Commando’s one big regret about doing Australian Survivor

STEVE ‘Commando’ Willis admits he was underprepared for Australian Survivor — and he knows you might think he doesn’t deserve the $500k prize money.

YOU might assume Biggest Loser tough guy Steve ‘Commando’ Willis would be more than prepared to rough it on Australian Survivor.

Think again. The personal trainer and former army commando told news.com.au that he’d underestimated how tough life would be in remote tropical Fiji, competing on Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, which premieres on Ten tonight.

“I was underprepared. You think, tropical island, 25 degrees during the day and at night it might get down to 18 degrees — well, when you’re outside sleeping on the ground without a raging fire, that’s actually quite cold,” he said.

“The slightest breeze can have an effect on how well you sleep. Some of the others took a nice jumper and some trackies — that would have served me well. It gets in your head, and you overlook a lot of the beautiful things happening around you because you’re focused on being cold. You become … quite miserable.”

Willis said it was a “tough decision” agreeing to compete on the show, temporarily waving goodbye to life as a father of four and partner to fellow Biggest Loser trainer Michelle Bridges.

From Biggest Loser to Australian Survivor. Next stop MasterChef? Picture: Nigel Wright.

He’s one of 12 ‘champions’ — notable and often public figures including Olympians, a former Miss Universe, a double amputee war veteran and an infamous three-time contestant from Survivor US — competing against 12 unknowns; the ‘contenders’.

With $500,000 up for grabs, and in a franchise that typically rewards underdog stories, Willis knows what many people will be thinking: Does this successful, well-established celebrity really deserve a shot at half a million dollars?

“I know I’ve been on television before and I’ve been afforded a profile. In the eyes of others, there might be a certain perception about what comes with that.”

“I’ve certainly thought about that. I wasn’t all that sure how far I’d get on the show — I thought, I might only make it three weeks,” he said, choosing his words carefully so as not to reveal how far he actually did make it.

He’s best known to most as the tough-talking Commando Steve from The Biggest Loser.

“But if I make it to that final two, I can only state my case and lay out my character. If they were to award me that money, so be it, but there are 23 other contestants probably thinking the same thing. Anyone who makes it to that final two deserves it, I believe.”

And on a reality show where perception is everything — one common tactic among Survivor contestants is to lie through their teeth about who they are back at home — Willis had anticipated having a tough time, competing against people who most likely already knew him well from his television career.

“Initially I thought it might be a hindrance, and it’d make me an easy target. I assumed they’d all want to see the back of me. But I went in with a game plan to hang back and observe — respond to people rather than react,” he said.

Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders premieres at 7.30pm tonight on Ten.