The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles

Host and personalities

Host: Hayley Lewis has returned for her third season as host.

Trainers: Shannan Ponton, Michelle Bridges, Steve Willis ("The Commando") and Tiffiny Hall all trained in the 2011 season have returned in this year (2012)

Game variations

Singles: All contestants this season are single, and feel their weight has held them back from a love life.

Team Division: The contestants are divided into four teams of four by age and gender, with Shannan training the under 30 males, The Commando the over 30 males, Tiffiny the under 30 females and Michelle the over 30 females.

Schedule: For the first three weeks, the show retains its four night a week schedule, but the nights changed to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. However, from the fourth week onwards, a Friday night show was added, consisting of unseen footage and catch-ups with the latest eliminated contestant. From Week 10, the schedule shifts forward by one day, so the week begins being shown on a Sunday instead of a Monday.

The Walk: The Walk returns from its two-year break, and the power of the walk becomes the prize for winning the Contest.

Schedule

Monday: Conclusion of Major Challenge, Weigh In and Elimination

Tuesday: The Contest and the Walk

Wednesday: Conclusion of The Walk and Temptation

Thursday: Conclusion of Temptation and Beginning of Major Challenge

Monday: Conclusion of Major Challenge, Weigh In and Elimination

Tuesday: The Contest and the Walk

Wednesday: Conclusion of The Walk and Temptation

Thursday: Conclusion of Temptation and Beginning of Major Challenge

Friday: Behind the scenes

Sunday: Weigh-in

Monday: The Contest and the Walk

Tuesday: Conclusion of The Walk and Temptation

Wednesday: Conclusion of Temptation and Beginning of Major Challenge

Thursday: Behind the scenes

Contestants

There is slated to be four teams of four, totaling up to 16 contestants.

Weigh-ins

Contestants

Below the Yellow Line

Below the Yellow Line and Week's Biggest Loser

The week's biggest loser

The contestant returned to the competition

Had immunity for the week

LEFT – The contestant left the competition before a weigh-in (by choice or challenge or expulsion)

Gained weight and below the yellow line

Had immunity but lost it due to gaining weight, and below the yellow line

Had immunity and the week's biggest loser

Gained weight at the Surprise Immunity Weigh-In

Won Immunity at the surprise Immunity Weigh-In

Weigh-in for previously eliminated contestants

Last Person Eliminated before finale

Winner (among finalists)

Winner (among eliminated)

BMIs

Healthy Body Mass Index (less than 25.0 BMI)

Overweight Body Mass Index (25.0 – 29.9 BMI)

Obese Class I (30.0 – 34.9 BMI)

Obese Class II Index (35.0 – 39.9 BMI)

Major Challenges

Week 1 – Ferry Pull – In the first challenge, the teams were required to pull an 18-ton ferry 500m down a river using a row boat, at which point they had to unhook the ferry, turn round and row their way back to the start line. The first team to cross the finish line would get a 2 kg advantage at the first weigh-in. Due to injury, Alex could not take part, so was replaced by the Commando. As a result, the other three teams were also given the opportunity to replace one of their team members with their trainer. The winners were the Black team, followed by Red, Blue and White.

Week 2 – Sheep herding – The teams went head-to-head in pairs to pen seven sheep each – young vs old. The winners of each heat went head-to-head in the final round. The winner of the final round won a 2 kg advantage at the weigh-in. As the white team were three members, Ryan, Brenda and Alex from the Blue, Red and Black teams were required to sit out to give the challenge an even playing field. In the first heat, the red team whitewashed the white team, by a score of 6–0 by the twenty-minute time limit. Following two instances of runaway sheep in the second heat, the black team defeated the blue team by a score of 3–1, leaving the over-30s teams to battle for the advantage. In the final, the red team defeated the black team to win the advantage by a score of 7–3.

Week 3 – Valley Stampede – In a change from the previous challenges, There was no prize for coming first – it was all about not coming last. Two people from each team had to take part in a 2 km obstacle course, filled with mud. Whichever team came last got a 2 kg weight disadvantage at the weigh-in. Hamish and Luke, Lisa and Lydia, Simon and Graham and Bek and Kasey respectively were the pairs taking part. For the second time in two weeks, the red team won the challenge, closely followed by the white team. Both Hamish and Graham struggled for their teams, but in the end, it was the black team who finished first.

Week 4 – Hell Hill – As part of Boys vs Girls week, the contestants competed in two teams. They had to climb 60m up a steep hill of sand as a team fifty times in a relay and collect a flag. Each person had to race at least once. The first team to fifty laps won a 2 kg advantage at the weigh-in. After an initially close race, the girls' team were the winners by four laps, taking the 2 kg advantage and a second win in a row against the boys.

Week 5 – Sand and Sea – The teams were faced with a challenge similar to Week 3's – there was no prize for the winners – it was all about not coming last. The four teams had to assign "diggers" and "paddlers", digging up kayaks and paddles which were buried in the sand. They then had to transport the kayaks and paddles 200m across the beach to the other side, where they had to paddle out to buoys which had the weight they had lost over the past four weeks attached to them. The team that came back to the start with the kayaks, paddles and weight lost last received a kilogram penalty for each team member, meaning that the blues faced a 2 kg, the blacks and reds 3 kg and the white team a 4 kg penalty. As both blue team members had received immunity through the contest and temptation respectively, they were already safe at the forthcoming weigh-in. After Hamish uncovered a paddle, the black and white team members began uncovering a paddle and kayak respectively. However, the white team struggled with their communication, with Bek yelling at Selena whilst she was digging, highlighting a rift. The red team then finally began uncovering their kayak, and were the first team to completely get their kayak out of the sand after 75 minutes of digging. The rift between Selena and the rest of the white team deepened, to the point that Selena walked off just to be away from the team, leading to her being comforted by Hayley. The red team then became the first team to get their kayak and paddle to the other side of the beach, with the black team doing the same and being two minutes behind them. The red team quickly obtained their weights, and became the first team to finish with a time of around 2 hours, 15 minutes, followed closely by the black team. As Luke had a fractured metatarsal, he was ruled out of carrying the boat across the beach, leaving it to Hamish, which gave him a revelation. After three and a half hours, the blue team finished, giving the white team a 4 kg disadvantage.

The Contest

Week 1 – None: There was no walk or contest in the first week

Week 2 – Endurance: The teams each picked one champion for the Contest – Shane, Lydia, Luke and Michelle respectively. The contest would be a three-round elimination endurance test. In the first round, champions were required to hold a 3 kg medicine ball above their heads – once one person dropped, the others moved on. After six minutes, this was Lydia. For the second round, the champions held plates with eggs on at arm's length above pieces of tape – like in the first round, the first to drop (Michelle) was out. In the final round, Shane and Luke were required to hold two telephone directories using only the palms of their hands for as long as possible. After 22 minutes, Luke dropped his, leaving Shane as the first Contest winner.

Week 3 – None: Due to the public speaking mini-challenge, there was no walk or contest in the third week.

Week 4 – Super Contest: As part of Boys vs Girls week, the contestants competed as two teams, and chose a champion for each of the three disciplines – Strength, Speed and Endurance. The first team to win two rounds won the power of the Walk. In the first round, Strength, Ryan and Margie had to hold a 20 kg bar on their shoulders whilst their chosen question answerers, Hamish and Lydia, answered nutrition-related questions. For each incorrect answer, 5 kg was added to their bars. The first to drop lost the round. After 40 kg was on his bar, Ryan decided to give up, handing the first round to the girls. For the second round, Luke and Michelle competed to race 10 km on a spin bike. In a close race, it was Michelle who came out on top, winning the Contest and the power of the Walk for the girls.

Week 5 – Strength: This week the contest was held outside the arena. Hayley told the contestants that this was immunity week with not just immunity but a 24hr trip outside camp and there was 3 immunities up for grabs. The contestants were playing as individuals but still as teams at weigh in, they had to transport 1 tonne of bricks from one pallet to another 30 meters away. Throughout it was close between Margie and Luke but Luke won and got immunity and went home for 24hrs.

Week 6 – Endurance: The contest this week took place on the beach. The white team did not take part as they were banished to the bush for a week by the red team in the mini challenge. The contest was for one member of each team to stand on a pole in the water which was getting increasingly narrower in width. Hamish was the first to drop, after over two hours. After three and a half hours, Simon & Margie were required to stand on one leg. After some negotiations of a possible alliance between red and black so that Margie could get rid of Hamish, Simon fell first, giving Margie the power of the Walk.

The Walk

The Walk returns as the prize for winning the weekly Contest, after a two-year break giving "one contestant the ability to totally spin the game on its head."

Week 1 – None: There was no walk or contest in the first week

Week 2 – Shane: For winning the contest, Shane was given the opportunity to take the first walk. Faced with the choice of three boxes, each labelled "Food", "Mystery" or "Training", he picked "Mystery" revealing that an eliminated contestant will be brought back. As it was only Week 2, the only choice for this was Selena.

Week 3 – None: Due to the public speaking mini-challenge, there was no walk or contest in the third week.

Week 4 – Lydia: This week, teams were combined into two, boys and girls. For winning the contest, the girls decided to give Lydia the opportunity to take the walk. Faced with the choice of three boxes, Food, Training or Mystery, Lydia picked Food. It was revealed that Lydia had the option to choose a team to eat green or orange food for the week. Lydia decided to make the boys' team eating only orange food for the entire week.

Week 5 – None: There was no walk as it was immunity week, the walk was not up for grabs in the contest.

Week 6 – Margie: After Margie won the Endurance contest, she was given the same three options as in the previous two walks – Food, Training and Mystery. She picked Mystery, and revealed that it contained a card telling her to exclude one person's weight from their team's weigh-in total. As Hamish was a one-man team, he was excluded from this which got Margie frustrated as wanted Hamish to get the power. She was not required to give a decision until the weigh-in.

Week 7 – Simon: After the Old Dogs won the Contest, they nominated Simon to take the walk. He had the choice of Food, Training or a new option – The Secret. He picked The Secret, which allowed him and his team to nominate one person to find out The Secret. After a battle of Rock, Paper, Scissors, this was Lydia, and she was taken by Hayley to The Bunker, where she became the only contestant to know about it.

Temptations

Week 1 – Wheel of Temptation: The first temptation was a Wheel of Fortune-style wheel with 26 sections, each with either a number or the word "Immunity" on it. If a contestant spun and landed on one of the immunities, they would be the one to win immunity. If they landed on a number, they would have to eat a food with that number of calories. After increasing the number of immunity spaces a number of times, eventually to 13, and reducing the calorie spaces to a maximum of 350, no-one took the temptation, so no-one won immunity.

Week 2 – The Vault: Each person was left in a room dubbed "Food Heaven" – containing tempting foods from their past – for five minutes. The person who ate the most calories – with items ranging from 50 cal. upwards – won the temptation and $30,000 in gold bullion. Only two people played – Lisa ate a 70 cal. Freddo bar. However, that was not enough to beat James, who decided to take two colas, a 500 cal. cheese platter and some chocolate, totalling 960 calories. However, the money forms a part of the winner's prize fund and in order to take the money, he must leave the competition forever. If he does not take the money, his prize becomes immunity.

Week 3 – 12-Hour Lockdown: Each team was locked in their bedrooms for twelve hours, with their rooms being stocked with a great deal of their personal vices, including meat pies, sausage rolls and drinks. The team which consumed the highest amount of calories in twelve hours won the biggest prize in the Biggest Loser – team immunity. For the first time ever, the trainers got an insight into their teams using the means of The Bunker, which was introduced in the previous day's episode. After the twelve hours were up, the teams met to discover who had won. Neither the Black, White or Red teams decided to consume anything in the twelve hours, which left the Blue Team, who consumed a total of 2,745 calories, as the winners of team immunity.

Week 4 – Silver Spoon: This week, even though there was 2 teams, everyone was playing for themselves. Playing for Immunity and a nights stay with a contestant of their choice in a luxury cottage. Similar to temptations from other series, this time, the lounge was turned into a fine dining restaurant. In each round, 2 players will step up and will be served five star food made a famous chef. When Hayley rings a bell, the players have one minute to grab a silver spoon placed in the middle of the table if they wish. If they grab the spoon then they must eat the food and would stay at the table. If no one played then they would be eliminated and the next two would step up. After Lydia started off in the winners' seat, no-one decided to eat, keeping her there until Hamish was selected. Hamish chose to eat, and defeated three people by eating each meal put in front of him. The penultimate round was between Hamish and Ryan, and both men intended to play. However, Ryan was beaten to the spoon by Hamish, who won the round and, as neither he or Michelle ate, won the immunity and night away from camp, which he took Michelle on.

Eliminations

Week 1 – Selena (3–2): At the elimination, it came down to Hamish from the Blue Team and Selena from the White Team. The Black and Red teams were offered the option following voting to save both and not eliminate anyone, but only if it was a unanimous vote. Both Alex and Graham from the Black team abstained, but everyone else chose to vote (though it is implied that everyone, with the exception of Margie, were going to vote on not sending anyone home). After Margie was the first to choose to vote (for Selena), and Lisa tied it by voting for Hamish and Brenda and Simon respectively continued the trend, Selena's third vote came from Shane. Because she had the lowest percentage of weight loss, there was no need for Lydia's vote to be revealed. After elimination, when the trainers returned, they all told Margie that they never gave up on anyone and the Commando told Margie should start learning the stories of other contestants.

Week 2 – Shane (4–2): After the Black and White teams fell below the yellow line, Shane and Michelle were put up for elimination. Unlike the previous week, the blue and red teams were required to vote this week. After Lydia, Ryan, Lisa and Luke had voted, the vote was left at 2–2. Brenda voted with the rest of her team and voted for Shane as she was closer to Michelle in the house. However, Hamish also voted for the same reason and voted for Shane, eliminating him. As a result of there already being a majority, Margie's vote was not revealed. After the reveal of The Bunker – a secret room where the trainers could spy on their teams – to the trainers, they were shocked to learn it was Shane who was put up by the Black team and eliminated, as he was the only physically fit member of his team.

Week 3 – Brenda (4–2) : For the first time, the red team were below the yellow line along with the black team. The difference was only 0.01% between the bottom two teams. All the members from the blue team decided to eliminate Brenda, stating that the red team are the biggest threat in the game. The white team voted to eliminate Alex, except for Bek who voted for Brenda. After elimination, it was revealed that there was a female alliance (red and white teams), which had broken down after Brenda's departure.

Week 4 – Ryan (4–0): After the boys lost the weigh-in, and with Hamish immune, the black team decided to put up Graham who had the lowest percentage weight loss, and initially Luke, who had the lowest for the blues. However, Ryan felt guilty that Luke would be up instead of him, and put himself up. Due to the perception that he did not work hard enough initially, he was then sent home unanimously.

Controversy

Originally, there was controversy that they had made a series with part of the focus being on fixing up some couples together. There was also controversy after James, a 22-year-old who works at a service station, took $30 000 over his position in the game and immunity. James explained it was due mainly, if not solely, to financial issues. However, the majority of controversy has been from an expulsion from the camp. After Week 5's challenge, the contestants decided to have a party outside their bedrooms in the sleeping area when Luke (under 30s male) supplied alcohol for the other contestants. After he had drunk a lot, he began to become rowdy and stumbling around and slurring his speech. As a result of his behaviour, Shannan, his trainer, sent him home to see professional help. Luke is allowed to return for the finale, but is ineligible to win the end money or prize and is also not able to win the eliminated contestants award, leaving 20-year-old Hamish as the last remaining blue team member.

Ratings

This season, ratings have dropped considerably low compared to other seasons, with viewers averaging 750,000, and having not being able to score about one million viewers.