When US Survivor legend Parvati Shallow saw which Australian players she would be up against in Survivor: Australia V The World, she knew exactly what she was getting herself into.
“I watched Heroes V Villains with George [Mladenov] and Shonee [Bowtell], and Simon [Mee], who I’m obsessed with – I find him so charming and endearing and so like a fish out of water,” Parvati tells TV WEEK on a Zoom call from the US. “I watched that tribal with George and Simon, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, George is a master. He’s so good.’”
Parvati, 42, says she “bonded really closely” with David Genat when they shot Deal Or No Deal Island together, and she’d seen a lot of Shonee, thanks to Survivor fans.
“People would be DMing me and messaging me on Instagram and sending me clips of Shonee and saying, ‘This is your Australian counterpart.’
“So I’m like, ‘This is cool. I feel like these people are already my friends and allies. I want to play the game with these people.’ Because I was a fan.”
Parvati, who has played US Survivor four times and won once, has the reputation of being one of the greatest Survivor players ever. She knows that makes her a target in any game she now plays.
“There’s always a big flashing neon sign that’s like, ‘Get her out!’ hanging over my head,” she laughs. “So I have to just play with that. And honestly, I think sometimes it can be helpful because people already are a little scared of me.
“Maybe I can just stare a little extra, and then they’ll just run away!”
As for the other players in the World tribe, Parvati knows Cirie Fields very well, having played with her in Survivor: Micronesia in 2008. Parvati won that season, with Amanda Kimmel coming second and Cirie third.
Parvati says when she saw Cirie was also playing in Australia V The World, she wanted to be able to go to the final tribal council with her.
“When we did Micronesia, we thought there was going to be a final three,” she explains. “So it was me, Amanda, and Cirie from the day one alliance. And then at the end of the game, there was a production twist and it was the final two. Cirie got cut right before the final, and it was sad. We all cried.
“So I was like, ‘Oh, this could be another redemption moment. Let’s get to the end together.’ But I didn’t know if we would be able to have that kind of strategy chemistry that we had without Amanda.”
This is Jonathan LaPaglia’s last season as host of Australian Survivor, and Parvati says she appreciates his style of hosting because he gives the players “a lot of space to breathe and manoeuvre ourselves”.
“And also, he’s very charming,” she adds. “It’s like Australian Wolverine hosting Survivor, but a cuter one who’s not so scary.
“I enjoyed interacting with him. You know, I’m always flirting with the host.”
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