Ross Clarke-Jones regrets Survivor experience as court battle against the show heats up
Big wave surfer Ross Clarke-Jones has revealed the impact of a horror injury he sustained on Survivor Australia, saying he wishes he never participated in the hit TV show as his court case against the show’s producer continues.
Fiona Byrne
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Big wave surfer Ross Clarke-Jones has opened up about the horror ankle injury he sustained while filming Australian Survivor over which he is suing the producers of the hit show.
Based on Phillip Island, Clarke-Jones believed he could win the $500,000 first prize at the time a rope swing broke during an immunity challenge sending him crashing to the ground with his ankle taking his full 90kg body weight.
He revealed he wished he had never signed up for the show and has not been able to surf since the incident in May last year.
“It (Survivor) was once in a lifetime thing and I’ll f*cking never do it again and I wish I never did it actually,” Clarke-Jones told the Late Drop: The Big Wave Podcast.
“The experience was amazing but what has happened to my leg and my life and my career.
“I was doing so well. I was sitting pretty. I had the boys, I had the girls, I was in there with everyone, I did not have any enemies. I thought, ‘f*ck, I have got this, I am going to win this f*ucken easily.’
“Don’t talk too much, you just have to sit in the middle. You don’t win too many (challenges) and then that happened.”
He said of the injury: “I have never in my life experienced pain like that. Then it got worse.
“I haven’t surfed since. I got so depressed.
“June 17 this year I tried to ride six waves on the tow board and my leg felt like a rubber thing, like foreign.”
Clarke-Jones, 54, is suing Endemol Shine Australia, which produces Australian Survivor for Channel 10, claiming damages, loss of past and future earnings, and medical expenses after he severely injured his ankle during a rope challenge on the show. He also claims he has suffered depression and anxiety as a result of the injury.
The two parties will face off in the Melbourne Supreme Court on August 9, 2021 should mediation not see the dispute settled earlier.
Clarke-Jones, from Phillip Island, was paid $25,000 to take part in the series, called Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders, which was shot in Fiji between April 29 and June 23 last year.
“The plaintiff is and has been since his injury totally incapacitated for his previous employment and claims past loss of earnings and future loss of earnings,” Clarke-Jones’s Statement of Claim read.
“The plaintiff also claims loss of opportunity in relation to competing for the prize money available on Survivor, and other professional big-wave surfing related events, awards and business opportunities.”
It is claimed the incident was caused by the negligence and/or breach of duty of Endemol Shine Australia Pty Ltd.
In a defence filed to the court, Endemol Shine Australia has denied “each and every allegation” that the injury was caused by negligence and/or breach of duty.
Clarke-Jones is represented by Lee Flanagan at Arnold Thomas & Becker.