It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week. I'm right, welcome back guys to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris, and on this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television.
Yeah, great questions. The show's about the game. There's a lot of great television out there in Australia.
But I've also got to go behind the scenes with writers. The truth is, when I started writing it, it wasn't had nothing to do with the news and casting agents.
They know from a casting point of view what they need.
And editors because that's what we do as editors where storytellers. Not to forget some incredible executive producers who are making some of the best TV in Australia. I have been on the program since the beginning and it's kind of in my DNA. So thanks for joining me each week and I hope the podcast continues to give you real
insight into the magic of television today. On the podcast, I returned to Talk Television for twenty twenty two and I thought a lot about who to relaunch the show with, and of course I thought of Alex Maverdikers, who is not only an executive producer I've worked with, but someone who is currently at the top of their game. He has started the year for his seventh time with the Australian staple I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here, which is again won the hearts of its audience with
his mantra, which we will get into shortly. Alex is smart, funny and is very generous with his insights into television. I honestly love catching up with him, and I'm sure
that you will too. This season of I'm a Celebrity will have its season finale on Sunday night at seven thirty on Channel ten, and today we will unpack the whole series and also ask him all the questions that most producers would never answer, from bo Ryan's exit to how he made a nobody a celebrity, plus what he thinks of the all stars concept and if we will see that happen in the jungle. However, let's get started
on today's episode. I'd like to welcome Alex Maverdagus to the first edition of TV Reload for twenty twenty two.
I just think the audience loves real Everything about this show is horrendous, A lot of untruth, so I can tell you what definitely is not true.
I'm completely out of my depth here.
In all honesty, we could probably shown more of it and keep you think that's on the show, I've never seen it. Control them all with the heart and their mouth as much.
Who will quit?
The hardest thing with I'm a celebrity is going to be that we're running out celebrities. I'm a celebrity. Australian's love an underdog. He could easily win it.
Hi, Alex, how are you mate?
Good to hear from you again? Am I the first person that's done this twice?
Absolutely?
You just run out of people to ask or am I special?
Well?
To be honest, I launched the podcast last year with you and it was the highest downloaded podcast for the year and had people stopping me in the street and asking me about things that you said. So it would be remiss of me not to have you back.
You're a good fluffer mate, that's good fluffing will done.
If anyone would know about my bullshit skills, it's you. I don't know if that's a compliment.
Well, look at one you were one. You were massive reality show, so you must have done something right.
Well, let's get into this. You make two massive shows a year, one for Channel nine and one for Network ten, amongst other projects. I'm sure, what do you enjoy about Channel ten when you come back each year for I'm a Celebrity.
As in the network? I mean, look, I'm a celebrities lot coming home for me. You know, I've done seven seasons for now and obviously you know there was something really special about coming to Africa every year. That hasn't be impossible for the last two years. But I think we've done a pretty bloody good job of getting a decent product to wear. Obviously, it's not the way we would like to make. The show that I'm Celebrity is supposed to be a twenty four hour turnaround show, like
you know, like Classic Big Brother, like Love Ireland. But you know, this, this fun pandemic that keeps rolling around us, keeps changing the game. Going back to the question, look ten are a great network to work for, I have to say, I mean, look, all the networks have got their pros and their cons are great. With on the Celebrity Stephen Tate, who I've worked with many many years, knows the show so intimately and so well, we just go straight into shortcut talk. We don't need to we
don't need to play games around each other. If we know an ideas crap, we'll just tell each other our ideas are crap. And if we know it's good, we know it's good. And I seem to be able to push the envelope more and more with Beverly mccavey, who's
you know, the boss of Channel tens. Every year we go into the boardroom and I'd pitch something a little bit more full on than the year before, and she started to say yes, now, so you know who knew that she would let me call something in a scrotal recall or end the challenge with my nuts are fully loaded.
Okay, I think I'm just going to lead that.
I feel like I've gone over.
But you know what I'm gonna that's I'm done.
That's my nuts are fully loaded.
Just you know, some of the stuff that somebody en so I'm pushing nowadays are would have been rejected straight up three or four years ago, but now somehow they're slipping through it. So so good on them.
I can't imagine you being intimidated by anyone. But I want to know. Are you intimidated by Bev McGarvey, you know, the big boss at Network ten.
Oh look, look you're always intimidated in the boardroom setting. Bev is fantastic. She's just such a straight shooter. She will cut you down immediately if if she doesn't like, you know, you'll put someone's picture on the table, of someone that you might want in the cast, and she'll just be like nah, or you know, haven't heard of them, or you know, just immediately, no, straight away if they've got any chance. And that enables you to, you know, to decide how far to push it or how not.
She's she's very much a straight shooter. No, not intimidated. That intimidated is the wrong word. Always had a lot of respect for Bev, as I have all of the networks, you know, you have to have a lot of respect for them. But it's always been a really collaborative room whenever we're dealing with I'm a celebrit because it's you know, it's a fun show and if it's made any other way, it won't work.
Were there any notes that you took into the series from Network ten or say, you know, from the bosses at ITV? Studios such as you know what to look for from some of your contestants, or you know what did you need to focus on more for this season.
We've had a pretty good run on I'm a celebrity for the last few years. I'm going I'm going to go back all the way to series four now, just for context, we're in series eight now. Series four was not very good. And now I don't know whether that was the celebrities that we chose. None of them were terrible. You know, we had some great celebrities Spieno Lachlan who won it. We had Shannon Noll, We had you know, Anthony Mundine, Danny Green, Pete rose Thorn. You know, we
had some really good names. But it just didn't click. And for whatever reason, it just didn't feel warm and fuzzy. Whether it was a comic year as well. You know, it might have been too many sportsmen, it might have been not you know, they they just didn't like each other as much as previous years. But that that was a real turning point year and I feel like we scraped through by the skin of our teeth that year.
It almost didn't come back. And I'm sure Bev and Steven wouldn't mind me, wouldn't mind me saying that, you know, it didn't rate amazingly well, but look good on ten. They took a chance and we came back in series five and it was, you know, an absolute belter. You know, that was the Richard Reid series in South Africa. And from that series on we decided, I mean certainly it was a thing that I adopted and you know, and we all kind of well, luckily everyone agreed with me.
We were going to make it like the Cast of Friends from then on in I'm a celebrity. To get me out of here works really well when you love all of the characters and you care about who goes home and you just want to have your fun hour, hour and a half with them every single night of the week, and it's like it's like you're joining in the fun. So we really cast five for fun and Richard was the kind of the ants and he won. Then we had the Miguel Meistra year, which again was
again just a lovely group of humans. Last year this season at Abby Chatfield won you know, with Grant DNA and you know, Tony Perrin and everyone else. Lovely group of humans and this year. We've just followed through and this is going to sound really really wanky, and I don't know if I've said this you in our first podcast, but you know we it's the three h's, it's heart, humor and heroes and if the series has that, it
will always it will always work. And as you know, everything I do in TV is I try to make as funny as possible. When I was in charge of Big Brother, we would we would try and make our tasks very funny, and then the challenges that we would give people to do in the Big Brother House very funny. I'm a celebrity naturally. A funny show Love Ireland completely made with tongue in cheek. So I've always come from the place that funny wins and if it's funny then
it will succeed. And that's obviously why they putting me on these shows, because they want them to be funny. They won't put me on anything that isn't supposed to be funny anymore. I don't think else to do it.
It's true, It is so true. And something that I've noticed as well is that you seem to leave the camera on your contestants for longer letting the audience truly get to know your talent, and it seems to be a part of your brand. Is that a conscious decision that.
You make one hundred percent the conscious decision? You know. Luckily, I work in formats that give us the ability to do that. I don't like the reality shows that are cut within and into their life. I don't like them, you know, at all. And you know which ones I'm talking about where they literally use a grab and you know, let's be honest, it's it's it's frank and grabbed. You know, it's like, you know, it's not a real grab. It's not so you are literally not looking at a real person.
I love on my shows to show the real people, whether that be Love Island or I'm a Celebrity or Big Brother going back in the day. I just think the audience love real. I just love real And as I said, 'unfortunate that I have the formats that gives us time to breathe. A lot of people would argue that the shows are too long, and some definitely are. You know, that's obviously a part of the business of television, but it does give you the ability to hear people out.
I'm going to use Steve Price as an example and when he did The Jungle. Now, Steve Price is a very polarizing figure, as you know, and a lot of people would completely disagree with a lot of things he says in his politics. But before he did The Jungle, Steve was only ever heard in soundbites, whether it was on the Project or on Q and A or you know whatever. You would literally hear one line at a time from Steve and it only it took him coming
on time a celebrity, get me out of here. We could actually hear him debating things with Nazim Hussein or whoever else he was talking to, and he actually went, ah, okay, I might still not disagree with them, but at least im now I get his point, or I naturally now do agree with him. And it is that the sort of show that gives people the ability to do that. I like to think that we really show the real side of the celebrities. Look at Divina Rankin in this series.
You know, Devena was the bitch from Help, you know, after Maths. It took her coming into the Jungle and you know, jumping off a bloody tower and hanging out with some other nice people to show that it's actually, you know, a real human and in fact not a bit at all.
And it's and it's becoming harder and harder to keep that kind of stuff. I mean, there was a moment that the television commentary website TV Tonight highlighted and that we get to see genuine conversation in this format, which is becoming rare and rarer amongst you know, the reality TV space. Is there ever a pressure to say hurry things up or to make things faster paced?
No, no, no one. I'm a celebrity again credit to Channel ten. You know, of course you've got the opener, which is Tonight you know, boom boom, boom, boom boom, and it's you know, fast grabs and big paste. But you know, the feel of I'm a Celebrity is, you know, you're in the jungle with them, You're living in this experience with them. So of course we have to edit within an inch of its life because it's twenty four
hours cut down to ninety minutes. But no, there's not really been any pressure on you know, that conversation that you're referring to that David Knox wrote about between Nathan Buckley and Derek Kicktt was you know fantastic.
That's part of history. You can't deny that, you can't hide from it.
So do you think how do we move forward if we're getting taught in schools and if.
It's going to be taught in schools. But also the government has to acknowledge and say, yeah, we know that we stuffed up and we made the mistake and we had all this policy in places with the genocide and try to wipe out the aven your people, and it's a long way to go.
It's a long way.
In all honesty, we could have probably shown more of it. It's, you know, an important conversation. Those are the sort of conversations that we that we welcome on the show. The hardest thing with our a celebrity is going to be that we're running out celebrities. That's I mean, that's the truth. And we were eight seasons in how good are you at Maths? Right? Seasons in let's say fourteen celebrities a series? What's that that's going to be there's got to be one hundred celebrities that we've used.
Now, yeah, Math's not probably my forte but I would say that you've probably burned through one hundred celebrities by now.
Yeah, well, well I reckon one hundred celebrities we've used and you know, and now you've got sas and you know Celebrity Printers and you know Master Chieft of the Celebrity Series and Survivor and talk about doing celebrities and you know Big Brother Vip and you know, god knows what else is selibrity lego masters. I mean, you know, in a a in a country where there's already a pretty shallow celebrity pool, we've now got four or five celebrity shows all vying for this for the same people.
It's not easy, but I like to think that we've we've got it right, like we've got it right the certain the last four years in a row, and we'll get it right again next year because we know that it is all about those characters. If you don't like those characters, you will not watch a show. If you like them, you will. It is as simple as that.
You know, with the actual challenges, trials, you know, et cetera. You know they're becoming more elaborate. What is one that you would never do? What's one that you would say I'm a celebrity. Get me out of here.
Oh my god. Although I mean I wouldn't do any of them. I'm the biggest pussy in the world. I ate a scorpion wants just to show that I was part of the team. That was my first year as an EP. I decided to show the you know, the team that I was one of the people, and I ate a scorpion when we were testing on the eating trials.
I'll never do that again. But oh god, no, the skydiving and the bungee jumping and you know, they're getting covered in the ship and I'm sorry, but the celebrities have paid a decent amount of money to do the show. That's not my job. Someone else can do it. There's not a chance I'd do it. So yeah, So there's.
Not one challenge that is still giving you nightmares all these years later. I mean, I've watched the show every series, and while the challenges get more and more elaborate each year, there was this one that you did back in Africa, which was like on this cliff top and I remember thinking at home, you can't do this to people.
I'll tell you a story about that day. So that's that trial was called Trouble Bath and for anyone listening, basically what we ended up doing was put them in a bath tub and they went down a kind of a ramp and they thought that they were going to
go off the edge of this cliff. But what in fact happens the bath stopped and tipped a little bit, and then you just kind of laughed at their reaction, but it was still terrifying because this cliff Africa, it's called Maurice Corp. It's like thirteen hundred meters off the ground, like it is a proper mountain, and they're all shit
their pants and it was all hilarious. And now the actual story about that day is that a fog rolled in and we were unable to do what we were supposed to do, which was that they were actually going to be harnessed to a helicopter, So they were going to the bath was going to run down the track and tip them, and they were actually going to go off the edge of the cliff. But they were but they were picked up and attached to a helicopter which was then going to lift them and drop them a
couple hundred meters down down the road. So it was actually more full on than that it ended up being. But the fog ended up killing that idea. But hey, it worked and how you remember it. So it was obviously a bloody con travel. Yes, I wouldn't have done that one that I've never seen it control them all with their heart and their mouth as much was two
years ago. So it was Miguel Mith, Warhurst, Tom Williams, and I want to say, Ryan Gallagher and Charlotte Crosby and they were jumping out of a helicopter attached to a bungee cord and then literally getting dangled upside down and delivered a few one hundred meters down the road. So Charlotte said no, Charlotte said I'm slip to get me out of it straight away, and she didn't do it. I think Miguel went first, and we were all watching
from the control and honestly, my heart was pounding. We'd never done bungee and helicopters before, and you know, all these horrible thoughts go through your head. And then Miguel's got safely on the ground. But then it was Myth. Because everyone loves Myth Warhurst. It was like, please, can we not kill Myth Warhurst. Luckily we didn't. You know, obviously all the trials are incredibly safely, like they just go through so many pairs of hands of safety and
everyone got on the ground safety. But bloody hell, that was a like that. That was a twenty five cigarette and three hours day.
Is it also tempting with pre records to take advantage of controlling some of those elements or heightening the situation with production to make the show look more elaborate?
That that looked budgetary constraint, Skinner, Look, I'm a celebrit, get me out of here as a twenty four hour turn around show, and truth be told, whether it's pre recorded or twenty four hour turnaround, the budget is the same. So the answer to that is no, based on purely on mommy just so you know and everybody knows. Yes, it's pre recorded and you know it might have been in the camp a couple of months ago. But we
make the show in exactly the same way. The celebrities are in the camp every day and we make an episode every single day. That's why it looks and feels the same as it does when it's in South Africa. They still give themselves twenty four hours to cut an episode by In fact, it's less than that and deliver an episode, and that's why it looks and feels the same, So there is no less pressure. In fact, there's even more pressure to deliver a pre recorded season than alive one.
It is funny though, because on some of these shows these days that are pre recorded, they take advantage of saying, you know, climbing through the air vents, which of course would never happen. And I kind of thought, you know, with you this year that you may have staged a part of Poe's entrance where she sort of fell through the ground and ended up in this bunker. But that
I thought surely was stage. But then I was told that, you know, that was all real, and Poe really had no idea what was going to happen, and she absolusolutely slipped into this bunker.
That's correct. Poe and and Joey all had no idea what they were sliding down into. So yes, that's correct. So look, there are some very elaborate builds. We have, you know, the best art team in the world, I think on hon a celebrity, get me out of here to turn around those trials and those you know, those production values on a daily basis is quite exceptional. I mean, we're talking the stuff of movies here every day. So look, you know, I'm completely spoiled with the team I've got
on the show. I just obviously can't do it album. It's an amazing team.
We sort of touched on this a little bit earlier, but most reality shows need some sort of conflict to survive, and I think I'm a celebrity of people say it's very kombay r. I personally do like a bit of conflict, But is that too off brand for what you know you're supposed to do with I'm a celebrity. Get me out of here.
Well, look I disagree. I don't believe it. Doesn't it conflict. I come from the school of thought that if conflict happens, great, we'll take it, and obviously it will go on the show, but you can't force it. I will never on our shows deliberately hit people against each other or try and play a production trick to make someone angry with somebody else.
I'm a celebrity and you know, and love on to a certain extent, all the love on it's kind of different because you know they are competing for love interest, So there is you know, conflict will happen every time, but again not forced by us. It will just happen. But I'm a celebrity getting out of here.
You know.
We had a little spat the other night between Nathan Buckley and Joey and Joey you know, licked the wooden spoon. There was a little thing between Dipper and Abby last year where you know, Dipper questioned the house small Abby swimmers were said he wouldn't let it go out like that if he was a daughter.
You know.
So those natural conversations are fantastic. Do I go out like that?
But why did determine what we wear?
Well, it's like your your shaking attention and asking for you know, that's what said.
To be like five times in here, and that's what that differ. It's me not that I'm thinking like, oh I should cover up.
It's just like I don't want that that idea to be pushed.
But you know, I imagine how staged and how shit it would look if we were you know, in their ears saying you know, you should definitely have a go at blah blah, because he's been saying this about you that's not what we make, it's not what we do. So look, I would take issue with anyone saying, yes, a successful show has to have conflict. I think that we have proved over the last three or four years that that is not correct. And I think you know,
other shows have done it. Well, you know Lego Master's Master Chef. You know, they're a bit more stunty than I'm a celebrity, but they come from the same school of thought I think, which is you don't need to have manufactured fighting to have a successful brand.
This we touched on on the podcast last year. But you know, now it's the second season that's been filmed here in Australia. Do you know if the show has now made a permanent move away from Africa, like, will you ever go back there?
Well, no, our plan will always be to go back to Africa. Look, I don't know, We're still on air with season and eight at the moment, I don't know where the conversations will go with season nine. It would be a conversation between my boss, David mottin Beverly mcgarvet at the network. It all comes down to money generally, you know, generally, let's be honest, it's a lot cheaper to shoot in South Africa and we can make a lot more TV over there for the dollar. The show
has worked in Australia. We found a creative solution with the massive ejections and you know all that all of that business to fill the hours and two and to get a descent series away. And you know, as we've spoken about, the last two series have definitely worked and a lot of people actually prefer the Australian version. But I would say that the plan would be to return to South Africa next year if if the pandemic allows us to do.
This is something that I really want to know. So how did you manage to keep the celebrities names out of the media this year? I usually get the entire cast list lead to me somehow, and I did know that bo Ryan was doing it, and I also was told that he walks from the show, but ultimately I had to watch the launch to find out who is in the so called jungle. How did you do it?
Trust? I think, you know, I think we've got to the stage now where we can honestly say to the celebrities and it is true, this show will rate better if no one knows who you are on day one, and that is a fact. I'm a celebrity trades on Mystery of day one. And if you know a million people turn up on day one to see who the celebrities are, then obviously you are often running and you know you've got the foundations of a very successful series. So I, myself and Rema say that to every celebrity,
please do not tell anybody, and I mean anybody. Of course, they've got to tell the families and their agents know because their agent's obviously broken the deal for them. Other than that, there is literally no reason for anybody to know. And in previous years, you know, I have no doubt that people have spoken out to school. There's no question because it's just been so many leagues. But you know, it was easy with Joey because he's not in Australia.
It was bloody easy with David because he's not even a celebrity. You know.
I spoke to David Sabritski the day before just because I'd seen this photo on Facebook, you know, for a friend's New Year's Eve party, and it was at that residence, you know, where David lives, and you know David wrote back, didn't say anything, you know, blah blah blah, but even you know, well as a friend of mine, I managed
to have no idea. And so I'm watching it on television, you know, with the rest of Australia on launch night, and I had to rub my eyes because for people you know listening to this podcast, you know, David Sabritski is Layla Sabritski's brother who I did Big Brother with back in twenty twelve, so you know, I knew the family pretty well. I've known David since he was fifteen years of age, so I couldn't believe that I didn't
know this was going to happen. I mean, I talked to Laila all the time, and obviously she didn't mention it, and she's pretty good at keeping secret, so there's probably no shock. But I was just shocked that I knew someone so well who managed to take part in the series and keep it a complete secret.
We put the fear of God in them, like literally, the fear of God in them. The poor the poor boy, I'll talk you through the day when we told him about this idea. So just so everyone listening knows, David was a stand in last year in Australia, we put him in again. You know, obviously I put Leila on Big Brother the same year that you went in it, and so I knew the family very kind of loosely. Sky a brilliant producer, My ex partner knows David through
some standing work. She offered him up as a stand in for the Jungle. He went in. He made everybody laugh so much. And I'd been knocking around this fake celebrity idea for three years and three years ago Bev said no, and two years ago Bev said no. And this year we finally went in with David attached as the fake celebrity, and we showed a little video of him in the ball Ordrome and I said, come on, Bev,
this is the year. You know remember the Logan Twins, Remember you know that that kind of the thing that make gets Australia talking. It needs it needs something fun for the first week, and this is the man to pull it off. Luckily she agreed, I'm definitely not a celebrity, but.
He will be with you as his comer.
He will become.
The David.
But anyway, so Rumor and I went to and so he lives with this, he lives with his boyfriend. Enough, I'm sure he won't mind me saying he lives in his boyfriend with his boyfriend at the Versace You know this bend, don't he? Of course? Of course, the bloody VERSACEI hotel. We walked in and we've sat down, and he has no idea what we want, no idea. I think he thought that we'd come to talk to him about some you know, being a standing again and doing
something like that. And we sat down and we said, right, what we're about to tell you is going to change your life. And what we're about to tell you you're not going to be able to tell anybody else until February next year, or till January next year, because this was we're going back to probably June twenty twenty one.
And we've never seen a kid with wider eyes. And I said, I think, I said, we want to make you celebrity. We want to put you in the jungle. We want to give you a fake persona, and we don't even know what it was yet. Rima had the Reema came up with the shoe designer idea, it's brilliant.
We want to give you a fake persona and he was just nodding along, and it's like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.
I can see his face, like as you tell that story, I can see David's face.
And his partner Stevie away to the coffee shop so he couldn't hear it, and he was just like, I have to tell Stevie. I have to tell Stevie, you know, you know, he's my partner. And glas I said, right, you can tell Stevie, you can't tell anybody else. So then Stevie came up, we told him as well, and we left them and their heads were just It was the perfect man for the job. And it was lucky,
you know, it worked. I was lucky enough to be a dream world for the Logan twins and how that played out and Farmer Dave, which had never gone away with nowadays telling someone to pretend they're not gay, but for that one as well, and it felt just as exciting as that, just knowing that it could all fall apart at any moment. It was a very very exciting first five days of the shoot, very exciting.
I personally think I'm good at bullshit in but this is going to be the ultimate tack. I'm going to have to lie about my manager that I've never had events that I've never been to. It is going to be so hard, but I am ready to take on this persona. I am the David.
It's showtime, bitches. It was just so exciting for so many any of our circle of friends who knew David, We're all texting like mad of course, and I texted David, you know, while this was all unfolding, and he was the only one answering his phone because obviously at this point he was throwing a massive party for himself.
That is, he forgot about the time difference. He threw the wild party in Queensland and by the time the show launched up here there was a food already been on TV for an hour, so he completely fucked it up already knew.
Just brilliant and he also nailed the brief. I mean, I think that David is and always has been a celebrity in my mind. You just need to follow him on social media to know that he's been living this life like the life of a celebrity for years and now the rest of Australia has just seemed to have, you know, caught up Big Top.
And we will go to every opening around.
Now Poe has come out saying that this is the eighth time that you've asked her to do the show. Who has been asked the most in the history of the show. Has she got? She got the record for the most amount of times you've ever asked a celebrity.
We asked Sophie Monk every single year until she got the Love Ole and Gig and there obviously we could no longer ask her because she was on our other show. So we asked Sophie at least at least six times every single year. Who's the other ones that we've asked every I mean, George Columbaris, We've asked every year. You know all that the Master Chef judges, certain Americans that always say, know Ralph Macchio and you know John Claud van Dam and they always we always go back and
ask them. I'm not even going to talk about Gretel Colleen.
Gretel Colleen, I actually wanted to do Big Brother VI p I. I just know she would never do it. I mean, imagine it Son your Krueger and Gretel Colleen on the same stage in the same format.
She would she certainly would never make this this version of Big Brother, or certainly not appear on it. There's just no way she would just never ever do it.
Ye call it what you like, but my journey he's over. I love you guys, and honestly, to get me out of here.
We have to talk about this. Why did Bo Ryan leave the jungle? There is a lot of commentary in the media. Is there something that we're missing? There seems to be more to the story of you ask me. I was told what happened when it happened, and was told he may have walked because he was bored. I'm assuming that that's probably not true. But how much can we talk about this?
A lot of untruth? So I can tell you what definitely is not true is that definitely was nothing between him and Nathan about money. They certainly never told each other how much I were getting paid. There's no way Bow got paid nothing. I can tell you that much. And you know, the Nathan bucket feed might be a bit inflated as well, but there was certainly no rift between them. I was starving, That's the fact of the matter.
Bo was absolutely starving, hungry, him and Joey. You know, the guys who kind of worked out the most struggled the most. And let's not forget Nathan fainted. You know, he was so you know, so hungry, and his body was so stafved of. You know, his bloodshed were so low, et cetera. Like it's really full on the showd your head.
I don't know where I went.
Then, thank you, celebrities. We've got medical responding, we've got security.
Looking after it.
We'll manage it from here and we'll keep you informed.
That's how we go.
You know, yes, we are the funny fluffy show, and you know we're not survivor to the extent the survivor is. But it's bloody hard. You know, they only have rice and beans. They are completely under our control and they have no contact outside world. You remember how difficult Big Brother was for the ten weeks or whatever. You're in the house where you just have to give yourself up to the experience. But you know, at least you had sort of food and slept in a bed. You know,
these guys sleeping in camp beds. I think it just all got a bit much for him. I mean, honestly, you have to ask both what the real story is it's somewhere in between him, I think, being starving, hungry, missing his family, and just thinking he'd achieved everything he you know, he needed to needed to achieve in there.
How hard is it to hear the bo didn't trust the producers and wanted to leave, which he said on national radio. Finally a producer met with you. How how did they What did they say to you?
They just said, producers, I don't trust them.
Don't trust them.
You want to, like, do.
You take that kind of stuff personally?
I take that line with a massive pinch of salt, because Babo and myself been ripping on you know, WhatsApp thread every night in the show, and he's still all, you know, having a laugh for us and blah blah blah. I think that's just Bo being Bo.
You know, Yeah, that's what I thought it happened as well.
Yeah, I just think I can almost I didn't hear the Carl and Jackie all the fits in Whipper interview, but I can just hear his tone of voice saying, you know, I hate that bloody show. You know, I don't trust those bloody producers. I think it's pinch of salt type stuff.
Do you actually forfeit your money, Like if you walk off the show. I've been told in the UK that's what happens. Is that true?
Yes, it is to a certain extent. You lose a percentage of your fee if you don't if you aren't eliminated by the public or you know, via the elimination. So yes, that is true. Tomic lost a shitload of money. Look, the networks network does the contracts. They'll never tell you if you ask them, so don't even bother asking them. But yes, it is definitely true that if you if you walk you you have to give some cash back.
Something I've been sitting on for a while and I'd love your take on it. And reality shows these days have sort of cannibalized their brand by trying to control the talent. And you know, while the show is on a social media restrictions who they can be interviewed by, what they can tell people. Do you think that we're seeing a decrease now in the popularity of these contestants
after the show because of these limitations. I mean, some contestants, by the time that they can take control over the ownership of their social media, no one really cares who they are.
Well look, I think a lot of formats that would be the intention. They want to control. They want to control the narrative. We asked all of our celebrities to only cheer lead the show whilst it's on air. After that, as far as I know, there's very very few restrictions. And answer your question, yes, I do. I do think. I do think it's probably gone too far. But you know, and again I'm not talking about my shows, but I'm going to go right back to the start of this chat.
There is a lot of shows on TV that are essentially showing things that people don't actually say. So why would they want the people on Instagram and saying, hang on a minute, I didn't say that, or this scene is bullshit, or I never said that, or I don't actually fancy him, or why are they using that music under me? Because I don't actually think that way. They're telling the viewer that I'm something I'm not. So that's why it happens, because they don't want the past questioning
the cut. Whereas because on Love Island, I'm a celeb to get me out of here, and you know, again, going back to the days of your Big Brother and even before that, I feel like we don't have anything to hide on on our shows because we show exactly what happens. Yes, of course we take some editorial license sometimes, but we certainly don't ever put words in people's mouths. Like I say to everyone who goes into love landho there every year, and I mean it. I will never
tell you who to couple up with. I'll never tell you who to kiss. I'll never tell you what to say. I'll never tell you what to think. I'll never tell you who to dump. And I'm in it and I don't and I don't you know what I do say to them, and I say the same thing. The slabs are. The more you're involved in, the more you're going to be on the show, and the better the show is going to be. If you're lying around in your bunk at two o'clock on a Tuesday and no one's saying
and then bloody say something. If there's an argument going on and you've got an opinion, get involved in it. If there's something funny happening and you think you can add to the humor, get involved in it. And it's a pretty bloody simple briefing. It's just get in the middle of everything and get involved.
Well, for me, it dilutes the aspirational quality. I think that there's less people wanting to go on these shows because back in the day reality TV, you could turn yourself into a star, like where nowadays the girls go on these dating shows. You know they're lucky to pick up a couple of thousand followers.
Well, yeah, a little bit. I'll tell you what flies in the face of that is that we had so many bloody applications for Love Island. I can't give you a number, but honestly, we could have cast fifteen villas.
We had that many amazing hot people that could talk amazingly well and what's interesting, I'm going to go from the tangent here, but we had so many good eighteen, nineteen and twenty year old supply for life holand none of which got in because we felt that they were too young for the you know, for the mix, the
core mix of people. So either we're going to have the best Love Island in the universe next year, in the year after, in the year after that when they come of age, or there needs to be like a younger reality show because these people have grown up making content, you know, inst the stories and you know, TikTok and all of that. And what we're finding now is that people are so much more creative and so much more
confident on camera than they used to be. You know, used to have to some of those old Big Brother auditions used to you wanted to jump down people's throats and bloody put the words in their mouth for them. But you know now some of those Love Island kids came in about eighteen year old girls who come in and they're just like, you know, talking in grabs. We need to make like a teenage show or something, you know, like they're just so much better than they used to be.
It's so true. I was talking to Brian Walsh on this podcast, you know, who works at Foxtowl, and was saying there needs to be an Australian version of The Only Ways Essex because there's a gap in the market from eighteen to twenty year olds who would be genius on a format like this.
But look, going back to your point, we kind of let our Love Island is off the leash when the show's over. I don't know, and you follow whatever.
But maybe that's why people still want to go on Love Island and I'm a celebrity. You aren't cannibalizing them. You've allowed them to be human, You've shown them for who they are, and they still can be in control of their story. That isn't happening on some of the other bigger shows.
And look, you know those shows are successful. So I'm not saying that I'm doing it right and everyone else is doing it wrong. It's just it's just, you know, I'm so lucky the shows that I make, you know, I really am lucky that I love them both. And the way I like to run them is just show what happens. It's pretty bloody simple.
Last year, Abby Chadfield really shocked Australia. I'm going to say, by beating Grant Daniel, what does that tell you about who's going to win this year?
Well, that's that's interesting, because well look let's go through them. You know, Emily Sebomb Olympic gold medalist, loved right, she's as ozsie as could easily win. David the Logan Twins effect. We know the Logan Twins one big brother. He was there for the first week cele Australian's love and underdog. He could easily win it. Nathan Buckley I'm just going to make the point that Dane Swan came to third in our show and barely said a word like that's
how rampant the Collingwood Faithful are. Buckley could could easily easily win the show. Dylan is the book. He's favorite. You know, he's been in the in every scene. Everyone thinks he's hilarious. If social media has been to be believed, Dylan will win Brook has been the revelation of the series. She is so infectiously so loved. Her song that she you know that was on the show the other day went to number one in the charts, like can you
believe that? Like straight to number one the charts got released on straight number one, So there's are telling things. She's going to be right up there. And Joey Essex has international star quality and star power and you know is a king of reality television. So it's the most competitive reality finale I've ever been involved with. Any of
those six could win. If you're looking at the Abbey effects, then you've got to look at David because you know, Abby Abby had such a passionate social following, and David is very much someone who lives his life, you know, on socials, certainly more than Emily, you know, Buckley Dylan Brook were not so much Joey, but certainly more than those other four. He could easily win something.
I also want to know what is something that you're going to do differently for the I'm a Celebrity finale that is different to any other finale.
We're still we're still we're still writing it as we speak. So I can tell you that if you if you are eager eyed, you may you may see some past winners make an appearance.
I'm excited about that, you know, when they bring back the winners. To be honest with you, is that just the way of you teasing us with an All Stars version? Is that something that could? Is that something that could happen? Could we see and All Stars I'm a celebrity, Get me out.
Of here, we'll see. Look, do you know what All Stars on a Celebrity could easily happen? And we've talked about it many many times. I think we won't see how All Stars Big Brother goes, you know, like it was always always talked about, the All Stars seasons never work, very very few of them do work. So good luck to be b Let's see how they go, and we might do it All Stars one as well.
Well, that's actually a good segue. You're still kind of thought of as the godfather of Big Brother Australia, working on the series from as far back as Series two on Channel ten, So it would be remiss of me not to ask you this, what is your gun instinct? On All Stars? On an All Stars version of Big Brother which is coming to Channel seven this year, how do you think it's going to go?
So they'll be wanting it to be better than VIP. I think they've got the talent now. I mean, who do we know that's in there?
Farmer, Dave Farmer, Dave, Tim Dormer, Leila Sabritzky, Reggie Trevor through.
Tully Estelle's Merlin is in he? Merlin's in, isn't he?
No?
Oh He's not okay anyway. So look, there's some there's some bloody good names there, most of which were on the Channel nine series. I note. Look Lisa and Keeley. I love the two EPs, Lisa Fard and Kelly Sontag. I love them, you know, like they worked me on for years and years and years, and I wish them nothing but the best. Is it's going to be hard, because I said, All Stars series are really hard, but
they've got the talent in there. If they're as good as they were in their actual series, and it'll be great. My look, Reggie's going to win. We all know it. Spoiler alert. In fact, I'm going to call it now and say, if play this back in a few months time, Reggie will because you'll win. There going to go on. Look, I hope it works for them. We'll see. Honestly, I really really really don't know. We always pulled short of doing a an All the Stars Big Brother. We never
fancied it. So it's a brave thing that they're doing. So we will see at All Stars, I'm a sleb. We could look, we could do that easily with us, I said before. We've got one hundred celebrities that have been on the show. It's some absolute crackers. I feel like we could easily do a quick run All Stars on a celebrity and I think it would work really well. And it's something we have talked to Chen about a couple of times. So we'll see an interesting year of television ahead, very interesting year.
Well.
As we finish up. I have a question I ask all my guests, and as you know, last year, your answer went viral. What is something from behind the scenes that we're as an audience did not see?
Okay, I'll tell you about a mistake I made which nearly brought the entire production down. So it was one of the eliminations. It was an ejection, and I think it was the night that Maria went, I think, or maybe the night Nathan. No, it's not Maria went. I'm pretty sure I'd have to remember this, but I'm pretty sure it was Maria, Emily, and Nathan Buckley on the three chairs. Certainly Maria and Buckley. I can't remember who the other person was. I think it was. I think
it was Emily, and we call them. So I'm the only one who knows, you know, how many eels or how many scorpios flashes. I'm not the only one who knows, because obviously the critic guy knows, and everyone who's looking into things to count them. But you know, I've got the number written down in front of me, right, It's one hundred percent real, no bullshit. I've got the number of eels or things written down in front of me.
So they all do their guesses and then they all sit down on the chairs and then we have a very many stockdown while I have a safety briefing. You know, if you get ejected, you know you need to tuck up your knees and try and land like this, you know, because they have to have the safety briefing, and so they all get the same briefing, so no one knows who's going to get ejected. And then I call it
by chair number. So if you're looking camera left to right, Nathan Buckley is in chair one, Emily is in chair two, and Maria is in chair three. Now I've obviously done the maths with the eels or the scorpions or whatever it was that night, and it's Maria that's going home. What I should have called through to everybody is chair three, Chair three, Chair three. I called chair one, share one, chair one. So as far as the entire crew are concerned, Nathan Buckley is going in the swamp and it's going
to happen in a matter of seconds. And I don't know what stopped me. I don't know what stopped me, but literally christ and Julia have started talking and Julia's hand is over the red bun and I called, I've got a key on my panel, which is all coms, and I just went stop, stop and called the whole crew to stop, and thank god I did, because something in my head just went, something's not right. And then I went, what share did I call? And They've gone one and I've gone nuh it's chair three.
We were two seconds away from ejecting the wrong person, which would have been a massive disaster because it would have called the whole thing into question, and of course Nathan would have had got dried off and put through You know, God knows what we would have done, had to get all of his clothes off.
Rinse them, wait for them to dry. That means that they would have known one of the girls would known that one of them is going. It would have been an absolute disaster. So I don't know how what happened in my brain that night, but nearly ruined the entire show.
But then it's like in your own breath, Well, mate, I'm glad that you didn't cook your own goose because you do such a great job on this show and I hope we get to see you at the helm of this for many years to come. Thank you so much for coming back on to TV reload my first repeat offender. Thank you again, amazing.
Thanks Mane. I hope everyone enjoys the Fanatic tomorrow night. If you're listening to this on Saturday, it's you know, a lot of people have put a lot of efford into it, and it's a series we're very proud of and we want to bring it home at a bank. God knows who's going to win as well.
I actually can't wait.