It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast.
Pat deep that line.
Welcome back, guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get all the insight goss of the popular TV shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment, and yet very little is known about how our favorite
shows get made. So each episode I've been finding guests the wann to dive just that little bit deeper to the shows they're currently making, so that you can hear all the exclusive stories and gain access to some of the biggest names in Australian television. I want to thank you for downloading, all subscribing to this podcast however you found it. I love hearing your feedback, so make sure you leave a review or a comment on your chosen
podcast platform. On today's podcast, I have reality TV Golden God slash modeling superstar David Jennet ready to talk about his hosting duties on Channel nine's new series Rush. David has certainly become a familiar face on television from his appearances on Australian Survivor and Celebrity Apprentice, amongst a few other things. He also has a large resume of international modeling.
After appearing on Austrainan Survivor, though twice taking home the winner's title and five hundred thousand, he has gone down as one of the greatest most popular players in Australian Survivor history. However, David is here today to unpack the first week of Rush, which is an electrifying new adventure series where twelve contestants traveling teams through nine incredible countries, placed in the middle of festivals with no idea where they are, they must work out where they are and
find their way to the finish line. I will find out how this job came about and I vander mool Schine had earmarked him for our hosting job. We will unpack his hosting style and who he was influenced by,
and what he thinks of the team so far. David will explain why he didn't watch the last series of Australian Survivor, if he would ever return to being a contestant now that he's been a host, and what he thinks of his alumni George taking on Amazing Race plus we will get plenty of exclusives from behind the scenes of Rush, which will continue this week on Channel nine. And if you've fallen just that little bit behind, you can catch up on nine. Now. Anyway, let's bring David
into the podcast. It's kind of like a carpool karaoke interview as he is driving around the streets of Perth. But I hope you enjoy this episode of TV reload. Hey David, it's Ben. How are you hi, Ben?
How you doing?
I'm good.
There was that fun little lapse where we kind of wonder whether we're being connected or not.
And it happened to me recently with Ali Langdon and I was just chatting away to thinking I was talking to the publicist. I was like oh, and then eventually I was like, what the fuck, I've been talking to Ali Langton's like five minutes about garbage.
I got into one with Gold Coast Radio the other day with the Lady cap On and I was like, yeah, She's like, okay, I'll just think you through the heavy and Sally in like two minutes. I was sorry.
And also the weirdest thing about doing those regional radio ones is you do the live cross and then Once the interview's over, they don't really say anything. They just hang up on you, and you're like, I gave you got content my friends weird land, I.
Know, exactly so funny you get that kind of like a little bit of static on the line. I guess went up.
Yeah, no, no, I don't even get Sometimes it's total science. So I think I'm waiting for a producer to come back on and say thanks Ben, that was good, and then all of it. After five minutes the phone goes dead. Just wander out onto my belt and put my hands in my head and cry.
That is hilarious. That is actually really funny.
Anyway, I have to say thank you so much for chatting with me. I want to ask you straight away, where are you?
Where are you right now? I'm in per finishing up a bit of voice over work that it go and doing all that fun stuff and spending some time with family and watching it back, and yeah, it's been really good.
I just always think of you as like a global citizen of the world. I just, for some reason just think of you as a secret agent. That could be like completing a mission in Peru.
I don't know, You're unlucky. Some defeated fantasies here. What's going on with you on that? Oh? That was been an interesting one because I lived in New York for so long. But we've actually just sold our house so we're signing a contact, got it this week and we're fully we'll be back in Australia full time.
So does that mean all happen reality TV out of you over here?
I mean I really hope so, man. I like, I've really enjoyed hosting like I was. It was something I wanted to do and then actually getting to experience here and doing it on the big stages. I mean, I loved it.
Man.
I can't get enough. So it makes me nervous because you know when you want something too much Now, then you're like, oh, it's like that little puppy. You're giving too many hugs too.
You'll end up with your own podcast talking to contestants.
I really like doing that. I love the podcast. But yeah, it's been great, man, it's been really good.
I want to see you do something where I get to know you a little bit more and I feel like I want to know more about you. Like even on Celebrity Apprentice, you still seem like a bit of an enigma to me.
Yeah, I guess, I guess for the those like so I was, I was an actor. I'm am an actor. I actually I was acting in the States for a couple of years before Survivor and Apprentice came around, and and I guess, like for those shows, I kind of looked at it as as character work, like you know what I mean, Like I just had Especially Survivor, I looked at who the big characters were, and I wanted to be a villain, and I developed like in my head it's kind of that Golden God character that I
wanted to. I wanted to I wanted to play. And then for Apprentice, like I was there for a very specific reason, so that was even more fun, you know, there to like roll stuff up. And I feel like, I guess I've been playing those roles and then now I'm hosting, I'm playing even more of a role. But maybe I need like some kind of Kardashian style, But it would probably be super boring.
I could put it on Mutue. It would still be good, mate, It'd still be good. They had they been asking, like end of Old Shine must have been thinking, what can we use you for? Had they been talking to you about doing your own show for a while or was this a bit of a surprise when it came up.
No, yeah, we've been talking for a while. So I auditioned for you so last year and there was a couple of things that thought we thought might be a fit, and then and it didn't work out, And yeah it was. You know, that's a struggle of like auditioning for stuff and going for things not getting them. You're like, oh man, it's like really disappointing. But then when you get a show like Rush, you realize why all those other shows were, Right?
Can I try and guess what those other shows were?
Yes? I think you can. I talk about it, right, I don't think I talk about it.
I just thought it would create a guess is it? The balloon one?
Wasn't the balloon one? But I am glad. I am glad that you credit me with the balloon one. But no, it wasn't.
I thought it would have been that one only because I thought we could have had like a really amazing backstory with you. You know, with your childhood you're obsessed with balloons, you know.
Not far from the truth.
Okay, So I feel like I feel like, I'm crap at this, So you're just gonna have to tell me, you're gonna, You're.
Gonna it's gonna make sense. It was traded, so I died for I additioned for the Traders to hope the Traders. And initually when that kind of came about, I thought, man, this is such a great fit. There's a bit of Survivor style gameplay, you know, it really fits what I was into. And I watched that, you know, they sent me all the seasons, seasons and I watched them that's where it was a rhythmly from and loved it. I mean, the accents hard to listen to, and I still loved it,
So got through all of those. But then in the end it went to Roger, and I was I was really disappointed because it was quite a bit of a lead up for that, you know, like we were working on it and it seemed like a great fit. And thank goodness, I did him get it.
Because now that you're saying that, I feel like you are very suited to the Traders.
All right. I quite like Roger in there. I think he's a bit more suave than me, like I'm a bit more I don't know, I'm a bit more like Shaggy. I like comedy in stuff, and that's what I loved also about getting to do Rush. It's like it's some really funny moments in there, and I got to play with the contestants a bit. I don't have to be
super staunch with them. Were obviously times were at serious, like people are getting voted out, but we could have fun and like tease them a little bit, and I could eat all these weird snacks in front of them and you know when they haven't been eating. And I really liked that element, like where you can just play a little bit as having to be quiet, daunch and serious. Not that I wouldn't do that, but it just seemed like such a better fit when Rush came around.
And also, think about all the stamps in your passport. I think that's that's you know, oh mate.
We did the whole thing and filmed over eight weeks, nine weeks. It was a super intense travel schedule, but it was just great to get back out into those a lot of them I visited before in my with my facting career, just to be able to go back there and reconnect and on a couple of my Russ day off, I had the caught up with a couple of buddies of mine or connecting that I had in the countries, and it was like it was just dream job.
See this is exactly right. I was on the money with this whole. I just visualize you just being this you know, international travel god that just travels around the world. I mean, when you have knockoff drinks while filming this in every different country, you've got friends to go and hang out with.
The crew definitely was kind of making fun of me at some point where the wait, where are you going? But it's just I've been so privileged with my career to have been able to travel so much previously, and like, I love meeting people, man, Like, I'm such a people person. So I've just tried to make friends wherever I could, and usually people I work with become friends of mine. And yeah, it's just it's just really nice to have those connections when you travel, especially in places where it
might be a bit uncommon. So even even in Turkey, in Issembol, I've got a really great friend of mine. I've we've been friends for fifteen years and I hadn't seen him in a decade, so to be able to get to go there for work and film it kind of it's nice to just come out of that bubble for a second and be like, oh, yeah, I'm a real I'm a real human being. It was it was really nice.
I'd love to live your life. You know, I've just got friends, and every got friends in every report.
I don't know if that's stating.
It's that saying of you know, I've got I've got a sheielder in every report or whatever makes you last time captain. Well, I know that's not the case.
I've already got their reputation for not snowing with Survivor. We don't want that happening.
I want to ask you questions about that show a minute, but I want to stay on this. Just how are they managing to keep these people having it a surprise when they turn up at these festivals?
What happened? They do know which country they're going to, they don't know where in that country, so we had to we had to fly them into certain locations, and there are customs and security protocols, right, so they did have an idea of where they would be once we hit that country, and we were in buses and stuff. They had no clues. They were in blackout vans, they were in blackout hotel rooms where we were taking the TVs out of the room, any kind of information out
of the room. So once they were in the country, that's when they were completely lost. So sometimes we'd fly into a local airport, you know, mix it up, and so they were confused about where they were going. And then there was a lot of travel. So that's where all the confusion and the sensory deprivation really came to play. There's not really a way you can not to ruin
the TV magic. I know people have asked asking about this, but there's not really any way you can make international fable work without putting people through customs.
Because like an unfortunate producer just standing on the sideline, you know, like on the plane when it's landing, and just saying, can you please here, I'll give you fifty dollars if you don't mention where we're landing. I don't know. Well, I was wondering whether or not someone had been bribed not to do any announcements in the landing process.
I mean, wherever it could be done, it was done, Okay, So They also were completely removed from being able to like there's no smartphone access, computer access so they can research where they are. And then they were allowed to have a call home, but the PA had to sit in the room basically and listen to what they were talking about. So they couldn't they say they landed in Istanbul, you know, they couldn't then call home and be like, I mean is Stanbul, what are the landmarks? And da
da da da da. So it was enough to it was enough. There was enough lockdown to keep the confusion for them happening, which is why they you know, I mean we Jordan was crazy. We're on a ten hour bus ride. There's no way humanly possible they could have known where they were for that drop. But there's some
drops where they would have had a bit of an idea. Brazil, they came in a cargo place, so again, you know, there's just different There was different ways to get them in places where they had that confusion, but anytime we had to clear customs, yet they did know the country.
Did you imagine how boring it would be for those minders that have to listen to those boring phone calls to home like that is my night one that is my nightmare.
Well, and it's also it's also not like they get to hear fun stuff either. It's actually that boring stuff because they're not There's so many things they're not allowed to talk about. And of course their family or the family member only like where are you how it going? And that's one thing they can't talk about. It was just proof of life and proof of sanity for the contestants.
But it was really tough man for them, like they was, but they were just so gay and because it was really impressive, especially the way, like pre Drop, they were being held with sensory deprivations for a long periods of time, so it would be it would be a bus ride that was blacked out into the goggles and the headphones for X amount of hours before the event was happening. So it was it was intense. But they, you know, they really tackled it at head on.
And we love a bit of food deprivation in these sorts of shows, but not really seeing these people eat that much, I mean, nothing compared to Survivor, But are these people are being allowed to eat? We not seeing them being fed snacks by you know casting I mean by the crew that's following them along, like there.
Was no that was part of their budgeting, but they needed to. They needed to. We wanted the budget really really tight, you know, obviously to create that jevity of the of them movie through countries, but they did. They were supposed to eat with that with that budget of money. Now that being said, there's days where they're traveling on planes, there's days where they're rock the days off, so they
being fair on those days. But when the competition was happening when we were filming, they were having to pay for their inffort.
I have to ask as well about the hosting. You know, like you were talking about you were very excited about taking on this hosting role. You know, your audition for other things, but when it came to like what you wanted to bring to the show, did you borrow anything from other like Australian television presenters that have been hosting shows like this. I mean obviously you would have seen Lapalia doing a very good job on Survivor. Did you borrow anything from him? Like what were you thinking?
Like for me, John is the pinnacle of hosting. Like what he does, he's so impressive and he's commanding a lot of people in front of him, and he sets the tone for that and it's one of my favorite shots. So there was definitely some influence coming from what he'd does. But I also I'm a different person to John, like I'd known him a bit personally, and I wanted to give it my own skin. So I kind of looked at how he was doing stuff, especially you know, I
loved traveling. I mean, that was somewhere I felt like I was. I thrived on that go and he just he was, I mean, flawless. So I would watch what he kind of did and how he commanded attention from contestants, and I tried to put that into what I was doing, obviously, because I think emulation is a sincereous form of flattery, and to see how well John was doing that, like, you know, I wanted to stand on the shoulder the giants, man. I wanted to do what John was doing and better
because I put my spin on it. I don't befully that's what I've done.
And then you know, like you can interact with I don't know how much interaction you had with the contestants on this show. I know that with John, you know, he tries to keep it quite limited to anything of camera. I noticed in this series. So you slapped someone on the bum at one point, if I'm not or maybe that's good.
Imagine John the Old the hind Quarters rile up John.
Never doing that. You know at the end of the Tribal Council, you know it would probably Yeah, well.
I think probably the difference is is like I've been on the other side. Yeah, so I get it. I get why they do do that. Why because it needs to be almost like a reverence when the when the people people come up. But for me, having been on the other side and having experienced that, yeah, that's great. But I also yearned to kind of like feel like I'm a part of the show as well, even though I was a contestant, Like I felt like my what I was doing in my performance was adding to it.
And I wanted to make sure our contestants felt like a part of it, not just like a cog in the wheel. And so having that empathy for them seeing what they're going through, even though they're kind of coming to me at some dark times where someone was going to get sent home, I wanted them to feel like what they were doing mad it wasn't just like a throwway thing, and so that's what I tried to I
tried to relate to them as much as possible. There were times where yeah, camera was off and I did talk to them or give them some a vite, But you can test them is a roller coaster, right, man, Like you actually have some really down days, and that's why you see these contestants have these big emotional swings because it's a really intense experience. So I wanted to tell them, like, listen, this is the roller coaster you're on.
You're going to have some seriously amazing up days, and you're gonna have some bad down days, but you just keep right in that coaster and then hopefully you get off and you know you're one hundred grand richer. So
whatever experience I could give them, I gave them. I also wanted to make sure they treat the production well, because that's something up in all my seasons is that sometimes it gets a bit and batters between production and contestants, and I don't like that, and I think sometimes they just need a bit of a reminder that, like, these guys are actually working just as hard as you are, if not harder. They need to be respected, so I tried to, you know, impart some of that from them as well.
Isn't that interesting? You know? It's one thing that I don't think I've talked about a lot, but you know, being on that out of it where you are a contestant, and for me, I was always such a big fan of the show that I was a part of, and so I just felt like I just said yes to everything that they did. I almost felt like Stockholm syndrome, you know, like I felt I fell in love with the people that were controlling me. Yeah. It was just
and it was wrong. And I actually got treated for Stockholm syndrome after Big Brother because I yeah, because I'm obsessed with the the voice of Big Brother, but my brain also knew who the EP was. And it still happened this day, Like whenever I still speak to that producer, I still feel the Stockholm syndrome that I was worked on coming back, and I'm like, wow, it's very very
very strange and very odd weird. You know, now that you have actually crossed, you know, the line and you are now being a host, would you go back to being a contestant?
Oh, Ben, I mean never say never, would would you do it? I mean, I think I think for me, posting is where I want to be, So whether it's on another season of Rust or other shows, that for me is my career. But you know, the story of being in contestant, there's something amazing about it. You don't have to worry you're not fitting thing to go on. They'm worrying about rating or any of that stuff. You've had this incredible experience, You've made the money and it's
and it's quite easy. And I do really enjoy that, like Survival was once, well twice in a lifetime for me. But those those bonds that you've formed during the show
of just like they're incredible. But that being said, I absolutely love the other side, Like I love being a part of production, seeing the story unfold, following those threads and those stories, what's going to be going, what's not going to be on, how our intestants are doing, and then the adrenaline rust of getting to talk to these guys that hostfully and it's day though, So I think it would be kind of hard to go back after seeing how the sausage is made.
You know, of course, obviously the fan forums though that say, you know, if there's going to be a World Survivor that everyone You're at the top of the list every time. I mean you and George now I think I think George is trying to take your mantle on the most recognizable Australian Survivor player. But you're always at the top of the list of who people want to see if Australia goes against you know, South Africa or America or you know wherever it is.
Oh man, look, I'm not going I wouldn't do it, but they'd have to be a comparable paycheck, which you know, I go, all right.
Then the time comes, because they're going to ask you to do that, whether it's now or in ten years, very old David stumbles into Survivor like.
You know, I know that's I'm almost there. I just transformative. I have crossed over there from teacher either days. But if I've still got anything left in the tank. But it would be really fun. It would be really fun.
This point now would just be hearing that though the vision of you turning up ten years later, like you know Bruce Wayne's Batman, you know, stumbling.
Out you knowman one underdo it? You know, what I mean, Yeah, but do it.
Okay, So week one is done and this podcast comes out on Sunday, so people be getting ready to watch the next three episodes. At this point, I personally feel like I'm I relate and have loved Team Gold and it's really awful of me to do this to you as a host, because you shouldn't do it. But who's your favorite team? Are you Gold, Scarlet or Navy?
Look, I definitely I'm not viased at all, but I had a soft spot for Nate just because every host location they kind of came up, they were so enthusiastic, given me hugs and they were just happy to be there. And but that kind of energy carries through. I love Scarlet obviously because Fiona was hilarious, like her dynamic and with Adam cracked me up the whole time. But the the guys all had their own like little unique thing they bought, but it was just like Maybe's energy whenever
they came up to a host location. Definitely, you know, I had a bit of a stuff, but I couldn't say.
That, but like Madeline when she left, like Madeline seemed a bit missed, Like I felt like she left and was like, guys, you're not going to do well. And was there some drama between that group that we weren't seeing or am I just reading into something a.
Little bit like I think I think she was just done, but that she'd had a really rough couple of days. The night they had to spend in the desert didn't sit well with Maddie and so, you know, I mean, man, travel is stressful at the best time. And then to add on top of that, you know, you've got this competition and you know they know now because they're a couple of weeks in, they know someone's going home. And then you can probably feel those you can probably feel
the sift in the group. That was probably starting to happen a bit early. And I think that was more just her response to like, oh, this is it's going to be me if I had to get so I think he just wanted to get ahead of it as opposed to you know, going go down swinging. He was like that's done and yeah, So I think I think it was just a case of that and that's breast that kind of was happening. He started to start to go through the cracks a little bit.
You know, I felt like you were going to say team gold because you're a golden god whatever, and I thought.
That little I did have I did have said that was a good set up, but you said team Gold, so I thought I was going to go the other one man. Lol. Is amazing. K is hilarious.
As he's so funny, like I.
Just and for still you know, like and like Saxon. They're a great team as well. But yes, K always came up to host location with something stratty to say to me and it was hilarious, Like he just was a really really fun.
We know if Saxon is is that his real name? Because I mean, I don't think I've ever revealed this before, but there was some confusion about me being Ben on my series A Big Brother, and they offered me five different names that I could be instead, and Saxon was on that list. And then I found years later who was not really Saxon. His name is Daniel. And then there's all these Saxons on reality TV shows, Like do you get born as a Saxon and then go on
reality TV? Because that's your point, I would have to ask him.
I don't actually know the problem I had standing to like so I've got this. My wife's an American, I've got American founded kids, so I've generally had a pretty strong American pulp to the way I speak. But for this I really needed to Aussie it up as much as possible. And that was part of you know, like my wasn't wasn't pronouncing words wrong, but for some reason I could not say Saxon. I was saying Jaxon with kind of a z e found and it just it
just was eluding me. And at one point we wrapped filming and he comes up to me and he's like, hey, hey, Dave, I love what you're doing, man, really great. But my name is actually Saxon, not Zacton. And I was like, oh, that was hilarious in the accent.
Did you said, did you try and defend yourself or did you just get away from me? You peasant contestancy?
I I got American real quick. I was like, my bad, that's so funny. Well you actually, like I felt a bit cold off. I was like, all right, all right, how are you mate?
Go over there and walk your dog and ride yourself. We'll play guitar.
If you you're not allowed to, it's not allowed it's in the comeback. Nah even really cool. It's a really cool cat.
It was you were kind of a breakout star from Survivors, So like, do you think if there was a breakout star from this season of this show? And that doesn't necessarily mean that you win, because I mean, you didn't win the first time you're on Survivor, but you still want a breakout person that everyone remembered. Is there someone that you think of this show of Rush that's going to be the breakout start?
Oh man, it's fricky. I think they're all getting a pretty even run of it at the moment. I thought Tommy was hilarious in God, like doing the whole desert seat stuff, like anything where you can kind of see black as their personality. I love that. I think c K is hilarious. I'd love to seek actual play Survivor. I think we can do well outside. I don't think you can make it better on the sand. But I did great, And then the fear is like, oh you need and not yet. I mean, I mean, they're they're
all great. I can't really pick a standout, Like, give me a couple more fs and more and we'll see. But I think I think the cast is fantastic, and as we're seeing more of those little quirky, funny touches, they get better and better.
You know what about week one? So what is your favorite moment? So I just want to know what in that first week you thought was maybe the best to make or you know that you enjoyed watching on screen.
Okay, this is going to be a random one, but there's a there's a scene where there's a there's a scene where the guys had been checking up like nine thousand steps in Jordan, and they're just like dying walking up these steps, and you got that that lady just playing that that whistle at the top of the steps that scene, but they're all just like dying and she's like,
I thought that was so funny. It reminded me of like if you see that MGM grand intro where it's and then they play that crappy whistle over the top. I was like crying laughing when I that it was such a short scene, but also knowing what those guys are going through, it looks a little like I think a couple of people have been like why are they why are they moving quicker? And like they're basically doing a marathon every day like they're in it. So it's
like they're doing like insane physical tasks. And I saw it kind of comes across like that. Like even Brazil they're like, oh, that hikes them five hours due they were like really hiking, having a climb on their hands and knees in vertical spots like it's not just like you can quickly run through it. Like they're really like himself. But they did like forty five k's or something in the desert. It was like nuts, nuts not nuts.
It's crazy.
Yeah.
I mean you've probably heard George is doing amazing race, and I'm thinking, I wonder how George is going to go with like you know, he was a bit of a mastermind and Survivor just you know, manipulating everyone, you know, both locations, but like you know, having to make him run. I don't know, it doesn't look like a runner to me. Like do you think he's.
I heard he I didn't see the last season, but I heard he got he got a pretty good skaye. But something didn't in that way.
Are you telling me you didn't watch that season of Survivor the last one that just was.
I was filming, man, I was, I was filming.
You need to go and watch that. You need to watch that series. I actually tell people that all the time. I'm like that season of that show. Whilst it got a little bit boring towards the end, super soorry to anyone listening that some of the tribal councils between Simon and George are some of the best television I've ever seen.
I have heard I do need to get.
Well when you get to per Us to live, once you've packed up your house and you've moved here, I think that's going to be the prime viewing for you to some of the men. Yet absolutely, before you go, I just want to ask you something and ask everyone who joins the podcast, and that is what is something from behind the scenes of Rush, something that we won't see, maybe kind of like a behind the scenes secret of how the show is made.
So we're going into week two, so Russell, lets is this concept you're about to find out about next week? And basically, when if it was a deadlock vote or if there's only two contestants, we needed a way to kind of separate them, I'd like to see who keeps moving through through the through the competition, and the original concept was flare gums, which I thought was so thick.
They find off a flare gum, whoever's got a red one's dumb, whoever's got the green ones keeps going, but you can't move byworks through different countries because they're banned in a lot of places. So we went through all the different things. I'm like, how you could, like, what were we going to and we ended up on these smoke grenades.
Yep.
Thank goodness. Our security team were like X Navy Field because without them some of those snow bomb moments would have been at all darker. It's like very visually stunning when the smoke bombs go off, but there was multiple times relating they were lit and I burned my hand, or they were like not the right color or flaring and stuff like that. But it was a really fun part of the process and you'll see vigually it comes across amazing. So that wasn't as smooth as it's going to look.
Well, that's a good tasting pleas for people listening to this, who they're going to watch Week two.
Which is very good, was a little something.
Yeah, mate, I just want to say Thank you so much for your generosity with your time. I've absolutely loved chatting with you. Real bucket listening for me. But good luck with everything, Enjoy the rest of the series. Hopefully we'll get a series two and hopefully get some more work here in Australia so we can see more of you.
Most definitely thanks Dan, it's a pleasure getting too