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It just goes to show a compelling back story will get votes and Michael Stangel was the first person through on Team Joel, with Lyric McFarland and Danny Ross having to sing off. Danny had a minor microphone malfunction and recovered well.

Joel said Lyric has one of the best voices that had heard on this show and he knew that she would have a career and then he selected Danny. It must have hurt Lyric because she did the best performance on showdown night on her team.

On Team Delta it was no surprise that Celia Davy cruised through, and it was left to Ben Goldstein and Tim Morrison to sing off for the last spot. Even though Tim’s vocals were a tad dodgy she selected him.

On Team Seal Mitchell Anderson won the popular vote and Jac Stone and Shawne Kirk had to sing it out for the last spot. All the judges thought Seal should pick Shawne but he surprisingly picked Jac.

It was much tougher on Team Ricky. After Luke Kennedy was through on the audience vote Emma Pask and Caterina Torres both gave a stand out performance. In the end Ricky plumped for Caterina, however h told Emma he would see her in the studio. Also she can console herself that her self funded album was number one on iTunes.

Did you think the Coaches made the right selections for the live shows?

Andrea Boehlke was an exciting to watch and she played a strong strategic game  on Survivor Caramoan. It would have been interesting to see how it would have panned out if Special Agent Phillip had not been voted out of the game.

We discussed Erik, being blindsided and playing a hard strategic game.

Reality Ravings: You took the whole blindside pretty well considering and in your too camera piece afterwards you said it is always when it is quiet and you think it is all going smoothly something like this happens. So you had no idea that it was going to happen that day. Were people talking to you? Was anyone treating you differently or was it all the same as usual.

Andrea Boehlke: I was so focussed on this blindside of Brenda I thought I was setting up so all day I was watching Brenda out of the corner of my eye to make sure she felt comfortable that’s why they were able to pull it off because my focus was somewhere else.

RR: Whose betrayal hit you the most?

AB: Cochran and Dawn, from day one I was strategising with them it did hurt, however I wanted to take out Brenda and then I wanted to take out one of them. So that is was probably why I was not that upset as I was scheming and they got me out before I could get them out. To this day Cochran, Dawn and I are closest friends.

RR: One of the great things about watching you this season was that you were strategising right from the get go. What was your strategy when you walked into the game. Was it different from the first time you played?

AB: My strategy this time was completely different from the first time. This time I wanted to be aggressive and take control if I could and I was always trying to scheme and always trying to figure out what I was going to do and it was so much fun this time because making decisions is so much more rewarding then following along. My strategy was definitely different but I really enjoyed it.

RR: You had an interesting tribe who was more annoying Special Agent Phillip or Brandon?

AB: [laughs] I would say Phillip is more annoying but Brandon is definitely more unstable. I actually really like Phillip he is a friend of mine but he is hard to deal with and to get to the end with him you could win and he was loyal so that is why I did stick with him.

RR: Did you think once he was eliminated that you were a bit more shakier in getting to the final three or were you still more confident that you were going to get there?

AB: It was tough because I knew I wanted him in my final three. However I reassessed and I talked to Cochran and Dawn and with Phillip gone I still had them and I still had some alliances.

RR: Obviously there is editing in this show and you mentioned to Cochran that you wanted to take Eddie to the final three. What was your rationale with that?

AB: I think what I was trying to do was give Cochran other options and basically tried to tell Cochran I am with you until the end who else do you see besides Dawn. You have to think about who you can beat. So I was trying to tell him that I wanted to be with you, but who else can we take.  I wanted Dawn and Brenda out so I was trying to reason  with him.

RR: Cochran thought if Eddie went to the final three that he would win as he had not done anything to him. Had that crossed your mind that Eddie had made no enemies and his back has been against the wall since day 3 and he was still there could that make win the jury vote.

AB: He really was not making any strategic moves he was hanging on by a thread. He might have got votes from Reynold and maybe Michael Snow. I did not think Eddie would win.

RR: Who was the hottest guy out there? Malcolm, Reynold or Eddie?

AB: [Laughs] That is so funny. I think Eddie is very hot and pretty foxy. They are all very attractive men to hang out with. It was not bad being on an island with those three.

RR: You could have also said Cochran I think Cochran needs his own series on The Bachelor. He would be a cracker.

AB: Cochran is amazing he is one of my really close friends he is adorable.

RR: You and Corinne did not appear to get on even though you were in the same alliance. How did you get on? Did you have an inkling that it was never going to stick between you two?

AB: My thing with Corinne was I saw her going off with Malcolm all the time. In my alliance we were trying not to have these one on one conversations. She was also talking to Malcolm and thought there was something up there. They had a really close bond and maybe there was something we didn’t know. It turned out they had an idol. It turned out they were trying to flip the game around. I actually really like Corinne. She is funny, she is a great lady but I was nervous that was to sneak in her own plan.

RR: What are you doing post-Survivor? You work in the media? 

AB: I work for Ask Men I do their Daily Brief. It is a bunch of fun and they send me out to press junkets and I get to interview people. I worked on a show called Flip or Flop which just closed and hopefully I have other projects coming up.

RR: You got those jobs after your first time on Survivor?

AB: People were interested and then they realised I had a background in it. I went to school and did acting and communications. I was not a person going on a reality show and then wanting to be an actress. Before this I was training but it helps as you get a following.

RR: Well you are obviously popular. Is Erik deemed to be safe because everyone thinks he is such a non-entity? Is that why he has gotten this far, and he has never had a target on his back at all.

AB: He is not really playing. I would point to a name on a flag and he would vote for them. He would tell me don’t tell me until five minutes before as I don’t want to screw it up and tell the wrong person. So I have no idea what is going on with him and maybe no strategy is a strategy I guess. Something is working and he is still there.

RR: Would you go on another reality TV show and what would it be?

AB: I might just be done with reality TV. I would like to do something where you challenge yourself. I am terrible at travelling but The Amazing Race would be really fun and then there is a show similar to that where you push yourself and go out into the wilderness. Something high pressure and completely exhilerating.

Survivor Caramoan Finale on GO Channel tonight at 8.30pm.

House Rules looks like it could be in trouble when my partner who hates The Block decided he wanted to watch the latest Sky Rise series. As we know a family who watches reality together stays together.

Well not in this little black ducks case we spent over half episode arguing about the stucco ceilings in the old motel.  To be fair my hackles were up when he asked what suburb The Block was in and I could not answer and he said “Shouldn’t you know these things?”. Fair point. For the record The Block – Sky High is in South Melbourne.

So if there are factual errors in the recap apologies.

For the record the was arguing about the asbestos in the ceilings, and also about how the ceiling were a pain in the arse to paint and I doubted it could occur in the 48 hour challenge.

So chances are we will be eagerly awaiting tonight’s episode to see what they actually do with the ceilings. You would have to presume if there is asbestos in the building that they will remove it.

At one stage last night it looked like The Block would be taking a macabre turn where it was staged to appear all the contestants were checking into a motel but a pretty rundown at that. Maybe they thought this was the result of NINE’s recent budget woes.

It must have felt like they were staying in Overlook Hotel from The Shining and it could have turned into a horror reality TV show with the contestants being told they were not on The Block but they just had to make it out alive. A bit like the 1997 sci-fi horror movie The Cube. (see trailer here)

The voice over told us married couple Bec and George were the first to arrive but in reception waiting were another team.

After they had all had a creepy night wondering if they were getting bed bugs they were rewarded with seeing Scott Cam on the roof of the building. Clearly the relief to see another human was great as Trixie gushed “He is such a handsome man”. 

The contestants are:

• Bec and George  from Vic;
• Madi and Jarrod from NSW;
• Alisa and Lysandra from SA;
• Matt and Kim from WA; and 
• Trixie and Johnno from Qld.

Scott just gave them their first challenge. They would be given $10,000 to renovate a bathroom and bedroom. The team that wins will get the penthouse to renovate.

In summary this is what occurred:

• George had a small anxiety attack when he took down a bit of a wall and it revealed water pipes, and Bec calculated the wrong amount of tiles that they required;
• Lysandra and Alisa ignored Scott Cam of course after this they instantly became my favourite team;
• Matt and Kim showed yet again that WA is the home of the hipster but their navigational skills did not have a lot going for them;
• Trixie also had navigational issues as her sat nav was not taking her to the correct location, maybe the Tom Tom was protesting about the overt product placement of having Carpet Court plugged into it. 
• Bec and George brought in the whole of their extended family to help with the labour. Which in my mind was unfair when everyone else was struggling to find tradies at short notice;
• Madi managed to get the vanity ahead of Bec and George but it looks like she is the first person to have the ambo called;
• Though Trixie looked like she was the first to be in tears but this could have been residual disappointment that she did not get to spend a night in Crown Casino Hotel. 

The Block – Sky High on NINE at 7.00pm.

What did you think of the first episode.

Seal has come out on Twitter this morning clearly not happy about being called an ego maniac in a Daily Telegraph article that outlined a skirmish between him and Delta.

The article states:

In scenes likely to be sanitised in the editing suite, Goodrem angered the Kiss From A Rose singer when she described Jac Stone’s rendition of Suzanne Vega’s hit single Luka as “too introverted” and “went nowhere”.

While she praised Seal’s song choice, Goodrem cited artist differences with Stone’s performance, adding: “I didn’t feel I could completely engage.”

Goodrem, who was in higher spirits yesterday while having a Mother’s Day high tea with mum Lea, claimed Stone’s obvious Australian accent in parts of the song had been a distraction.

Given his chance to comment Seal asked the crowd to endorse the performance with applause then said to Stone: “that’s the sound of success.”

The emotionally fraught conversation continued during filming for the show’s website, when Goodrem explained she felt Stone had pulled faces and over-emoted.

Getting his own back, Seal snapped: “you do that.”

Quite frankly I think Seal is being a tad sensitive, part of the media’s role is to comment on the show, the Coaches and the performers. In fact it creates interest in it. Celebrities like to manipulate the media to increase their profiles and television shows but when it goes haywire get angry about it.  This twitter outburst along with the alleged skirmish is only going to increase The Voice’s astronomical ratings.

The Voice Australia – Showdown on NINE tonight at 7.30pm.

I have always jokingly said the fastest way to become a reality TV star was to have a sex tape and that is exactly what reality TV agent Gina Rodriguez has advised former Ladette to Lady Australia contestant Skye Harper to do just that.

We see this occur on Head First where film maker Sabour Bradley(who is a hottie) takes Skye on the well worn fame seeking trail.

And this is where Gina comes in who suggests she make a sex tape with one of her clients Jeff Miranda who was a boyfriend of Snooki in Jersey Shore. Personally I think if you are going to make a sex tap you would want it to be with a person of a bit higher profile then that, maybe The Situation?

However Gina clearly puts her money where her mouth as her client Farrah Abrams from Teen Mom has just released a sex tape called “Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom”. New York Daily has the full story on that one and that sex is getting plenty of publicity.

This episode of Head First which will screen on ABC2 on May 8 at 9.30pm.

Here is the blurb from the press release as the episode will also have Tania Zaetta, Max Markson and Octomum on it:

In an age when celebrity is more likely to come from infamy than talent, what does an ordinary person have to do to become famous? Sabour decides to find out by following a young fame wannabe from Brisbane, Skye Harper, in her struggle up the celebrity ladder. 

He also hooks up with comeback queen Tania Zaetta as she attempts to re-build her shattered career in Australia with new manager Andrew Taylor, who books her shopping centre gigs as an MC for Kim Kardashian.

When Skye starts experiencing failure after failure at auditions around town she asks Sabour if he will be her manager and he says ‘yes’. Not wanting to muck around, he takes her to a fateful meeting with celebrity agent Max Markson who says they need to create a ‘breakthrough media moment’ for Skye and urges them to head straight to the fame capital of the world; LA.

After missing her flight and nearly jeopardising the trip, Skye takes a meeting with entertainment manager Gina Rodriguez (who represents reality stars like the Octomum) and the fun begins. Gina offers Skye a chance to create a ‘media moment’ with one of her clients, Jeff Miranda (formerly Snooki’s boyfriend from Jersey Shore) but her favoured method is a leaked sex tape.

For Gina, it’s a straightforward business proposition she’s used many times before. But for Skye and Sabour it’s a shocking development that neither of them expected. Sabour wrangles Gina into starting with something smaller for his client (a date with Jeff Miranda in New York) but before they fly off to the big Apple, Skye drops a bombshell: she’s changed her mind and is now willing to do anything for fame… even a sex tape with Jeff Miranda.

It’s a decision that sets of a crazy chain of events that includes the Octomum, New York, Red carpet events, a Reality TV School, breakdowns, revelations, makeovers, celebrity journos, paparazzi, and a final fateful meeting with Jeff Miranda that snowballs completely out of control and forces Skye to decide just how far she’s prepared to go for fame.

I think for me this is going to be compulsory viewing.