Could it be true?

Just months after he was sacked as the host of Australian Survivor, Jonathan LaPaglia has hinted that he might be making a return to the franchise.

On Wednesday, the former host posted a selfie he took with long-running American Survivor host, Jeff Probst, on his Instagram account with the caption: “Battle of the Bouffants.

“Great catching up with legend @jeffprobst ahead of the premiere of Season 49… which is gonna be a good one! (I have it from an inside source 😉),” he continued.

“Kick off is tomorrow, Wednesday 8pm on CBS! Don’t miss it! @survivorcbs #survivor49.”

His fans were quick to jump in the comments and speculate that he might be making an appearance on the US season.
JLP announced he would not be returning to the show in June. (Credit: Channel 10)
“Woah. Could the handing over of the reigns really be happening 👀” one person wondered.

“Oh you’re moving on UP 🔥🔥🔥 I’m so excited for your next Survivor move JLP 😈,” added someone else.

“Passing the baton?? You are both 🔥🔥,” chimed a third.

While others reiterated that they wanted the 56-year-old to return to the Australian series.

“Bring back Jonathan. No shade on the Golden God but Jonathan is #SurvivorAU,” one super fan wrote.

“I cannot believe JLP got the flick. He’s seriously THE BEST or at least I should say EQUAL BEST with @jeffprobst,” added someone else.

“Seeing as I can no longer watch Australian Survivor ever again I can’t wait for US episodes,” chimed in a third.
Former contestant David Genat has replaced JLP as host. (Credit: Channel 10)
At the end of June, JLP announced on Instagram that he would not be returning for the next season of Survivor.

“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. 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’,” he wrote at the time.

“Ratings had dipped a bit recently and they wanted to do something drastic to shake things up. So for the first time ever this is not a tribe swap, but a HOST SWAP®️ Yes, you read that right.

“I have loved and will dearly miss the immensely talented crew, all the crafty players and our loyal sassy audience. I’m a huge fan of this incredible game, always have been, always will be. It has been one of the greatest adventures of my career to helm Australian Survivor, so it is without a doubt the hardest challenge of all to snuff my own torch but here goes; “JLP…..the tribe has spoken”!”

Channel 10 later confirmed that the long-running host would not be returning and then announced that former contestant David Genat would be taking over as host next season.

“I love Australian Survivor. It truly is the greatest game on earth so getting to come back as host after playing three times is such an honour,” David said at the time.

“But Survivor is not about me; it’s about the incredible players who put everything on the line to outwit, outplay, and outlast.”