Those are some big shoes to fill…

In late June 2025, Channel Ten confirmed long-serving host Jonathan LaPaglia would not be reprising his role as host of Australian Survivor in 2026 – now many are wondering who will replace him.

Jonathan’s last season on Survivor will be the upcoming Australia v The World, expected to release sometime in 2025.
(Credit: Ten)
Mere hours after the news of his axing, fans had a few theories regarding who will fill the big shoes Jonathan will be leaving behind.

Sources have informed the Daily Mail that Survivor contestant dubbed The Golden God, David Genat could be Jonathan’s replacement.

David has competed on two seasons of Survivor: Champions v Contenders in 2019, and Australian Survivor: All Stars in 2020 in which he took home an incredible $500,000 after being crowned winner.

David also most recently made history by winning $5.8 million, the largest cash prize ever awarded on Deal or No Deal Island.
(Credit: Ten)
He also returned to compete in Survivor Australia v The World airing in 2025.

However, as of yet, Channel 10 has not confirmed who will be replacing Jonathan on Survivor next year.

Unfortunately for the 55-year-old, the axing was a “blindside” for the reality TV host. Shortly after the news was made public, Jonathan took to Instagram to share how he truly felt.

“Australian Survivor has seen some of the most epic blindsides over the last 10 years, but this one might just be the craziest of them all….because it happened to me,” he began.

“I received a call from the Network thanking me for all my hard work and dedication to the show but for next season they are ‘going in a different direction’. Ratings had dipped a bit recently and they wanted to do something drastic to shake things up.
(Credit: Ten)
Concluding the post, Jonathan shared: “(Ps. Whoever said a blindside is the most humane way to put someone down is an idiot. It hurts like a b***h!)”

However, Survivor fans are quite ready to let Jonathan go. A Change.org petition has been created in the endeavour of urging Channel 10 to keep Jonathan as host.

As of writing, the petition has been signed by almost 3000 people and growing. The petition was created on the day of the announcement.