Celebrity Treasure Island 2024 first look: Blair Macbeth collapses and Carmel Sepuloni’s alliance revealed
Celebrity Treasure Island is almost back on our screens, and if there is one thing we reckon will sum up this season is this mighty fine line; Don’t hate the player, baby; hate the game.
Announced late last month, this year’s crop of celebrities, from sportspeople to broadcasters to politicians, have landed at Te Whanganui-o-Hei/Cathedral Cove, a remote camp on the Coromandel, where they will compete against each other to win $100,000 for their chosen charity. But while we all came for the mentally and physically gruelling challenges, we will stay for the intense drama this trailer alludes to.
In a sneak peek released by TVNZ today, the theme of this season appears to be “a love story” and sees the stars work together to solve the Romeo and Juliet inspired mystery - or does it?
Hosted by Bree Tomasel and Lance Savali, our 18 celebrities compete in a series of challenges involving ropes, obstacle courses, water-based challenges, and lots and lots of puzzles.
But the adventure and chaos seem too much for some contestants.
In a nearly four-minute teaser trailer, we see Savali screaming for a medic before the camera cuts to a concerning shot of Blair Macbeth aka. Spankie Jackzon, holding his chest.
And that’s not all. Another shot shows a tattooed cast mate who appears to be either Christian Cullen or Vinnie Woolston lying down on the beach injured, and yet another shot of Millen Baird telling us, “She [Michelle Langstone] feels like her shoulders are going to break.”
Why is Woolston or Cullen on the ground? Is Macbeth okay? Will Langstone’s shoulders make it through the season?
We don’t know, but we do know that the only appropriate way for us to react is in the same way Savali appears to be. Crouching down low, covering our faces with our hands to stop our jaw from falling off and secretly whispering, “what the-”
The trailer isn’t all doom and gloom, though. One of the best parts of every season is the iconic duos that come out of it. Savali and Dame Susan Devoy blessed us in 2023, James Mustapic and Tame Iti made us sob last year, and how could we forget Chris Parker and Branley Stent in 2021?
Giving our faves a run for their money this season appears to be Carmel Sepuloni and Macbeth. In a shot from the teaser, the pair can be seen sitting on a couch as the MP announces, “No one double crosses a drag queen and a politician”.
Immediately, we are throwing our fingers up to snap, snap, snap while screaming “slay”.
As for potential rivalries this season, Michelle Langston and Duncan Garner appear to be the number one pick after the actress tells the broadcaster, “Would you like to go down to the beach and think about your life?”
“Excuse me, are you my mother?” Garner hits back, but the star isn’t done.
“Because you’re currently unpopular.”
Oof, sometimes you’ve just got to say yikes and move on. Or, in this case, say yikes and tune into the show with your popcorn and glass of wine.
We’re going to need it to keep up with all the “jiggery poke” that’s going on behind the scenes, according to Suzanne Paul - we can only assume she’s talking about the bare bum strutting up a waterslide and the bizarre rock god.
The next seven days truly can’t come soon enough.
For all the contestants competing this year read our Lifestyle and Entertainment editor Jenni Mortimer’s placing prediction article here.
Celebrity Treasure Island NZ premieres on September 9, TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+
Lillie Rohan is a London-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things reality TV, films and music.