In Sunday evening's penultimate episode of Survivor SA the Good Doctor
Gareth Tjasink was whammied out of the show when he suffered a coma inducing blindsiding after
Mzi and
Vanessa returned as ghosts.
By Wednesday morning he still hadn't come round and was lying on the beach just outside Tribal Council, decked out in his Archers Aqua baggies.
Determined to speak to him I put on a nurse's outfit, went running across the beach in slow mo, gave him some humdinging mouth-to-mouth ressusci-whatsit and next moment, he came alive.
Tashi: You've survived?
Gareth: A bit, ja.
Tashi: Did you get to a point where your mind just wasn't ready for what happened to you?
Gareth: In a game like Survivor you try as much as you can you plan ahead for the future. We'd rationed food for three people, we'd worked out how many days we had left, we were under the impression that it was going to be the final challenge.
When the extra players arrived we suddenly realised that we didn't have enough food and we knew there was going to be a couple more days in the game 'cos they couldn't get rid of everybody in one go. It threw me for a six.
Tashi: But didn't you all know how long the whole thing was?
Gareth: It was advertised as 27 days on an island and it ended up being 29 so when were counting down days and thought there was one day left.
Tashi: I've always thought you knew it was 29 days and haven't been able to understand why you weren't suspicious.
Gareth: No, I might be incorrect but I was under the impression it was 27 the whole time.
Tashi: What about the fact that the jury never arrived - didn't you question that?
Gareth: We had many theories on that. It was a major topic of discussion for a long time. We thought they were hidden. The Tribal Council set had many little aspects to it that we couldn't see that were hidden by a camouflage. We thought they were there and that there was some twist that everybody was going to be the jury. We had many theories.
Tashi: What did you think of the Dead Man's Island twist? Espesh with it having such huge impact on you?
Gareth: No matter what you say you're gonna come across as being a bitter loser. I would have preferred it wasn't there but it made for interesting viewing. It didn't play well for me clearly but, you know.
Tashi: If you were watching and not in it, how would you feel about it?
Gareth: I would probably think it was a nice interesting twist to keep it interesting up to the end.
Tashi: Can you please explain what you were doing at Tribal Council with your voting. Why did you vote for Zayn??
Gareth: I was having a bit of a hypoglycemic episode or something. When I was there it made perfect sense. Now, looking back on it, it's very difficult to explain.
Mzi and Vanessa weren't going that night. Zayn made it perfectly clear that he wasn't voting for either of them so I knew they were going to be staying and that if I voted for either of them it wouldn't bode well for me in the future.
If I voted for Jacinda I'd have been breaking a promise I made to her and technically I was under the impression that Jacinda was leaving anyway. I asked Zayn early on in the game if he'd be okay with it if I needed to throw away a vote and put his name down - knowing full well he wasn't at any risk - and he indicated it wouldn't be a huge issue.
It was a wuss-out from me. One of those votes I didn't want to be held accountable for.
If it had gone my way and Jacinda was voted out I would have explained to Zayn, but it didn't.
Tashi: Yes, when you voted you said you hoped Zayn was doing the same thing to you - but you didn't discuss it with him at all.
Gareth: No. In the last couple of minutes as everything turned I realised that I was going. I didn't know what to do or how to change things.
I just looked at the jury and their reaction towards me – they made no eye contact and took no initiative to look at me or say hello and I thought: “These people are supposed to vote for me for a million bucks and the people sitting next me who I'm supposed to try to get off also have to vote for me for a million bucks - where do I stand?”
Tashi: That really highlights that the people who were on Dead Man's Island have an extra advantage now.
Gareth: Everyone feels sorry for them. Not only that but they also all went through something very intense together and managed to deal with it.
Tashi: Zayn and all his claims about being so loyal to you blah blah - by refusing to target either Vanessa or Mzi he wasn't being loyal at all was he? Sure he thought Jacinda was gonna go, but still - you can't have alliances with two big factions.
Gareth: I think we were all quite naïve. I would definitely play differently if I did it again. Zayn played it as honestly as he could with his full-on value system.
You have to play a game well and with sportsmanship but there's also a time when you actually have to play it hard and you shouldn't have to apologise for that.
I think this is where Jacinda's got a nice balance. The aim of the game is to get as far as you can and if you have to step on people's toes to get there, that's what it was designed for.
Tashi: So were you livid with her?
Gareth: Look, I was completely blindsided. When I saw Sunday's episode and saw that they'd planned it ahead of time … my whole thing throughout it was: “So long as people are honest with me, so long as I know the bullets coming, I'll stand up and take it.”
Initially I was pissed off but then I dealt with it and literally you end up looking back it and thinking: “I was going to put her name down. What right do I have to be upset?”
Tashi: What would you do differently if you did it again?
Gareth: Every single episode I've looked at stuff and thought: “How could I have been so … “ I thought too much about how every person would feel about me doing this and that.
I was too concerned about how I'd be portrayed. With the profession I'm in you don't want to be portrayed in a scandalous light. One thing you have as a doctor is your confidentiality and people need to trust you, so if lose that you're a useless doctor. Or they'll think that you'll add on six million investigations to a diagnosis 'cos it's going to make you rich.
Tashi: And you don't want people thinking you enjoy stabbing people. Of course it's entertainment and you shouldn't have to feel this social responsibility beyond the show.
Gareth: Unfortunately you carry the baggage with you a bit. There are some bonuses though - I get my blood test done first and my ex-rays are done quickly and one or two patients ask for an autograph.
Tashi: Did being Archers Aqua impact on how you were perceived by both the Survivors and the audience.
Gareth: Well with the players, I think initially, the fact that I was a white doctor, which is a perceived high earning profession and having done things like Archers Aqua - I think people thought that I was in a nice position so what did I really need the million for?
With the audience, I've had a very lucky relationship with the South African media and the public's been very supportive. I think it's got a lot to do with the way I was portrayed in the Archers Ads.
Tashi: So what would you change if you did it again?
Gareth: I was ambivalent a lot of the time. I thought I could get people out of the game without it ever looking like it was my doing and I would never be held responsible.
A typical example is the Mzi issue. He was the smartest person to get off at that time but I didn't want Mzi to say I was the one who voted him out. I was very happy that it came across as Lezel being responsible.
I rather wanted people to think that I was ambivalent and very torn about the decision I was making but now I see that people have accepted it was just a game. So I would be more steadfast in my decisions if I did it again.
Tashi: What was the most difficult moment?
Gareth: Immediately after my torch was snuffed. I sat there and thought: “Dammit, I really let the ball fall. I just let everything slip out of my fingers at the last minute.”
I thought I'd be relived at the thought of a soft bed and hot shower but it was pretty tasteless.
Tashi: Were Lezel and Brigitte talking to each other yet when you left with them?
Gareth: Their reception was relatively lukewarm.
Tashi: Heh, oh really?
Gareth: We all mellowed out quite a lot after being together on the jury but it's so weird - the pressure system that put yourself in. The not eating and the possibility of changing your and your families' lives with a million bucks - you tend to feel quite pressurised and everybody gets more sensitive than they need to be.
Tashi: So did you hang out together?
Gareth: We sat and had lunch and breakfast together and had 12 pina coladas together, so it wasn't too bad. There's no hard feelings as far as I'm concerned but then again, I might just be naïve.
Tashi: What was the best moment?
Gareth: The challenges. Every single time I won something I was like: “See I'm not a loser!” I hated losing in the beginning. It really, really ate me up.
Tashi: Who've you been watching with?
Gareth: My girlfriend and a couple of friends and my digs mates.
Tashi: What's your girlfriends name? We saw her but they didn't say it.
Gareth: Katharine.
Tashi: Having your chat, it must have weird.
Gareth: With six foot microphones staring at you and three people lying in front of you keeping the water at bay 'cos the waves were coming in. It wasn't the most private of conversations, but I didn't really care.
Tashi: What were you DYING to tell her?
Gareth: There were some things that we said that they didn't show.
Tashi: Tell us one thing.
Gareth: I can't.
Tashi: Was it about other people?
Gareth: No.
Tashi: Was it about sex?
Gareth: I can't say.
Ends with clips of the unseen footage.