Jonathan LaPaglia says he got so sick during Survivor Australia that he thought he had zika virus

JONATHAN LaPaglia battled a zika-like virus and a cyclone while working on Australian Survivor — but an old showbiz mantra kept him going, he reveals.

THE show must go on. That is Jonathan LaPaglia’s mantra when he is hosting Australian Survivor.

The cameras will keep rolling if contestants fall sick on the Channel 10 reality show and it is the same if you’re the host.

LaPaglia, 47, got so ill during filming of this year’s second season, filmed in a remote part of the Pacific island of Samoa, that he thought he had the dreaded zika virus.

But LaPaglia had to keep on keeping on.

Australian Survivor's Jonathan LaPaglia

“It (filming Australian Survivor) is really intense, because it never stops,” LaPaglia says. “There is no such thing as a day off. Once it starts, it keeps on going, even if you are sick.

“Last year, I didn’t get tested, but there was a bunch of us, we got some sort of mosquito borne illness, maybe zika, and we were so sick.

“But we’re not going to stop, you just can’t stop.”

LaPaglia and the rest of the 460 strong crew spent more than two months filming Ten’s show amid soaring temperatures, torrential rain and even a cyclone.

The cast of Australian Survivor season two.

The crew worked with 56 cameras and the 24 contestants ate 140kg of rice and beans during the shoot.

Last year’s series was well received by fans — a sharp contrast to the two lukewarm attempts at the reality TV franchise before that screened on Channels Seven and Nine.

This year the competition for television eyes is fierce and Ten will need all those production values to fire, as Australian Survivor will be up against The Block on Nine, and later Hell’s Kitchen Australia on Seven.

Australian Survivor will go head to head with The Block.

LaPaglia wasn’t the obvious choice to host Australian Survivor, when Channel 10 put out the call in 2015 that they were having another stab at a local version.

LaPaglia was as one of Australia’s most respected actors — most famously for his role on the acclaimed drama The Slap in 2011 but had never had a presenting gig before.

Lilydale's Aimee Stanton is one of the contestants on Australian Survivor.

Ten’s Head of Entertainment and Factual Programs Stephen Tate says that some very high profile Australian television presenters wanted the role, but as soon as they saw LaPaglia’s unique audition tape, they thought they had their man.

“We knew his work as an actor, but not as a host,” Tate said.

“So we asked him if he would test for the role.

“We were going to organise studios for him, and all that kind of stuff, but he just filmed something in his lounge room, and emailed it on the weekend.

“The moment we saw it, we knew the search was over.

“He was just perfect.”

Immunity challenge on Australian Survivor.

Ten admits it was a risk to sign a host with no presenting background. LaPaglia also had to weather the inevitable comparisons with the long-time American host Jeff Probst.

Probst reached out to LaPaglia to say he has his support, and the risk has paid off for Ten.

LaPaglia admits it took him weeks to recover back in Los Angeles after filming last year’s season of Australian Survivor which included a world record six and a half-hour immunity challenge which saw Kristie Bennett defeat Lee Carsledine and El Rowland to grab the $500,000 winner’s prize.

Jonathan LaPaglia, with Jessica Marais in Love Child, was best known as an actor before hosting Australian Survivor.

LaPaglia made sure he prepared for this year’s season. He wanted to be refreshed and hit the ground running.

“I guess I started thinking about it a couple of months before I came out again,” he says.

“For me it’s about getting back in that (hosting) headspace which, last year, was all new to me. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Australian Survivor screens on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night

Originally published as Jonathan LaPaglia says he got so sick during Survivor Australia that he thought he had zika virus