Survivor | |
---|---|
Series 3 | |
Presented by | Joel Dommett |
No. of days | 34 |
No. of castaways | 18 |
Winner | Matthew Haywood |
Runners-up | Christopher Haul Leilani Sen |
Location | Playa Caleton, Dominican Republic |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of episodes | 16 |
Release | |
Original network | BBC One |
Original release | 28 October – 16 December 2023 |
Additional information | |
Filming dates | Summer 2023 |
Series chronology |
Survivor (British series 3), also known as Survivor 2023 or simply Survivor is the first series of the competitive reality television series Survivor on the BBC. The series was filmed in the Summer of 2023 and began airing in October of the same year.[1][2] The series began with the 18 contestants being marooned on two remote beaches in the María Trinidad Sánchez Province in the Dominican Republic. Hosted by comedian Joel Dommett, it consisted of 16 episodes following the 34 days of the series, with one contestant being eliminated by a majority vote per episode, and the winner being awarded a grand prize of £100,000.[3][4]
Now airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer,[5] the series was a continuation of the British edition of the Survivor franchise following a lengthy hiatus after the first and second series failed to live up to the critical praise, commercial success and cultural impact of the early seasons of the American version when they aired in the early 2000s, as they received mostly negative reviews and lower ratings than expected after airing on ITV.[6][7][8]
The contestants were initially separated into two tribes, Caletón and La Nena, each named after the names of the beaches they were on. When 11 players remained, the contestants merged into one tribe, Calena, a portmanteau of the original two tribe names.[9] The series was won by Matthew Haywood,[10] defeating Christopher Haul and Leilani Sen in a 6–1–1 jury vote to earn the title of Sole Survivor and be awarded the £100,000 grand prize.[11][12]
Production
Following the Banijay Group's acquisition of Castaway Productions, who own the Survivor format, it was said in 2017 that the company were looking to revive Survivor in the UK. Banijay's CEO Peter Langenberg spoke to Broadcast about the potential return, stating that RDF, the largest UK production company within Banijay, is attempting to rekindle interest in the format amongst broadcasters. He explained: "Having hands on the format means we can polish it and come up with Survivor 2.0, because it needs a refresh".[13]
Reports began circulating again in 2022 that the series would be revived, this time with BBC One said to be the potential new home of the series. Broadcast reported that the revival deal for Survivor is "on the brink", and that if the deal is finalised, the third series of the programme will be filmed in 2023 with thirteen episodes.[14] Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly put forward his hopes for a revival of the programme. He felt that the key reasons for the series' initial failure lay with having a pre-recorded format which meant that viewers had no say into the events of the series. However, Kilkelly opined that the success of The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off, both of which use pre-recorded formats, suggested that the British audience would now be ready to support a Survivor format. In September 2022, it was confirmed that Remarkable Entertainment (a subsidiary of Banijay) would produce a new series and would air on BBC One in 2023 consisting of 16 episodes.[15][16][17] The season was then announced to be filmed in the Dominican Republic on a beach called Playa Caleton, a location where no other Survivor season had ever shot before. The temperatures were able to reach as high as 34 degrees.[18][19]
Contestant applications opened on 24 November. When casting, thousands from around the UK were in consideration but it was narrowed down to 18 for the final cast of the season.[20] With the announcement of the application process, the prize of £100,000 was revealed.[21][22] On 17 February 2023, Joel Dommett was confirmed as host of the revival, which he was excited about, stating "I’m the new host of the UK’s Survivor! I can't believe it! A huge thank you to the BBC for trusting me with this".[1][23]
International airing
The series is aired on 10Play in Australia, with episodes available on a Sunday and Monday at 8:30pm AEDT,[24] and in New Zealand on TVNZ+.[25]
Contestants
The season's cast was composed of 18 players from around the United Kingdom, divided into two tribes; La Nena and Caletón, both named after beaches in the Dominican Republic.[8] Notable figures on the cast include footballer Hannah Baptiste, boxer Lee Reeves, ex-popstar Leilani Sen, and surfing instructor Pegleg Bennett.[26]
Contestant | Age | Residence | Tribe | Finish | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Original | First switch |
Second switch |
Merged | Placement | Day | |||
Richard Kinnear McKell | 36 | Dalkeith, Scotland |
Caletón | 1st voted out | Day 2 | |||
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys | 45 | Stroud, England |
La Nena | 2nd voted out | Day 5 | |||
Rachel "Rach" Carstairs | 23 | Glasgow, Scotland |
3rd voted out | Day 7 | ||||
Rachel Golding | 40 | Whitstable, England |
Caletón | Caletón | 4th voted out | Day 13 | ||
Ren Elvidge | 28 | London, England |
La Nena | La Nena | La Nena | 5th voted out | Day 15 | |
Jess Woburn | 38 | London, England |
Caletón | Caletón | Caletón | 6th voted out | Day 17 | |
Shai Ravindra | 33 | London, England |
7th voted out | Day 18 | ||||
Lee Reeves | 28 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
La Nena | La Nena | La Nena | Calena | 8th voted out 1st jury member |
Day 20 |
Ashleigh Bishop | 34 | London, England |
9th voted out 2nd jury member |
Day 21 | ||||
Douglas "Doug" Swinbanks | 32 | Isle of Mull, Scotland |
Caletón | 10th voted out 3rd jury member |
Day 24 | |||
Tinuke Oyediran | 30 | London, England |
Caletón | Caletón | La Nena | 11th voted out 4th jury member |
Day 26 | |
Laurence-Maximilian Cardwell | 29 | London, England |
Caletón | 12th voted out 5th jury member |
Day 28 | |||
Nathan Dyke | 35 | Manchester, England |
13th voted out 6th jury member |
Day 30 | ||||
Pegleg Bennett | 54 | St Agnes, England |
La Nena | La Nena | 14th voted out 7th jury member |
Day 32 | ||
Hannah Baptiste | 30 | London, England |
La Nena | 15th voted out 8th jury member |
Day 33 | |||
Christopher Haul | 36 | Bridgend, Wales |
Co-runners-up | Day 34 | ||||
Leilani Sen | 45 | Hertford, England |
Caletón | |||||
Matthew Haywood | 21 | Cumbria, England |
Caletón | Sole Survivor |
Season summary
In the beginning, 18 contestants were divided into two tribes – Caletón and La Nena. Though La Nena fared slightly stronger in challenges, both tribes kept an even number of members during the early phase of the game. They differed on reasons why they voted people out of the game as Caletón prioritized challenge strength, while La Nena tended to vote people out based on their social skills. On Day 10, Leilani was voted out of Caletón but instead of being eliminated, she was sent to La Nena – the series' first tribe switch.
Shortly after, there was a second tribe switch in which two members from each tribe changed. As a result of this switch, Caletón started to lose frequently. However, Doug and Pegleg, who were new to the tribe, managed to survive the votes by forming strong relationships with the original Caletón members.
On Day 19, the two tribes merged into Calena. Despite planning an alliance, the original La Nena members proved to be too dysfunctional to work together, causing multiple schemes that resulted in the elimination of original La Nena member Lee. Consensus targets Ashleigh and Doug were then targeted and voted out – both of whom originated from La Nena, giving original Caletón the lead in numbers. Sensing trouble, outsider Christopher convinced ex-Caletón member Matthew to flip on his alliance by telling him he was at the bottom of it and that Tinuke was running it. The plan worked and the flip initiated a streak of Caletón members being eliminated.
The final 6 of the series was divided into three tight duos: Christopher and Matthew, Nathan and Leilani, and Hannah and Pegleg. Each duo was fighting for the votes of another to gain a majority, resulting in Hannah and Pegleg being the swing vote. Ultimately, they chose to vote out Nathan alongside Christopher and Matthew. Christopher and Matthew then used this to their advantage by recruiting Leilani into their alliance and voting out Pegleg and Hannah as revenge at the final 4 and 5 respectively, making them the final 3 contestants.
During the Final Tribal Council, the jury mostly discarded Leilani's gameplay, considering it incompetent. Christopher received mixed reactions from them for his frantic gameplay and shaky relationships but was praised for his challenge ability. On the other hand, Matthew's well-timed gameplay decisions and strategic use of his young age to be underestimated was applauded by the jury, which led them to award him the win in a 6–1–1 vote.
Episode | Challenge Winner(s) | Eliminated | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | BBC iPlayer Release | BBC One Broadcast | Reward | Immunity | Tribe | Player |
1 | 28 October 2023 | La Nena | La Nena | Caletón | Richard | |
2 | 28 October 2023 | 29 October 2023 | La Nena | Caletón | La Nena | Sabrina |
3 | 4 November 2023 | None | Caletón | La Nena | Rach | |
4 | 4 November 2023 | 5 November 2023 | Caletón | La Nena | None | |
5 | 11 November 2023 | Tie[lower-alpha 1] | La Nena | Caletón | Rachel | |
6 | 11 November 2023 | 12 November 2023 | None | Caletón | La Nena | Ren |
7 | 18 November 2023 | La Nena | La Nena | Caletón | Jess | |
8 | 18 November 2023 | 19 November 2023 | None | La Nena | Caletón | Shai |
9 | 25 November 2023 | Survivor Auction | Doug | Calena | Lee | |
10 | 25 November 2023 | 26 November 2023 | None | Pegleg | Ashleigh | |
11 | 2 December 2023 | Christopher, Doug, Matthew, Tinuke Pegleg[lower-alpha 2] |
Tinuke | Doug | ||
12 | 2 December 2023 | 3 December 2023 | Christopher, Matthew [Laurence] |
Laurence | Tinuke | |
13 | 9 December 2023 | None | Christopher | Laurence | ||
14 | 9 December 2023 | 10 December 2023 | Christopher [Hannah, Pegleg] |
Pegleg | Nathan | |
15 | 16 December 2023 | None | Christopher | Pegleg | ||
16 | None | Christopher | Hannah |
- In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
Episodes
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Timeline | BBC One airdate | BBC iPlayer release | UK viewers (millions) [27] | Weekly Rank [27] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Days 1–2 | 28 October 2023 | 28 October 2023 | 3.16 | #35 | |
The 18 castaways departed by boat to the Dominican Republic. After being greeted by host Joel Dommett the castaways divided into two tribes: Caletón and La Nena.
La Nena won the first challenge, giving them a major advantage over Caletón for camp setup. As a result, Caletón struggled noticeably more when building their shelter and starting their fire.
Caletón lost the immunity challenge, and the blame was largely put on Leilani for struggling early in the challenge and Richard for dropping his barrels. However, as they returned to camp, Shai's negative attitude and bossiness made him a potential candidate. At Tribal Council, Richard received the majority of the votes, which resulted in him being the first person voted out of the season. | ||||||||
28 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Days 3–5 | 29 October 2023 | 28 October 2023 | 2.89 | #43 | |
Due to his name coming up the previous episode, Shai panicked. Caletón finally managed to build a fire, which gave them hope for the upcoming challenges. During the previous episode, Ashleigh sustained a hand injury.
After La Nena won the reward, their third challenge of three, Caletón's morale continued to sink, but they remained hopeful that they could win the challenge. At La Nena, paranoia began to increase as various names began being discussed for elimination, primarily Ashleigh, Rach and Sabrina, should they lose the upcoming immunity challenge.
Caletón won the challenge, meaning La Nena had to attend their first Tribal Council. Three main targets emerged for elimination: Ashleigh for her injured hand, Rach for her struggles in the challenge, and Sabrina for generally annoying the tribe. Two alliances of four began to solidify: Lee, Hannah, Pegleg, and Sabrina on one side, with Ashleigh, Christopher, Rach and Ren on the other. This left Doug in the middle of both and being the swing vote for the elimination. At Tribal Council, Doug sided with the latter of the two alliances, sending Sabrina home. | ||||||||
29 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Days 6–7 | 4 November 2023 | 4 November 2023 | <(2.79) | N/A | |
Following their success in the challenge, spirits on Caletón were high. La Nena was dealing with the reality check of attending Tribal Council. The tribes were tasked to send their "quickest thinker" to an outpost, with Caletón choosing Laurence and La Nena choosing Ren. The two were given the choice of a large fish, a small fish, or a baked potato. If they chose the large fish then nothing would happen, the small fish would grant them a clue to a hidden immunity idol on the condition that the clue must be shared with another tribe member, and choosing the potato would earn a clue that didn't have to be shared. Laurence chose the big fish and Ren chose the small fish, granting them an idol clue that must be shared. Ren shared their clue with Doug upon returning to camp. Talks of an alliance containing mostly the men on La Nena had begun occurring, mainly spurred on by Lee, who felt that strength should be what drove tribe decisions. This did not bode well with Ashleigh and Rach, who were on the outs.
Both tribes took on the challenge in different ways, but Caletón's proved more effective as they won the challenge. However, during a brief interaction, Christopher found out from Laurence that Ren had taken the option which gave her a clue to the idol. Back at camp, La Nena strategized about who to send home, primarily focusing on Ashleigh and Rach. The group decided that they were the weakest, despite some members disagreeing with the notion. At Tribal Council, the La Nena members were informed that immunity idols would be in play for the season before Rach was eliminated. | ||||||||
30 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Days 8–10 | 5 November 2023 | 4 November 2023 | <(2.79) | N/A | |
Ashleigh now sat solidly on the outside of La Nena, as the intensity of the men's alliance became harder to break through. The alliance left all the non-men on the tribe feeling somewhat wary of their position. While in the woods, Doug and Pegleg searched for the idol, but with the help from Ren's clue earlier, Doug found it without Pegleg noticing and shared the news with Ren. The idol would be usable for the next three Tribal Councils. The following day on Caletón, Laurence told Tinuke about the existence of immunity idols.
Caletón won the challenge, but during the reward, the rest of the tribe expressed distaste in Shai's social game.
Upon losing the challenge, Caletón narrowed down their target options to two: Shai for his lack of social skills and Leilani for her lack of challenge performance. The tribe seemed somewhat split, but at Tribal Council, it was revealed that no one would be eliminated and the person voted out of Caletón would join La Nena. Leilani was voted out and sent to La Nena. | ||||||||
31 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Days 11–13 | 11 November 2023 | 11 November 2023 | 2.90 | #45 | |
After Caletón voted out Leilani, she joined La Nena, where she was greeted cordially. The La Nena members generally distrusted the information she told them, but some felt she could prove helpful in the long run. Leilani lied about having a fight with Shai the previous day which was the cause of her elimination.
During the tiebreaker round, Christopher and Rachel sustained injuries. As a result, Joel cancelled the challenge and sent the tribes back to their respective beaches. Luckily, both Christopher and Rachel were okay, prompting Joel to visit each camp later in the day and award both tribes the intended reward. Leilani developed a guilty conscience about lying to her new tribe, so she confessed to her lie. This confession led to further suspicion and distrust towards her from the other tribe members. That night, Caletón's reward items were ruined by the rain due to the weakness of their shelter's roof.
Upon Caletón losing the challenge, Jess planned a vote split between Shai and Laurence – the two clear social outsiders of the tribe – in case Shai had a hidden immunity idol. However, the tribe chose to keep strength for challenges, sending Rachel home that night at Tribal Council. | ||||||||
32 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Days 14–15 | 12 November 2023 | 11 November 2023 | 2.83 | #47 | |
Jess was worried about her place in the tribe after Leilani and Rachel were voted off. As the only non-athletic female left, she wondered how she would fit in. However, her alliance with Matthew, Nathan, and Tinuke reassured her that Laurence or Shai would be voted off if Caletón lost again. Laurence was distrusted by the tribe, while Shai's bad attitude made him an easy target. This further solidified Laurence and Shai's placement on the outside. On La Nena, Christopher asked Leilani about the reward her former tribe had received when they sent Laurence to the outpost on day 8. Leilani told him they received a different reward than La Nena. This caused Christopher to suspect that Ren had lied about the reward and to begin suspecting that La Nena had an immunity idol. He informed the other tribe members of this discovery. A twist occurred later that day where each tribe was instructed to send their "wisest", "most powerful" and "most trusted" member to a meeting point to take a test. La Nena randomly chose Doug, Hannah, and Pegleg to go while the Caletón alliance members strategized beforehand to send two of their people and one of the outsiders, in the end choosing to send Matthew, Shai, and Tinuke. They arrive at the meeting point where the "test" is revealed to be a second tribe swap. Each of the groups of three had to decide one person to stay in their original tribe while the other two switched to the opposing tribe. Doug and Pegleg chose to switch to be able to target Shai as they were threatened by his challenge dominance while Matthew and Tinuke switched to ensure that they remained together moving forward in the game, and as they could use Leilani as a backup plan in case Jess or Nathan were voted out before the merge. On their new tribe, Matthew and Tinuke reunited with Leilani, who told them about Ren lying to the La Nena tribe potentially being their way of navigating through the votes in the short-term. When the two were questioned by Christopher later on, they continued to reinforce that Ren lied to the old La Nena tribe. On Caletón, Doug and Pegleg weren't having luck and felt that if Caletón were to lose, one of them would be in trouble. Doug confessed to Pegleg that he had found the immunity idol in a move that aimed to draw them closer, but only resulted in Pegleg gaining a newfound distrust in Doug for not being told earlier.
After La Nena lost the challenge, Ashleigh and Christopher approached the original three Caletón members with a plan to vote out Ren for their lie earlier in the series while Hannah and Ren targeted Ashleigh due to not trusting her. The original three Caletón members sided with Ashleigh and Christopher, blindsiding Ren in a 5–2–1 vote. | ||||||||
33 | 7 | "Episode 7" | Days 16–17 | 18 November 2023 | 18 November 2023 | <(2.79) | N/A | |
After Ashleigh and Christopher's flip to the old Caletón tribe, Hannah became worried about her spot in the tribe and believed the two were playing both sides. On Caletón, Doug attempted to find cracks in the tribe, targeting Shai and Laurence, who were on board with potentially taking out Jess or Nathan if Caletón lost an immunity challenge.
La Nena won the reward, which was seen as a morale booster among the tribe. Laurence and Shai continued to try pulling Doug and Pegleg in, but Doug and Pegleg believed it was a tactic to make them feel secure and firmly believed they were on the bottom. Nathan, completely unaware of the plans, threw Jess out as a decoy vote to Laurence and Shai, to throw Doug and Pegleg off the scent. On La Nena, Christopher wanted to eliminate Matthew or Tinuke before the merge and plotted to throw the upcoming immunity challenge to do so. Ashleigh agreed with the plan.
Despite Christopher and Ashleigh's plans, La Nena won the challenge meaning Caletón had to attend Tribal Council. Laurence and Shai told Jess she was the decoy vote, though their true intentions were to vote her out with Doug and Pegleg, keeping Nathan in the dark. Worried about her name being thrown out, Jess threw Shai's name out to Doug and Pegleg, on the grounds of his negative attitude bringing the tribe down, making Doug and Pegleg swing votes. While they were threatened by Shai's challenge prowess, they were further concerned about Jess's social game. In the end, they decided to vote out Jess for her threat level going into the merge. | ||||||||
34 | 8 | "Episode 8" | Day 18 | 19 November 2023 | 18 November 2023 | <(2.79) | N/A | |
La Nena speculated that Shai had been voted out, but they were wrong. Doug and Pegleg did not trust Laurence and Shai despite making a pact with them. Nathan, now aware of his position on the tribe, attempted to find cracks in the alliance. The tribes were each gifted a crate full of bottles of milk each addressed to member of the tribe. The bottles contained letters from home. After reading the letters, Christopher confessed to Hannah and Lee that he had attempted to throw the previous challenge, which caused Lee to lash out at him causing a fight, despite making a pact to throw the next immunity challenge as a team.
After La Nena won, Caletón reflected on La Nena's reaction to Jess being voted out, as Leilani accused them of sexism and Tinuke claimed Jess did not deserve to go home. Knowing he was in deep trouble, Nathan pleaded to Doug and Pegleg to vote out Shai, who he perceived as sly and dishonest. Laurence and Shai pondered about how they could potentially vote out Doug or Pegleg over Nathan, but this was quickly shut down to maintain the alliance. Despite this, Nathan continued plotting and struck a plan with Doug and Pegleg to eliminate Shai. After considering the long-term prospects of it, Doug and Pegleg chose to side with Nathan, eliminating Shai from the game. | ||||||||
35 | 9 | "Episode 9" | Days 19–20 | 25 November 2023 | 25 November 2023 | <(2.77) | N/A | |
After Shai's vote-out, Caletón felt at peace, despite Laurence being somewhat wary due to Shai's elimination. On La Nena, Lee argued with Leilani over sleeping arrangements in the shelter. The tribes merged with eleven players remaining, living on La Nena's beach and now being called "Calena".
Back at the beach, Lee began allying with the men, intending to target Ashleigh due to her close alliance with Christopher. Christopher showed Ashleigh his advantages: the one he got from the towel was a clue to a hidden immunity idol and the one that he bought straight up was an extra vote. The pair planned to use the items against Lee. The following day, Christopher found the immunity idol whilst Ashleigh plotted with Tinuke and Matthew against Lee, saying that Lee was targeting Tinuke, which she believed.
After over an hour, Doug emerged victorious from the challenge. Back at camp, Christopher threw out Lee's name to multiple people on the tribe and after Hannah heard of this, she warned Lee about it. Lee fired back by targeting Ashleigh to the tribe's men. At Tribal Council, Lee panicked and began calling out Ashleigh and Christopher, telling everyone to watch out for them. This did him no good as he was voted out 7–4, becoming the first member of the jury. | ||||||||
36 | 10 | "Episode 10" | Day 21 | 26 November 2023 | 25 November 2023 | <(2.77) | N/A | |
Due to Lee calling them out, Ashleigh and Christopher were now seen as the next targets. Ashleigh tried to assure Tinuke and Leilani that she was loyal to them, which was met with a begrudged acceptance, as Tinuke felt wary of Ashleigh after Lee told her Ashleigh had targeted her. This was solidified by Pegleg proposing to the tribe that they should split the vote between the pair, met with a mostly unchallenged agreement.
Pegleg won the challenge and upon returning to camp, Ashleigh and Christopher scrambled to find numbers but were met with no one willing to help. They realised a vote split plan was to happen. At Tribal Council, Christopher played his immunity idol, and the vote-split plan was successful as Ashleigh was voted out of the game, becoming the 2nd jury member. | ||||||||
37 | 11 | "Episode 11" | Days 22–24 | 2 December 2023 | 2 December 2023 | <(2.70) | N/A | |
Now on the outs, Christopher felt the others were hypocritical and that he was ignored by some tribemates. As the original Caletón outnumbered the original La Nena, Tinuke saw an opportunity to shake things up, bringing the five original Caletón members together and planning to vote La Nena members out simultaneously.
After being left unpicked and having to sit out, Pegleg was allowed the opportunity to bet on a team. If he picked the correct one, he would also be given the reward. He chose Christopher, Doug, Matt, and Tinuke's team, which went on to win, granting them the reward. While on the reward, Christopher attempted to find some alliances but was immediately shut down as he was the primary target. The following day, Christopher tried to strengthen his bond with Leilani and quickly sussed out that she was playing the act of a clueless mother, and that she knows a lot more about the game than she lets on. Tinuke planned to blindside Doug as he had made a lot of strong connections in the game and was playing it very low-key, making him a bigger threat than Christopher at that point. The fellow members of the new Caletón alliance agreed.
Tinuke won the immunity challenge and Caletón planned to make La Nena believe Christopher would be voted out, despite actually wanting to blindside Doug. Christopher, seeing through the act, made multiple attempts to convince the old La Nena tribe that they should come together. Christopher made a fake hidden immunity idol to stir the pot, but Doug told the Caletón members that it was fake and not to trust Christopher. At Tribal Council, Christopher played his extra vote advantage to try and get numbers against Leilani, but the tribal divide causes the old Caletón to come out on top, blindsiding Doug in a 5–3–2 vote. | ||||||||
38 | 12 | "Episode 12" | Days 25–26 | 3 December 2023 | 2 December 2023 | <(2.70) | N/A | |
Doug's blindside caused Hannah and Pegleg to realise their chances had sunk. Hannah broke down and was comforted by Tinuke and Leilani.
Matthew and Christopher won the challenge and chose Laurence to go on the reward with them. Christopher hoped to build a new alliance over the reward, telling them that they were on the outside of Caletón as Nathan and Tinuke are a tight duo and that they were stringing Leilani along as she is loyal and unlikely to win. While both men shut down what Christopher said, they decided to keep it in mind going forward. The next day, Tinuke began considering pulling Hannah into the Caletón alliance as the two women grew close. Noticing this, Christopher told Matthew that Tinuke is trying to replace him and Laurence in the alliance. Matthew realized that Tinuke and Nathan were a dangerous duo, so he talked to Laurence about a potential flip.
Laurence won the immunity challenge and he removed himself from strategizing as his vote was not required for the flip to be successful since he could throw it on a random contestant. Pegleg told Leilani about the plan to flip. Laurence later told Tinuke about the plan to vote her out, and she sought reassurance from her allies who told her she had nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, at Tribal Council, Tinuke was blindsided in a 4–3–1 vote after Matthew flipped. | ||||||||
39 | 13 | "Episode 13" | Days 27–28 | 9 December 2023 | 9 December 2023 | <(2.80) | N/A | |
After Matthew's betrayal, Leilani and Nathan immediately sussed out that not only did he voted for Tinuke, Laurence was also in on it as his vote could have kept Tinuke in the game, but it was directed elsewhere. Nathan spoke to Matthew and tried getting an explanation for the flip, with Matthew explaining that it was because of her threat level and not personal, also implying that he felt he would not have made it to the end if Tinuke remained in the game. Matthew then offered Nathan a deal to go to the end together, in an attempt to patch things up, both men knowing it wasn't genuine. The next morning, a lobster trap appeared to have washed up on the Calena beach, with a note attached to it. The note was a cryptic letter which the contestants interpreted to be an idol clue. The contestants scavenged for the item, which Christopher realized was a key to open the lobster trap. Matthew and Christopher eventually found the key and agreed to give Christopher the idol as he was in more danger of going home, but Matthew was given the key because the two men planned on retrieving the idol inside the trap later, but leaving it for now so that the other five would continue looking. Matthew first checked the inside of the trap to make sure it was for an idol, which it was. However, when he relocked it, he didn't notice that it failed to close properly.
Christopher won the immunity challenge and, since he was the main target, the contestants strategized on who to vote out now. Nathan, sensing that he was in trouble, checked the lobster trap and noticed that it was lying open, so he swiftly reached in, grabbing the hidden immunity idol. He told Leilani about it and planned to use it at the next tribal to eliminate Matthew. Despite trying to keep it a secret, the word quickly spread as Hannah eventually told Matthew and Christopher about it, and this prompted them to go to the trap where Matthew instantly realised his mistake. Determined to make sure they don't miss the opportunity to vote Nathan out, the two men confided in the other players to plan a vote split where Nathan gets 4 votes, but this did not work out as no one wanted to be the backup plan. At Tribal Council, Nathan played his immunity idol, which he didn't have to as Laurence was voted out 5–1–1 as he had made the fewest connections of the six. | ||||||||
40 | 14 | "Episode 14" | Days 29–30 | 10 December 2023 | 9 December 2023 | <(2.80) | N/A | |
The final six were now divided into three duos: Hannah and Pegleg, Matthew and Christopher, and Leilani and Nathan. Christopher, Matthew and Nathan remained the main targets. Hannah strategized to eliminate Christopher as she perceived him as a threat to win. Nathan tried to improve his relationship with Hannah and Pegleg as a way to eliminate Christopher.
Christopher won the reward challenge, taking Hannah and Pegleg to try and solidify an alliance against Leilani and Nathan, who he felt would not listen. While on the reward, Hannah and Pegleg considered joining Christopher's side as he may prove useful as a shield. Returning from the reward, Christopher was confident that he potentially swung some favour on himself and Matthew's side. Hannah considered voting Nathan out as he had become more arrogant since he found the idol, but she talked it through with him and they made up, planning on Christopher being voted out for his scheming and since the jury vote seemed to be tipping in his favour.
Pegleg won immunity, and Christopher emerged as the key target. However, Hannah considered changing her vote since Christopher being in the game would help her advance further. Leilani campaigned heavily to vote Christopher out. Matthew eventually agreed, seeing Christopher as too big of a threat to keep in the game. At Tribal Council, Christopher was spared, with Nathan instead being blindsided in a 4–2 vote. | ||||||||
41 | 15 | "The Finals – Part 1" | Days 31–32 | 16 December 2023 | 16 December 2023 | 2.57 | #49 | |
The final five discussed their plans on how to reach the final 3 before treemail arrived saying someone has to go to an outpost for "a slice of home". As she was reading it, the group chose Hannah to go to the outpost. Each castaway got to have a video call with their loved ones for a certain amount of time, determined by putting a coin with a number on it into a slot, with the numbers representing the amount of time the call will go on for. The choices are 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 minutes. It resulted in Hannah getting 10 minutes, Pegleg getting 5, Leilani getting 15, Matthew getting 3, and Christopher getting 1.
Christopher won immunity and once returning to camp, Matthew and Pegleg were seen as the two main targets as Christopher was immune and Hannah and Leilani were seen as being goats. As a result of this, the two men targeted each other. Pegleg pitched that Matthew was a threat because the jury was full of people from his starting tribe that he had made strong relationships with. Pegleg was seen as a threat due to having not made many enemies throughout the competition. While Leilani's name was briefly thrown out due to her lack of loyalty, at Tribal Council, Pegleg voted out due to his high threat level. | ||||||||
42 | 16 | "The Finals – Part 2" | Days 33–34 | 16 December 2023 | 16 December 2023 | 3.01 | #36 | |
The final 4 woke up and celebrated making it to day 33.
After 5 hours, Christopher and Leilani both fell off their posts, with Leilani falling mere seconds before Christopher, giving him the win. But instead of returning to camp, the contestants had to go straight to Tribal Council to discuss the vote there. At Tribal Council, Christopher forced Leilani to admit Hannah is the key threat to win as she seems to be well-liked by the jury. This resulted in Hannah being voted out 3–1. The following day, the final 3 of Christopher, Leilani, and Matthew were awarded a picnic breakfast for reaching the final day. At the Final Tribal Council, Christopher opened by saying that his frantic gameplay was a result of a risky move and that he had no choice but to play quickly to evade the target, through immunity wins and strong friendships. Matthew was next and explained that it was part of his strategy to play naive and that waiting to make moves helped maintain good relationships. Leilani said that she wanted to be challenged by the game and that she learned more about herself because of it. Tinuke asked the first question, calling Matthew out for his betrayal and how it didn't line up with his opening speech. While he tried to explain the move, she shot his reply down. Pegleg was next and he asked Christopher if he felt any remorse for lying in the game. Christopher replied that he had no choice as it was a game. Nathan was next and he asked Leilani why she deserved to win as her game was quieter than Christopher and Matthew's. Leilani answered that she wasn't there to be strategic. Laurence accused Leilani of riding coattails, and she used her relationships to cement that she was a strong player. Ashleigh was next, asking Christopher to elaborate on some of his game decisions. During his answer, Lee interrupted Christopher, calling him selfish. Laurence then asked Matthew if he was in charge of the game, with Matthew claiming that he was the puppetmaster, and that was why he stabbed people in the back. It ended with Doug asking Christopher if he got in Matthew's head, with both men claiming that they both had a hand in the blindsides throughout the merge. The jury chose to give Matthew the £100,000 grand prize and the title of Sole Survivor in a 6–1–1 vote. |
Voting history
Original Tribes | First switch |
Second switch | Merged Tribe | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Episode | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||
Day | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 33 | ||
Tribe | Caletón | La Nena | La Nena | Caletón | Caletón | La Nena | Caletón | Caletón | Calena | Calena | Calena | Calena | Calena | Calena | Calena | Calena | ||
Eliminated | Richard | Sabrina | Rach | Leilani[lower-alpha 1] | Rachel | Ren | Jess | Shai | Lee | Ashleigh | Doug | Tinuke | Laurence | Nathan | Pegleg | Hannah | ||
Vote | 7–1–1 | 5–2–2 | 5–3 | 7–1 | 5–2 | 5–2–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 7–4 | 4–2–0[lower-alpha 2] | 5–3–2 | 4–3–1 | 5–1–1 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | ||
Voter | Votes | |||||||||||||||||
Matthew | Richard | Leilani | Rachel | Ren | Lee | Doug | Tinuke | Laurence | Nathan | Pegleg | Hannah | |||||||
Christopher | Sabrina | Rach | Ren | Lee | Nathan | Leilani | Leilani[lower-alpha 3] | Tinuke | Laurence | Nathan | Pegleg | Hannah | ||||||
Leilani | Richard | Rachel | Ren | Lee | Ashleigh | Doug | Christopher | Pegleg | Christopher | Pegleg | Hannah | |||||||
Hannah | Ashleigh | Rach | Ashleigh | Ashleigh | Ashleigh | Christopher | Tinuke | Laurence | Nathan | Pegleg | Leilani | |||||||
Pegleg | Rach | Ashleigh | Jess | Shai | Ashleigh | Christopher | Tinuke | Laurence | Nathan | Matthew | ||||||||
Nathan | Richard | Leilani | Rachel | Doug | Shai | Lee | Ashleigh | Doug | Christopher | Laurence | Christopher | |||||||
Laurence | Richard | Leilani | Rachel | Jess | Nathan | Lee | Doug | Pegleg | Hannah | |||||||||
Tinuke | Richard | Leilani | Rachel | Ren | Lee | Doug | Christopher | |||||||||||
Doug | Sabrina | Rach | Jess | Shai | Ashleigh | Ashleigh | Christopher | |||||||||||
Ashleigh | Sabrina | Rach | Ren | Lee | Nathan | |||||||||||||
Lee | Rach | Ashleigh | Leilani | Ashleigh | ||||||||||||||
Shai | Richard | Leilani | Rachel | Jess | Nathan | |||||||||||||
Jess | Shai | Leilani | Laurence | Doug | ||||||||||||||
Ren | Sabrina | Rach | Ashleigh | |||||||||||||||
Rachel | Richard | Leilani | Laurence | |||||||||||||||
Rach | Sabrina | Ashleigh | ||||||||||||||||
Sabrina | Ashleigh | |||||||||||||||||
Richard | Leilani | |||||||||||||||||
Jury vote | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode | 16 | ||
Day | 34 | ||
Finalist | Matthew | Christopher | Leilani |
Vote | 6–1–1 | ||
Juror | Votes | ||
Hannah | |||
Pegleg | |||
Nathan | |||
Laurence | |||
Tinuke | |||
Doug | |||
Ashleigh | |||
Lee |
- Notes
- ↑ Before voting, Caletón were informed that the person voted out would not be eliminated, and instead would switch tribes and join La Nena. Leilani joined La Nena after being voted out.
- ↑ Christopher played a hidden immunity idol on himself; therefore, 4 votes cast against him did not count.
- ↑ Christopher played an extra vote advantage, allowing him to cast two votes.
Reception
Critical response
Survivor 2023 initially received mixed-to-negative reviews but they grew far more positive over the course of its run. Initially negative reception was targeted at its music, the cast, and Joel Dommett as host. Aine Toner of Belfast Telegraph was underwhelmed by the series, writing "Joel Dommett christens Survivor the ‘most emotionally draining game on TV’ – I’d give Tipping Point that honour."[28] Helen Fear of Entertainment Daily was heavily critical of the series' host, writing "Joel Dommett is just wrong for this show. He needs to drop the dad jokes, and the awful puns. Where’s the tension?" and its Tribal Council's, writing "the tribal councils are plodding, and drawn-out. There was no suspense or tension. There was no humour or personality. Instead, it was a predictable vote."[29] In a mixed review, Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian wrote "It isn’t a reinvention of the wheel, then, but it is an enjoyable and comfortingly recognisable trip to the beach."[30]
Later reviews of the series were generally positive, praising the gameplay of its final players and its entertaining moments. Adam Miller of METRO warmed up to the series, writing: "Survivor just gets so much better once you’ve got through the first few episodes. I’m completely hooked. You need to invest in the first few slow episodes while learning names and whatnot but these latest episodes are absolutely electric."[31]
Ratings
The revival series received underwhelming ratings compared its high budget, earning a fraction of the viewership of series 21 of Strictly Come Dancing, the show which aired before it on BBC One, causing crisis talks to ponder on how to improve the series' viewership.[32] The low viewership of the series was mostly blamed on people watching on BBC iPlayer, its time slot, and its channel.[33]
See also
References
- 1 2 Darvill, Josh (October 14, 2023). "Survivor UK 2023 start date and first look at new series". tellymix. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ↑ Etherige, Loz (October 25, 2023). "The Reawakening Of A Hibernating Giant: The Return Of Survivor UK – Interviews with Richard Hatch and Sarah Odell". God is in the TV. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ↑ Kibble-White, Graham (October 23, 2023). "'The apex predator of reality shows': the return of Survivor". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ↑ Lewis, Isobel. "Meet the cast of Survivor UK, the gruelling reality show rebooted by the BBC". The Independent. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ↑ BBC (November 11, 2023). "Survivor UK - Everything you need to know about the new series". BBC Online. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ↑ Copson, Josie (October 14, 2023). "Meet the cast of Survivor as BBC drops nail-biting trailer to ultimate physical and psychological game show". Metro Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ↑ Munro, Lucretia (October 14, 2023). "BBC Survivor 2023 line-up in full - singer and Cambridge graduate to semi-pro footballer". Daily Mirror. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- 1 2 Rosseinsky, Katie (October 19, 2023). "Survivor Is Returning To UK Screens – Here's What We Know So Far About The BBC Reboot". Yahoo. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- ↑ "Survivor UK Final Five reveal strategy secrets and explain why they believe they deserve to be Sole Survivor". BBC. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ↑ Copson, Josie (December 16, 2023). "Survivor winner only wanted to do one thing after emotional victory". METRO. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ↑ Henry, Grace (December 16, 2023). "Survivor 2023 reveals winner as contestant takes home £100,000 cash prize". Radio Times. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ↑ Lewis, George (December 16, 2023). "Survivor crowns first winner of rebooted series". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ↑ "Banijay Acquire Castaway Productions, Could Survivor UK Return?". July 20, 2017.
- ↑ "BBC on brink of Survivor reboot". Broadcast. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ↑ Mahapatra, Tuhin Das (October 19, 2023). "BBC confirms premiere date for Survivor UK revival". Hindustan Times. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- ↑ "Survivor will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ↑ Westbrook, Caroline (October 28, 2023). "Where is Survivor UK filmed? A look at the location of the BBC series". Metro. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ↑ Venn, Lydia (October 27, 2023). "Survivor UK: Where is the reality show filmed?". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ↑ Mensah, Katelyn (October 28, 2023). "Where was Survivor UK 2023 filmed?". Radio Times. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ↑ Scott, Fiona (October 24, 2023). "Mull man beats thousands to win place on TV's new Survivor show". The Oban Times. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ↑ Ravindran, Manori (November 24, 2022). "'Survivor' U.K. Opens Casting for Historic BBC Edition". Variety.
- ↑ Shaw, Neil (November 24, 2022). "You can apply to be on Survivor as reality TV show makes comeback". HullLive.
- ↑ "The tribe has spoken and Joel Dommett is confirmed to host Survivor, lighting a torch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer". www.bbc.co.uk. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ↑ "10 Play: Survivor UK | TV Tonight". October 27, 2023.
- ↑ https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/survivor-uk
- ↑ Reines, Jeff (October 15, 2019). "Cornwall's one-legged surfer Pegleg Bennett in Japan to take on monster typhoon Hagibis waves". Cornwall News. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- 1 2 "Weekly Top 50 Shows". BARB. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ↑ Toner, Aine (November 2, 2023). "Joel Dommett christens Survivor the 'most emotionally draining game on TV' – I'd give Tipping Point that honour". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ↑ Fear, Helen (November 6, 2023). "REVIEW: As a huge Survivor fan, I'm gutted the Beeb has got this series SO wrong". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca (October 28, 2023). "Survivor review – what did these whingeing contestants expect? A lovely trip to Center Parcs?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ↑ Miller, Adam (December 15, 2023). "Fans 'completely hooked' by BBC's 'hidden gem' that's been forgotten". Metro. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ↑ Glover, Patrick (December 16, 2023). "Who won Survivor UK 2023 and took home the £100,000 prize?". Braintree and Whitham Times. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ↑ A Leigh, Janet (November 8, 2023). "Why BBC's big-budget Survivor reboot has been branded a flop". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 16, 2023.