EXCLUSIVE: The Survivor: Australia V The World cast spill on their friendships outside of the show.

Australian Survivor's David Genat / Jonathan LaPaglia.

The Survivor: Australia V The World cast is filled with former connections. Photos: Channel 10

Almost two years after it was first rumoured to be in the works, the much-anticipated season of Survivor: Australia V The World is set to finally premiere this Sunday. The all-star series will see the best of the best Aussie contestants going up against players from the US, South Africa, Finland and New Zealand franchises for a grand prize of $250,000.

While the Australian tribe includes a handful of contestants who have competed against one another in the past, there’s a little-known connection that has never been addressed on the show before. Sarah Tilleke reveals to Yahoo Lifestyle that she and David Genat have been friends for over a decade, and she was actually the person who convinced him to go on Survivor.

“We modelled together. I’ve known him since I was like, 17 years old,” she shares. “We were actually in New York together just after the first time I played Survivor. We were at a dive bar, and he was talking all about it, saying it’s such a great show. And I realised in that moment, I was like, ‘David, you would be a perfect player to play this game’.

“I knew that they were doing Champions V Contenders a second time, and if you know David, you know his career. He’s absolutely a shoo-in as a champion kind of persona. He’d had such a great modelling career up until that point, and so I said, ‘Get our agent to pitch you, you’d be a shoo-in’. And he’s one of the best to ever play. He’s definitely made his mark on that franchise. But I was the genesis of the Golden God! So you’re welcome, world.”

Survivor: Australia v The World's Australia tribe.

Kirby Bentley is the only Australian player with no prior connections on her tribe. Photo: Channel 10

Including his friendship with Sarah, David is definitely the most well-connected player this season. He played alongside Janine Allis and Luke Toki on Champions V Contenders, Shonee Bowtell on All Stars, and Parvati Shallow on the US reality show Deal or No Deal Island.

Meanwhile, Luke and Sarah both appeared on the 2017 season of the show, and Shonee competed against George Mladenov on Heroes V Villains, making Kirby Bentley the only Australian player with no prior connections.

On the World tribe, Parvati played alongside Cirie Fields on Micronesia – Fans V Favourites and Tony Vlachos on Winners at War, while Cirie and Tony were also both on Game Changers, but weren’t on the same tribe.

“Tony was on Game Changers?” Cirie remarks when speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle about her previous connections. “We might have been on a season together, but I never encountered him.

“But Parvati and I are like soulmates, so I was thrilled. It was like, back together again. Like you see an old friend or your high school bestie or high school sweetheart and you get to go and hang out with them again, that’s what it was like.”

Survivor: Australia v The World's Australia tribe.

All three of the US contestants on the World tribe have played the game together before. Photo: Channel 10

While it’s been 8 years since Sarah last played Australian Survivor, meaning she holds the record for the longest amount of time between seasons, she reveals that this wasn’t the first time she had been asked to return.

“I had actually been asked back a couple of times before, for Heroes V Villains and for Blood V Water. Both times, just with how things were going in my life, I couldn’t really get the schedules to work,” she explains.

“When I set out the first time, the kind of goal was not necessarily even to win, but to play a good enough game [so that] I could be honoured with the invite back as a returning player. So being invited back those two times was such a completion of that original goal, and then it just feels like it was all meant to be, because I was heartbroken and devastated to say no to the previous times.”

Sarah adds that she’s thrilled to have been asked to return for Australia V The World, especially because it’s host Jonathan LaPaglia’s final season.

“The fact that it’s JLP’s last season, that as well feels like it’s written in the stars, because I would hate to play that game without the amazing JLP,” she says. “It was amazing to return to play.”