{"id":68065,"date":"2023-10-24T00:33:32","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T00:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newcelebworld.com\/?p=68065"},"modified":"2023-10-24T00:33:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T00:33:32","slug":"i-went-absolutely-feral-filming-survivor-but-i-loved-it-says-joel-dommett-as-he-reveals-makeover-for-new-bbc-reboot-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newcelebworld.com\/tv-movies\/i-went-absolutely-feral-filming-survivor-but-i-loved-it-says-joel-dommett-as-he-reveals-makeover-for-new-bbc-reboot-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I went absolutely feral filming Survivor – but I loved it, says Joel Dommett as he reveals makeover for new BBC reboot | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

JOEL DOMMETT says he was delighted to turn \u201cabsolutely feral\u201d to host the BBC\u2019s new extreme challenge show, Survivor.<\/p>\n

The Masked Singer presenter left his flashy suits at home to film the epic reboot on a deserted Caribbean island \u2014 and jokes that he tapped into his serious side by channelling his grouchy, pregnant wife.<\/p>\n


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Joel, who welcomed son Wilde with model Hannah Cooper in September, said: \u201cIt\u2019s my natural thing to be silly but I was very aware from the start that I wanted to get away from my Masked Singer persona.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Masked Singer you\u2019ve got the shiny suit, stood next to an Octopus, which is so different from Survivor and it\u2019s a huge departure for me. <\/p>\n

"I really love that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then again it\u2019s quite hard to be funny when people are punching each other in the face.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI grew my beard out until about halfway through, then I realised I was starting to look really ugly, so I thought, \u2018I need to trim this back\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI speak for a lot of the crew here, we became absolutely feral.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery now and again someone new, like my agent, would come to visit and you don\u2019t realise how unclean you are until someone clean arrives\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009we really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survivor launches on Saturday and episode two follows on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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The series sees 18 contestants marooned in a remote location in the Dominican Republic with limited supplies. <\/p>\n

They have to hunt for their own food and build shelters while competing to win rewards and immunity from being voted out of the contest by fellow castaways. <\/p>\n

The sole survivor wins \u00a3100,000.<\/p>\n

The show previously aired for two series on ITV in 2001 and 2002.<\/p>\n

A smash hit across the globe, Survivor has amassed a mammoth 44 seasons in America and 11 in Australia. <\/p>\n

Joel, 38, felt the weight of responsibility as the new host of the UK outing.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI wanted to be myself, but I also wanted to make sure that people who already love Survivor will like what I do with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a weird way I felt more comfortable being this person than being in a pink flowery suit stood next to a massive singing boot on The Masked Singer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy natural disposition is to be friendly to people but you\u2019ve got to separate yourself a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard for me to not go in and give the contestants a hug and be like, \u2018It\u2019s gonna be OK\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did Joel, who found fame as a stand-up comic, tap into his serious side?<\/p>\n

Grimacing, he jokes: \u201cI had a pregnant wife at home!<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of what you\u2019ll see over the series is fake or false, it\u2019s not a play.<\/p>\n

"When they\u2019re hungry they\u2019re unbelievably hungry. When they\u2019re tired, they\u2019re unbelievably tired. <\/p>\n

"When they hurt, they really hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survivor promises to test its contestants to their physical and psychological limits.<\/p>\n

The first episode sees the castaways, including a personal trainer, champion roller-skater and a one-legged surf coach, separated into two \u201ctribes\u201d.<\/p>\n

As the series progresses players are voted out of their tribes one by one until the two sides merge and the game becomes a head-to-head battle.<\/p>\n

Crucially, it is the ousted castaways who vote for the winner \u2014 and this social element could be the finalists\u2019 downfall.<\/p>\n

Joel said: \u201cMy favourites are the endurance challenges, which get bigger as the series goes on. <\/p>\n

"But what the contestants put themselves through is insane. No food, no sleep. <\/p>\n

"I can\u2019t even hold my coffee cup if I\u2019ve had less than eight hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would enjoy the physical challenges more than the mind games, I\u2019d fall apart on those.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re trying to get rid of people without p***ing them off. <\/p>\n

"You\u2019re trying to play three different games at the same time, that\u2019s why viewers get obsessed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Psychological gameplay had been missing from reality TV for some years, with a focus on dating shows and talent contests.<\/p>\n

But that changed last December with the arrival of BBC breakout hit The Traitors, where contestants conspire against each other.<\/p>\n


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Joel said: \u201cReality has done a full circle in the last 20 years, when Big Brother and Survivor were last on our screens. <\/p>\n

"We\u2019ve gone through this amazing journey where it\u2019s gone heavily into dirty territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Traitors last year has lubed everyone up ready for Survivor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere had been more focus on celebrities until we didn\u2019t have many shows left with your normal, everyday people from different walks of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I feel like we\u2019re back at that place where we have different people on screen \u2014 different body types and genders, all brilliantly represented.\u201d<\/p>\n

ITV has been praised for the diverse cast on its reboot of Big Brother, which launched two weeks ago after a five-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

It will be competing with Survivor in that prime-time reality arena.<\/p>\n

Joel said: \u201cI think they\u2019re on very different channels and I feel like it\u2019s exciting for reality to have both at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really exciting to have Survivor back but in many ways you just have to wait for things to go full circle again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to wait for it to become nostalgic, you can\u2019t bring things back too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gameplay and alliances<\/h2>\n

The elephant in the room is, of course, that the first two series of Survivor failed to catch the imagination of audiences her in the early Noughties despite the enormous successes in Australia and the US.<\/p>\n

So why does Joel think it failed to spark here first time round?<\/p>\n

He told Radio Times: \u201cCompared to Big Brother it felt too \u2018unBritish\u2019 at that point in time \u2014 it\u2019s very much about gameplay and alliances. It was the other way round in America.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though it feels like we\u2019re late on the scene in the UK, Survivor was basically the first reality show, and now we\u2019re well-versed in gameplay.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo offence to any other shows, but we want something a bit more interesting than people just sitting around having a beer.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds like viewers can expect plenty of drama.<\/p>\n

The camps, primarily made out of scavenged material, were hit by a severe storm and contestants suffered various injuries during the tough challenges.<\/p>\n

Joel added: \u201cIt is mad in these tropical places \u2014 it\u2019s like beautiful sunshine and then suddenly it\u2019s the most epic rain you\u2019ve ever seen in your life, like thunder and lightning. <\/p>\n

"We don\u2019t want any injuries to happen,but you\u2019re putting them in a really perilous place in a really extreme scenario, so injuries are going to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the latest Australian version, there\u2019s this person who breaks their collarbone and they have to go home. <\/p>\n

"It\u2019s absolutely mad, incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily, we didn\u2019t have anything that big, but yeah, it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joel will be tuning in to Survivor with his wife from the comfort of their home.<\/p>\n

The pair, who have hit podcast Never Have I Ever, have been facing their own challenges of late after becoming first-time parents.<\/p>\n

Joel said: \u201cI was so worried Hannah would give birth while we were away filming so I\u2019m happy that didn\u2019t happen. <\/p>\n

"Now we have a new baby in our lives, alongside my other baby, Survivor!<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing can prepare you for being a parent\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009 It\u2019s so difficult, isn\u2019t it? <\/p>\n

"I\u2019ve been reading all of the books and listening to all of the podcasts. I hope I\u2019m going to be a good dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cHannah has actually become a superfan of Survivor \u2014 she\u2019s binge-watched the whole series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved the show so to make any first series of any show is difficult, even if it\u2019s made in Elstree Studios, in London!<\/p>\n

\u201cSo to make it in the middle of nowhere, across the other side of the world, was an insane task, and I think that\u2019s why I\u2019m so proud of it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSurvivor being good is such a relief!\u201d<\/p>\n