It had spiders, camp boredom, and crying edited out of the show. Rebekah Elmaloglou reflects on her first taste of Reality TV.
When Rebekah Elmaloglou was tasked with placing her head in a box full of spiders she very nearly uttered the words I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Along with heights, it was her worst fear. Yet while it was one she overcame, it was more traumatic in South Africa than what viewers saw.
“They cut out the 10 minutes of me literally sobbing before I did put my head in!” she tells TV Tonight.
“I almost had to call I’m a Celebrity because I honestly didn’t think I could do it. They cut it so quickly together, I look like I’m having a little whinge and then I put my head through. But that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done my life.”
Watching the series, filmed last December, as it broadcasts, from the comfort of home has been mixed emotions. The former Neighbours star gets to see more conversations and exchanges than she was witness to in South Africa.
“Watching it back in hindsight made sense. Things that were said that, I thought ‘Ahh ok, that’s why that happened.’ …. there were a few disappointing moments, but overall, there were a lot of beautiful things that I wasn’t privy to that went on. That was nice and surprising. So it’s a mixed bag of things,” she reveals.
On occasions she feels the edits leaned into storylines more than her recollection of events.
“I saw a bit of that. Like, comments from one scene thrown into another to make the drama more. Yeah, absolutely. There were times when I was watching it back, I was like, ‘I don’t remember that person saying, that to them.’ But look, that’s the beauty of Reality TV, and that’s where the producers are very clever, and they edit it together,” she observes.
“You’ve got to remember we’re filmed 24/7 for 24 days or something. There’s so much that you don’t see so of course, in the edits, they’re going to grab stuff and make it look like it’s worse than it kind of was.”
I’m a Celebrity also marks her first reality series, having decline previous approaches due to her availability.
“They had asked me for a couple of years if I was interested to do it, but I wasn’t able to do it for my Neighbours commitment. I think it was actually in June where they asked and we started negotiating with them…….. so many friends had done it, so I thought I’d hop on and see what all the fuss was about,” she continues.
“I’m stoked to get as far as I did. Honestly, it was so hard. It was so full on, it was huge. I’m pretty chuffed. I’m pretty chuffed to get as far as I did. And look, I’m a bit bummed out that I didn’t win my charity $100,000 but, Channel 10 have made a generous donation, and that’s great. I now have a really good relationship with SANE, Australia so that’s awesome.”
Elmaloglou concedes she does not know how much the network donated on her behalf.
“No, I actually don’t know. I haven’t asked them.”
One of the biggest challenges she faced was the sheer boredom of camplife.
“So boring! I would get so bored that I’d start reading the first aid kit, the labels on my clothes, the laundry instructions,” she recalls.
“But it was tricky because if you were sent out on a trial, that was kind of exciting, because at least you weren’t stuck back at the camp all day. If you were chosen to do a trial, it was really scary, because you wouldn’t know what you’re up for and you’d also have the responsibility of getting all the stars for your camp. So either way it was, it was a pretty tough one.”
She also bonded with former MAFS participant Cyrell Paule, sometimes the pair were a united force, often at odds with the wider group .
“Look, we’re two little peas in a pod …we’re not the only straight shooters, but we say what we think. And also we’re little fighters. She had my back throughout that whole experience in the jungle, and I will never forget that. And she really is a truth-sayer. She says what she thinks. She’s not hiding anything. She’s not putting on a show for anyone. And what you see is what you get,” she suggests.
“She was so fantastic when it came to the trials. You might have to give her a bit of a stern talking to, but once you did, she was off and running and and did amazingly. Towards the end, I feel like it was just the two of us. We had each other, and I’ll never forget that. But we’re like chalk and cheese. You’ve never met two very different people, but there was something that we bonded over. Maybe it was the elephant’s graveyard.”
Did she feel Cyrell had been cast for conflict, to provide some camp drama?
“She certainly wasn’t going around creating drama. But when she saw something that was unfair and unjust, she stood up for not only herself, but for me. I will never forget that. And she certainly loves the drama. Let’s not take that away from her. She thrives on it and she’s the first to admit it. She loves to be the villain, you know, but as long as it’s fair.”
While Cyrell was sobbing at the first trial of snakes, Elmaloglou gives her credit for facing the dreaded Viper Room.
“For her to go on and do the Viper Room, which I have to say, is probably the worst trial of I’m A Celeb history, both her and Concetta were incredible.”
Elmaloglou finished a long run on Neighbours mid year, and remains pragmatic about the show’s status, whilst acknowledging the love of fans, particularly in the UK.
“The fan groups are still going strong, and there’s still so much hope out there. I think Jason (Herbison, producer) is probably going to leave it be for a while. I think he needs a break. I think everyone needs a break. I don’t know. I think it may be finished this time round. But the fan groups are still going.”
Now with her first Reality project completed, she is hoping for new opportunities.
“I’m hoping this bloody show opens up doors for work for me, not just acting, but all sorts of other things, like presenting,” she reveals.
“I’d like a job on Luxury Escapes or to host maybe a reality show, the voice of a crime show I love, I love all those sort of shows. And I want to do skit comedy. I did a cameo on a Troy Kinne pilot recently, and I’m actually about to throw that on my show reel.
“As I’m a bit older, I’m more open to things and obviously I can’t rely on acting work, because there’s not a hell of a lot of it, especially for women my age.”
I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here concludes 7pm Sunday on 10.