EXCLUSIVE: Janine Allis spills on the upcoming season of Survivor: Australia V The World.

Australian Survivor’s Jonathan LaPaglia / Janine Allis.

Australian Survivor’s Janine Allis has shared her thoughts on Jonathan LaPaglia’s shock exit. Photos: Channel 10

Australian Survivor fans were left blindsided in June when it was announced that the show’s longtime host Jonathan LaPaglia had been axed. The TV personality, best known as ‘JLP’ on the Channel 10 series, shared a lengthy statement at the time revealing that the network “wanted to do something drastic to shake things up” due to a dip in ratings.

While fans have since expressed their devastation on social media and speculated who will fill his shoes, two-time Survivor contestant Janine Allis insists that “change is good”. The Boost Juice founder competed on Champions v Contenders in 2019 and will appear in the upcoming season of Survivor: Australia V The World, which is JLP’s final season of the show.

“What a great host. He’s done a great job, but I’m also a firm believer that, you know, I think change is good too. So I think that he’s done a great job, and let’s see what the future holds with it,” she says.

Janine, who was a longtime Survivor fan before she competed on the show, adds that she believes “the game is bigger than any one person”.

“I think whoever they put in that position, they’ll do a great job,” she continues. “It’s like MasterChef. People went, ‘Oh my God, they’re getting rid of the [judges]’. The game is bigger than it. That’s my view, anyway, even though JLP did a great job.”

Survivor: Australia v The World's Janine Allis.

Janine is set to appear in the upcoming season of Survivor: Australia V The World, which is JLP’s final season of the show. Photo: Channel 10

It’s been heavily rumoured that Janine’s “great friend”, David Genat, will succeed JLP as host of the reality show, as he was recently spotted arriving overseas to begin filming the new season.

The former model first competed on Champions v Contenders alongside Janine in 2019, won All Stars the following year, and will also appear on Survivor: Australia V The World.

Between his stints on Australian Survivor, David also took part in The Celebrity Apprentice in 2021 when Janine was an advisor, hosted the short-lived Channel 9 series Rush, and more recently won A$9.2 million on Deal or No Deal Island in the US.

Fans noticed that JLP may have indirectly confirmed rumours of his replacement in his social media post announcing his exit, as he took a subtle yet brutal swipe at the three-time Survivor player.

After thanking Survivor’s “immensely talented crew”, “crafty players”, and “loyal sassy audience”, JLP added at the end of his post: “PS. Whoever said a blindside is the most humane way to put someone down is an idiot. It hurts like a b***h!”

The remark might appear innocuous to most followers; however, longtime viewers would remember that David famously uttered that line during an episode of Champions v Contenders in 2019.

The international model was asked by JLP during Tribal Council what his motive was behind his vote, and he replied: “I mean, I think a blindside is the most human way to put someone down.”

Ahead of the Survivor: Australia V The World premiere on Sunday, 17 August, Janine reveals that she had been asked to return to the series a handful of times in the past but always turned down the opportunity.

She recalls being contacted about All Stars and Blood v Water, which she almost did with her son, who is a big fan of the show, but says this most recent opportunity was “fortuitous”.

“It was good timing, it was short, and you don’t know at the time who you’re playing with, but I got to play with some old buddies,” she details. “I think it ended up being 16 days, or maybe a bit longer, with all the pre-stuff. But you kind of can swallow that. You go, ‘Oh, that’s just a fasting retreat’. And I was actually really pleased I did it, it was fun.”

Janine shares that her strategy heading into this season was to be “really relationship-based”, but she realised quite quickly this would be a challenge given the short timeframe.

“I went in with the same strategy though, being agile and to find my people,” she says. “Because I knew David and Luke [Toki], I sort of went, ‘Well, I’ve already got a connection’. I was with David and Luke for days on the first round, even though it was six years prior, so you do have a level of base.

“I sort of went in going, ‘Look, I know these guys, I’m not sure if they’re the ones I want to play with, but at least I have a start with a relationship with them, and I genuinely like them both’.”

Survivor: Australia V The World premieres Sunday, August 17, 2025, at 7pm on Channel 10