THE tribes have merged, long-held alliances are being tested and 15 contestants have been voted off the island: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Australian Survivor top 10.

While we mourn the loss of those who went too soon (*cough CRAIG cough*), we thought we’d get Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia to give us the lowdown on the 10 contestants left.

After all, he’s the man who last week told us where the contestants actually go to the toilet, so he’s bound to have some good inside info. Here’s what LaPaglia had to say about each of the remaining contestants:

KYLIE

This uber-positive people person has struggled to make friends

“I always found that a bit puzzling myself. She seems incredibly affable and vivacious — a smart, approachable person. The first time I’m seeing what’s really going on at camp is when I’m watching the shows, and I’ve been surprised to see how much trouble she’s had integrating. Maybe it’s an age thing, or the other girls see her as a threat? Physically, she’s a powerhouse.”

BROOKE AND FLICK

The ‘Mean Girls’ with the super-tight (and super-visible) alliance

“It’s a tricky one — it’s a benefit to have a strong bond with someone to help you through, but the best way to handle that is not to make it public. If it becomes public, it becomes tricky, because other people see it as a threat, and rightly so. They’ve put targets on their backs, in a sense.”

LEE AND SAM

Burliness. Shirtlessness. Mateship.

“Look, the conceit of the show is that every second day you have to vote someone out. As the tribe gets smaller, that gets harder and they all have to turn on each other. I think it’s particularly difficult for guys like Lee and Sam, because mateship is a very, very big part of who they are. It really is the cornerstone of their personalities. Loyalty is everything for these guys, and to turn on your loyal buddy is really difficult. They’ll struggle with that concept.”

SUE

Oldest in the game, but don’t count her out...

“Physically, she’s really strong. They didn’t really labour it in the first half of the show, but initially her tribe was sitting her out of challenges a lot. At some point, they had no choice and had to put her in, and she did incredibly well. I think there was a perception, especially from the younger cast mates, that she was old and therefore wouldn’t be good at the challenges. Really, it’s quite the opposite. She’s really proved her worth.”

MATT

The mentalist who thought he’d be able to control his castmates - but found it was harder than he thought

“His occupation is as a mentalist and a magician, but what he discovered is that it’s actually different in real life! [Those skills] don’t translate to real life so well. Those skills that he has in his occupation don’t serve him as well as he thought they would, which is interesting to watch.”

KRISTIE

On her own planet, but is it all an act?

“She’s genuinely a little eccentric; it’s not an act at all. I think the other contestants weren’t quite sure what to make of her! Like her fishing with Rohan’s underpants? Brilliant, hilarious.”

EL AND JENNAH-LOUISE



Look we’ll be honest we’ve lumped these two together as, 20 episodes in, they haven’t made much of an impact on us

“They’re both really strong players. El is physically very strong and strategically quite cunning. JL is quite well-versed in the show — she’s a full-on student of the show and you see that in the individual game, you’ll see her making some very interesting moves.”

Australian Survivor airs 7:30pm Sunday-Tuesday on Ten.