you can tell us from behind the scenes of your time on Survivor.
Because in SVIVA, you were at the camp. You have to speak really quietly to each other, so you obviously don't get overheard by the other tribe mates, and so you'd be whispering a strategy or who you were going to vote out, and then all of a sudden you get donked in the head by those big fluffy microphones, and that meant obviously you needed to talk louder. But I was always so aware that someone could be behind a tree listening and everyone was wandering around like I
was notorious for listening into other people's conversations. I would pretend to be asleep and listen. I found out about one of Mark's idols because I was asleep pretending to be asleep and heard him talk about it.
So wow.
It was being hit in the head numerous times with the microphones because we weren't talking loudly enough, and then we'd lose it. We'd start to laugh, but then we'd have to go and start that stretch out again so they could get it for the camera.
I've given us the best one from the entire interviews of everyone from Survivor, that's the best, okay, J I just want to say I absolutely loved you on the show. I think you have way more to be proud of than what I can hear from you today. You were a fantastic contribution to the show. You made it right to the very end, and I wanted to say thanks so much for even having this chat with me today. It's been so much fun.
Well that means so much, Ben. That really tues because you do a lot of work in your space, so I don't take that lightly. I really appreciate it and I've had fun, so it's all good and enjoy tonight. I get my Gin and Tonic ready to speed up and watch them. My jury glow up