He knows he’ll never get the chance, but Jeff Probst would love to play “Survivor” instead of just be the host.
“I would love to try it now that I’ve seen how it changes people’s lives, because you just don’t get that opportunity to test yourself like that,” he said.
He likes both the physical and mental aspects of the game, and thinks he’d make a good contestant because he has a strong point of view and isn’t afraid to express it. But it wouldn’t be fair to play, having been host, he said Saturday.
Eighteen past “Survivor” contestants return for the all-star edition, which premieres Feb. 1 after the Super Bowl on CBS. Two past contestants were invited but didn’t come back, said Mark Burnett, the series’ executive producer.
One, Elisabeth Hasselbeck — formerly Filarski — is now a co-host on ABC’s “The View.” Colleen Haskell from the first show didn’t want to go back.
“She just had enough — just had moved on in her life and genuinely didn’t want to go through that again,” Burnett said.