Tina Wesson was the first celebrity I interviewed in Knoxville. She had won Survivor: The Australian Outback a year prior and used her fame locally to help various charities. In 2002, she was on the cover of the Shriners’ newspaper, which is a fundraiser for their hospitals. She appeared on my first broadcast to promote the paper sales.
Yesterday, CBS announced that Tina and her daughter Katie Collins are two of the contestants on Survivor: Blood vs. Water, which will begin airing on September 18. The cast consists of ten returning players and their loved ones. The returning players start out on the Galang tribe while the friends and relatives start out on the Tadhana tribe. The show was filmed on Palaui Island in the Philippines.
Some of the other favorite past players on the new season are Rupert Boneham, who is accompanied by his wife, and Gervase Peterson, who is accompanied by his niece. Former contestant Monica Culpepper is accompanied by her husband Brad, a retired NFL player.
