Australian reality TV has evolved over almost three decades.

Shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Big Brother and Married At First Sight have left viewers at home crying, laughing and screaming at their TV screens.

But there are some scenes that are a cut above the rest.

From animal attacks and murder confessions, to sleazy councillors hunting for fame and unscripted protests on live TV.

Here are the top 10 most jaw-dropping moments ever seen on Aussie reality TV.

Animal Attack 

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! viewers were left stunned in 2021 when they watched Toni Pearen, 53, get repeatedly bitten on the face by snakes

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! viewers were left stunned in 2021 when they watched Toni Pearen get repeatedly bitten on the face by snakes.

The actress, 53, was forced to stick her head in a perspex box while pythons crawled around her head during a terrifying challenge on the series.

As she struggled to stay calm, one of the snakes repeatedly launched itself at Toni’s face, biting her nose and cheeks five times.

The former E Street actress became visibly distressed during the horrific incident, crying and repeatedly screaming: ‘Oh my God!’

After finally being allowed to remove her head from the box, Toni folded over and began to shake.

‘Can we have the medic, please?’ called out concerned host Julia Morris to one of the show’s producers.

A medic then ran over and began tending to Toni’s wounds with what was most likely antiseptic, with bite marks visible on her face.

‘You have to get me home to my kids!’ she sobbed.

Hosts Julia and Dr Chris Brown could do nothing but stare in shock as the horrific incident unfolded.

The celebrity vet, at a loss for how to comfort the visibly shaken actress, assured Toni the bites weren’t venomous.

Turkey Slap 

It was the turkey slap heard around the country.

On 1 July, 2006, at about 4.17am, Michael ‘John’ Bric and Michael ‘Ashley’ Cox beckoned fellow housemate Camilla Severi into their bed on Big Brother.

One of the men held her down while the other rubbed his penis in her face, with Camilla, now 41, screaming, ‘I’ve been turkey slapped!’ while they erupted into laughter.

John and Ashley, now 40 and 39, were promptly kicked off the show as the Australian public went into a furore over the sexual assault.

The uproar was so intense, then Prime Minister John Howard called for the show to be taken off the air completely.

On 1 July, 2006, at about 4.17am, Michael ‘John’ Bric, 40, and Michael ‘Ashley’ Cox, 39, beckoned fellow housemate Camilla Severi, 41, into their bed

One of the men held her down while the other rubbed his penis in her face, with Camilla screaming, ‘I’ve been turkey slapped!’ while they erupted into laughter

‘Well here’s a great opportunity for Channel 10 to do a bit of self-regulation and get this stupid program off the air,’ he told Macquarie Radio at the time.

Despite being the victim of the incident, Camilla has repeatedly said over the years she holds no ill will toward either of the men.

She has previously said neither John nor Ashley intended to cause her harm, and she didn’t mean to upset them with her reaction to the incident.

The shocking moment was livestreamed on the Big Brother website when it happened, and though there was a police investigation, no charges were laid.

As reported by News.com.au in 2009, Ashley reportedly told Zoo Weekly magazine that the incident had ruined his life.

‘The hardest part was having no support from anyone,’ he said.

Toilet Toothbrush 

David Cannon disgusted Married At First Sight fans in 2020 when he used wife Hayley Vernon’s toothbrush to clean faeces from her toilet.

David Cannon, 36, disgusted Married At First Sight fans in 2020 when he used wife Hayley Vernon’s, 37, toothbrush to clean faeces from her toilet

The scandal dominated headlines at the time, with fellow contestants revolted by the foul act he claimed was revenge for Hayley, 37, kissing a fellow MAFS groom

The scandal dominated headlines at the time, with fellow contestants revolted by the foul act he claimed was revenge for Hayley, 37, kissing a fellow MAFS groom.

Full unedited footage of the incident leaked online shortly after it was downplayed on TV, as David, 36, could be seen scrubbing faeces with the toothbrush from the bowl.

David then promptly returned the toothbrush to its holder, for an unaware Hayley to later use, and sent the video around to other cast mates.

One of the recipients of the video tipped Hayley off, leading her to confront David at one of the Dinner Parties and throw the toothbrush at him.

David defended his actions at the Dinner Party, saying: ‘My mates have done worse to me, and you know why? Because with practical jokes there is no limit.’

He was unanimously judged by the cast, who explained he could have damaged Hayley’s health and that his behaviour was wrong and unacceptable.

‘I have heard enough, I have confidence in the fact that I have been nothing but a gentleman through this experiment,’ said David afterwards.

Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos 

Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos was pulled off the air halfway through its first and only episode when then-network owner Kerry Packer became revolted by the show’s contents

Every true blue Aussie remembers spending their weeknights watching Australia’s Funniest Home Videos throughout the ’90s and 2000s.

But not many may recall the short-lived spin-off, Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos, which aired in 1992.

That’s because the raunchy comedy program quickly became a one-off special when it was pulled from the air partway through the broadcast of its first and only episode.

The series depicted videos of sexual situations and other sexually explicit content, including a clip of a young boy pulling on a kangaroo’s testicles.

It was hosted by Australian radio personality Doug Mulray and aired at 8:30pm, due to the illicit content.

Then-network owner Kerry Packer was reportedly unimpressed with what he saw and demanded producers drop the program.

He is said to have been so offended by what he saw on the series, he immediately called up the studio operators and shouted: ‘Get that S*** off the air!’

Within minutes, the program was pulled and replaced with a rerun of the American sitcom Cheers, which filled the remaining airtime.

Merlin Luck, 44, gets Big Brother another entry into this list, after he made headlines in 2004 for staging an unscripted protest during his exit interview from the show

Refugee Protest 

Merlin Luck gets Big Brother another entry into this list, after he made headlines in 2004 for staging an unscripted protest during his exit interview from the show.

After he was eliminated from the house, he courted controversy by staging a silent protest against refugee detention centres on live TV.

Merlin, now 44, staged the now-infamous protest during his exit interview with host Gretel Killeen in June 2004, on the fourth season of Big Brother Australia.

He walked onto the studio stage and unexpectedly placed black tape over his mouth and held up a sign reading ‘Free Th Refugees’ [sic].

Merlin did not answer any of Gretel’s questions and his legs were visibly shaking as the crowd booed and cheered in the background.

Gretel patiently encouraged Merlin to speak and asked the crowd to ‘sit down and be quiet’. He would eventually speak on-air the following day.

The episode would become one of the most iconic moments in the history of Big Brother and resulted in strong ratings for the reality TV show.

After the incident, Merlin told The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘When I did this stunt it wasn’t to slap in the face the people that gave me this opportunity.

‘I wasn’t trying to destroy the show. If people want reality television then this is reality,’ he concluded.

Wrong Winner 

In perhaps one of the most memorable moments on this list, Sarah Murdoch made history during the 2010 season finale of Australia’s Next Top Model.

In a painfully awkward mix-up, the show’s host wrongly announced runner-up Kelsey Martinovich as the show’s winner on live TV.

As an elated Kelsey began to celebrate her supposed win, fireworks went off on the stage behind her and apparent runner-up Amanda Ware.

But just a few seconds after the announcement, Sarah’s face turned to shock and she could be heard whispering, ‘Oh my God,’ as a producer fed something into her earpiece from behind the scenes.

‘Oh my God. I don’t know what to say right now. I’m feeling a bit sick about this. No… I’m so sorry about this. Oh my God. I don’t know what to say,’ she added.

In perhaps one of the most memorable moments on this list, Sarah Murdoch, 53, made history during the 2010 season finale of Australia’s Next Top Model by announcing the wrong winner

Noticing the change of mood, both Kelsey and Amanda fell quiet, as the show’s studio audience sat in confusion.

‘This was not… This was a complete accident. I’m so sorry. It’s Amanda. I’m so sorry. It was fed to me wrong. Oh, God!’ Sarah, 53, continued, struggling to get the words out.

‘This is what happens when you have live TV, folks. I’m so sorry. This is insane! Insane, insane, insane!’

After taking a moment to let the news sink in, a stunned Kelsey and Amanda tried their best to remain gracious, despite the embarrassing mishap.

Kelsey tried to reassure a devastated Sarah that it was fine, but the host seemed inconsolable: ‘This is ridiculous! How could this happen?! Ohhh! My goodness.’

Sleazy Councillor 

Ex-Queensland councillor Jess Glasgow besmirched his reputation in 2019 when he made a string of sleazy comments to Angie Kent on The Bachelorette.

He was promptly booted off the series and subsequently fined by the state regulator, lasting only two episodes of the season before he was ousted.

Ex-Queensland councillor Jess Glasgow, 42, besmirched his reputation in 2019 when he made a string of sleazy comments to Angie Kent on The Bachelorette

The Noosa councillor, 42, who was on leave to participate in the show, promised the keys to the city, but ended up delivering a series of inappropriate remarks instead.

Queensland’s Councillor Conduct Tribunal fined Jess $4,000 for his conduct just two years later in 2021, saying had he still been a councillor, he would be sacked.

During one of the group dates, Jess was dressed as a horse and Angie was asked to sit on his back.

Jess was seen making lewd gestures including attempting to bite and lick parts of Angie’s body.

‘Damn, I’m gonna be the first person she gets to ride. Don’t mind me if I get some wandering fingers alright,’ he was filmed saying.

The then-councillor’s 10 days inside the Bachelorette mansion prompted public outcry and several complaints to the mayor and council, the Tribunal said.

It rejected his claims the episodes had been ‘edited’ in some way detrimental to him.

He recklessly breached the trust placed in him, and was entirely indifferent to the possibility it would reflect poorly on him and the council, the Tribunal concluded.

The fact that he did not publicly apologise to the council, and did not resign his post until he failed to be re-elected in 2020, were aggravating factors.

Along with the $4,000 fine, Jess had to reimburse the council $1,000 for its costs.

Murder Confession 

Big Brother yet again makes an entry on this list, with the early 2000s proving to be an unhinged era of reality TV.

Former contestant Belinda Thorpe made a drunken confession about her sister in 2003, causing her to become the very first housemate to voluntarily leave the show.

Following an alcohol-infused evening, Belinda admitted to her housemates Carlo Melino and Daniel ‘Saxon’ Small her 18-year-old sister was in prison for murder.

Belinda, now 42, said her sister murdered a 31-year-old homosexual man in Queensland and was serving time behind bars for the crime.

The confession came as a shock to her housemates, particularly to Carlo who has a gay brother.

Big Brother star Belinda Thorpe, 42, drunkenly confessed her sister was in jail for murdering a man

‘That could have been my f***ing brother!’ he shouted at the time.

The livestream was cut mere seconds after the admission, but the damage had been done as the term ‘Belindagate’ began trending online.

Following a rigorous interrogation by her fellow housemates, Belinda decided to leave the Big Brother house.

At the time, the Big Brother website was inundated with complaints and hate mail in response to Belinda’s comments.

Pauline Hanson Goes Dancing 

Following her exit from federal politics in 1998, Pauline Hanson worked hard to keep her name in headlines as she attempted to make a political comeback.

One of her efforts involved an early stint on reality TV in 2004 when she signed up to appear on Dancing With The Stars.

Far from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, Pauline, 71, managed to stay in the competition right up until the finals.

Following her exit from federal politics in 1998, Pauline Hanson kept her name in the headlines by appearing on Dancing With The Stars

The controversial politician finished as runner-up behind Bec Hewitt.

To make the moment even more shocking, her appearance on the series came just a yer after she was jailed for electoral fraud.

Pauline, who claimed she spent some of that sentence in solitary confinement, later had the sentence quashed when the charges were overturned on appeal.

‘Disgusting’ MasterChef Dish 

Matt Preston almost left a MasterChef contestant in tears during the second season of the show in 2010.

In a bizarre moment, the judge, 64, smashed a plate of pasta made by contestant Aaron Harvie, and led him to believe he had the dish.

During the episode, Matt was tasting the dish made by Aaron, but appeared unimpressed with what had been plated up.

‘There are some dishes that are freakish Frankenstein disasters and quite frankly, that is disgusting,’ he said before smashing the plate on the floor.

Matt Preston, 64, almost left a MasterChef contestant in tears during the second season of the show in 2010 when he smashed a pasta dish on the ground

A heartbroken Aaron was on the verge of tears before Matt clarified: ‘It’s disgustingly good.’

Despite attempting to bestow a huge compliment on the budding chef, viewers at home were left divided, with many slamming Matt for being ‘mean’.

The TV star confessed years later he regretted the scene, admitting it ‘looked really mean’ and was ‘a stupid thing to do’.

‘There’s an element of knowing better… It looked really mean. You should always try to avoid being mean, and that came across as mean,’ he said.