Could the TV star have outwitted his rival?

Jonathan LaPaglia plots comeback to Australian Survivor

It was the ultimate TV blindside when Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia, 55, was unceremoniously dumped by Channel Ten in favour of former contestant David Genat with fans in uproar over the shock decision!

But according to Woman’s Day’s TV insiders Jonathan is about to outwit, outlast and outplay rival David and is already secretly negotiating a deal that will see him reinstated as Australian Survivor host before long.

“Network Ten’s rights to Australian Survivor are set to expire next year and everyone is worried that the show could be snapped up by a rival network,” a TV producer spills to Woman’s Day.
Game on! Insiders tell Woman’s Day Jonathan LaPaglia could return to Australian Survivor after the next series. (Image: Instagram, Getty)

JONATHAN LAPAGLIA’S SHOCK MOVE

“Everyone is expecting Channel Nine to make a play for the show – they’ve already stolen The Bachelor franchise from Network Ten and The Golden Bachelor so it would be just another sign of Nine giving another reality TV franchise a second life on their network.”

Behind closed doors a series of secret phone calls are taking place between Channel Nine and Jonathan LaPaglia, who has hosted the show since 2016, with the network promising to resign him as host if they manage to poach the reality show from Network Ten!

“There’s no doubt that Nine would bring back Jonathan LaPaglia and that would be the perfect way to make some noise and get the franchise back on track,” confirms the insider, adding, “I don’t see this as the end of Jonathan’s time in the Australian Survivor universe.”
Fan backlash: Viewers are worried that David won’t be a good host and will make things about himself! (Image: Getty)

PLAYING THE GAME

In fact, Channel Nine have even told the axed host to sit tight and avoid getting dragged into any drama about his shock axeing, despite brewing backlash and fans promising to switch off in droves.

Gogglebox’s Lee and Keith took to Instagram last week, writing: “I’m so glad David went out not a fan. Plus, who goes around calling themselves the golden God. It’s gonna be so hard not watching Survivor any more since David is going to be the new host. JLP will be missed big time.”

Fellow Survivor star Felicity Eggington shared their sentiment, writing: “We will miss you JLP!”
Sadly missed: Jonathan has been on the show since 2016 and is beloved. (Image: Network Ten)
“Jonathan has publicly wished David the best but he has serious concerns about whether he can handle the transition from contestant to host,” adds the source.

“Secretly he doesn’t think Network Ten has made the right choice and let’s be honest, he would know after working with David on previous seasons. David isn’t a bad guy but he has a tendency to make things about himself and he’s coming off a season where he didn’t get the best edit and was booted off early, to then bring him back as the host feels a little misguided.”

“There are even fears he might struggle with bias towards certain contestants, given he’s just been in the game himself. The outraged from previous players is unanimous too, no one is happy to see JLP replaced by the winner of Australian Survivor Allstars.”