Survivor episode 1 sneak peek: Infamous villain shocks contestants

EXCLUSIVE: We’ve got the first 14 minutes of Survivor episode 1, exclusively on news.com.au — and the contestants are confronted with a nasty surprise straight away.

THE first 14 minutes of episode one of Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, available to watch exclusively on news.com.au today ahead of Wednesday’s season premiere, reveals the show has been hiding an ace up its sleeve.

In all the hype about this year’s ‘notable figures vs. everyday people’ player format, the focus has been on the most admirable figures on the champion side: An Olympian. An astrophysicist. An ex-special forces commando.

Turns out, the ‘Champions’ team is also harbouring arguably the most infamous villain in Survivor history.

Meet Russell D. Hantz, a three-season US Survivor veteran who — as his fedora and waistcoat would suggest — is quite the shady character:

M’lady.

Making his debut on 2009’s Survivor: Samoa, Hantz declared his intentions to create chaos and sow seeds of mistrust among his competitors. A decade later, the oil company owner starts his fourth Survivor stint as a player with a fearsome reputation (despite never having won the game).

Indeed, his Aussie competitors are shocked to see him among their ranks.

“If you don’t know me, you’ve been living under a rock for the last 10 years. I’m the greatest player the world has ever seen, and I’m going to show you Aussies how to play this game. It’s my time to win,” he boasts.

He joins 11 other Champions and 12 Contenders, battling it out in the hope of lasting 50 days in remote Fiji for the chance to win $500,000.

Among the other contestants profiled in the first episode opener: A wounded Afghanistan war vet and double amputee, who was given just a 3-4 per cent chance of surviving his injuries:

This double amputee war vet figures he's “already a Survivor.”

Then there’s former Biggest Loser trainer Steve ‘Commando’ Willis, who seems ready to show the public an edgier side to his personality.

“You’ve got to chop some people’s heads off to rise to the top,” he says, ominously.

And for those of us who tune in to Survivor each year in hopes of a good perve — yes, this season will deliver:

As with every year, there's buffness galore.

Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders premieres 7:30pm Wednesday August 1 on Ten.