Jonathan Boynton-Lee promises to be all action on the new season of Tropika Island of Treasure
|||Another year, another season of Tropika Island of Treasure and this year it looks like it might be the best yet. We’ve already gathered that TV personality Minnie Dlamini will host the show and to help her will be Top Billing host Jonathan Boynton-Lee, who will be the games master.
“I was approached to present. I heard that Minnie (Dlamini) was the host whom they brought on the show first. They wanted me to be involved somehow. I could not be a contestant because I am too close to the show because they linked us with Top Billing. We didn’t want people to think that if I won it is because of that. The SABC pointed out that I have won Presenter Search and Strictly Come Dancing so they thought I could win this. So they decided to bring me on as a games master. This means I will host all the games that the contestants will be going through,” explained the presenter.
The job will allow him to more or less take part in the activities without the pressure of trying to win like the contestants on the show.
“I will enjoy jumping into the water with them, among other things, and being the slave driver. I will be encouraging them and getting the best out of their abilities,” he said.
Before getting the gig, Boynton-Lee had watched previous seasons of the show so he knows what is expected of him.
“My ex-girlfriend was tight with Reeva (Steenkamp) and she was on the show too and she excelled in all the challenges. If I was games master that season, I would have been more attracted to her at that time. That’s the first time I knew about the show, because at the time she was my girlfriend and I had a crush on her so I watched it because of that. I actually ended up getting hooked on the show because it was that good,” he said.
The show pairs celebrities with regular people who would have won a competition to compete.
“I like that the show pairs celebrities with the chosen consumer contestants and they have to work together. In the first three episodes, we will be showing how the show will choose the consumer contestants and how they end up with the celebrities they have to work with in all the challenges,” said Boynton-Lee.
The celebrities include Zakeeya Patel, Siv Ngesi, Maurice Paige, Karlien van Jaarsveld, EmTee, Anga Makubalo and Jessica Nkosi and Boynton-Lee feels they are a good mix.
“It is a great mix of celebrities on the show, personality-wise and physically. Two of them won Strictly Come Dancing, we have Emtee who is big right now, Maurice Paige and Anga Makubalo are both very competitive,” he said.
So if he were to be on the show as a contestant, what would his strategy be?
“I have won two prime time reality shows and people ask me what my formula is. For me, it is about taking it day by day. People depend too much on strategy. I played the game like I was going home next,” he explained.
Tropika Island of Treasure will be held in the Seychelles. It airs in April on SABC3.