They are called Teheiura, Claude, Jessica, Sara and Moussa… The five of them combine 258 days (more than nine months) of survival on almost deserted islands. And the meters are likely to explode after the broadcast of season 24 of "Koh-Lanta" (which begins this evening at 9:05 pm on TF 1), where they are confronted with 14 new shipwrecked people in the Kadavu archipelago, to the south western Fiji. With the desire to achieve their first victory, these emblematic candidates are forever marked by the adventure game.
Moussa (2003 and 2012): " Koh-Lanta was my therapy"
“Koh-Lanta, it changes a person. It was my therapy, says Moussa, who already participated in the program in 2003 and 2012. Everyone comes with their demons. We let go, we live the thing 100%. And in the end, we do real work on ourselves. Me, it allowed me to calm down. Each time he returned to reality, this 37-year-old sportsman appreciated "the smallest pleasure in life". The game played a “direct” role in his double title of world champion of Chinese boxing: “It gave me the aggressiveness, the desire to go to the end. "
But he was also beaten. "When I freaked out with Maud ( Editor's note: candidate in 2012 ), I received racist messages on social networks," he laments. More unusual, he had a proposal to play in a short film. "I was not ready. But today, if Spielberg calls me, I go for it! In the meantime, he is the head of an event box. "I take care of releases of urban albums, like those of Booba or Vegedream," he says. And with his Kelanight Music label, he produced DJ Leska, "more than 200 million views on YouTube". “But with them, we talk about music, not Koh-Lanta. "
Sara (2012 and 2014): "Since my adventure, I have avoided food waste"
In order not to compromise her chances of being recalled by the program, Sara, 50, refused the € 20,000 stamp from the production of "Angels of reality TV" on NRJ 12. "They harassed me after my first participation in 2012, but I wanted to do Koh-Lanta too much ”, insists this manager of a sports club near Saint-Tropez (Var). Since her adventure in Malaysia, Sara has changed her habits: “I avoid any food waste. A grain of rice is a grain of rice. "
But "Koh-Lanta" is more than that. “When Adventure Line Productions called me the first time, it was a day after sending out 80 invitations to my wedding. I had to postpone everything, she laughs eight years later. And during my honeymoon, Denis Brogniart, whom my husband ended up hating, asked me to do Ninja Warrior. "
For her third participation in the game, she also had to plant her partner in the middle of their "twelve days of annual vacation". With one idea in mind: make people forget the image that people have kept of it. "They only talk to me about my expression. There is no fatigue whatsoever and my pumps, when I am the first woman to have fired! Annoys the dean of the ancients.
Claude (2010 and 2012): "I climbed Kilimanjaro"
For Claude, who won the most events (11 in total), the flagship program of TF 1 had a different impact. His "little reputation", for example, offered him "facilities at customs or in stores". He also kept in touch with other Koh-Lantiens, including six with whom he climbed Kilimanjaro last year.
Jessica (2015): "The show shattered my routine"
In terms of work, Jessica recognizes that it doesn't necessarily help to include "Koh-Lanta" in her CV. To go from host to sleep apnea technician, she especially did not mention her TV journey. "It impresses," says the 35-year-old sportswoman. Some may think that we are going to ask for a big salary. "Once the 2015 edition was broadcast, that didn't stop her from riding the wave:" This show shattered my routine. She was first asked to parade at the wedding fair, allowing her to "pay (her) wedding rings." This fan of body-building then participated in the Alizés raid in Martinique "without paying a single penny". On Facebook, we saw her promoting the Seven club in Brie-Comte-Robert (Seine-et-Marne) for the arrival of R'n'B singer Alex Tony. Her latest proposal: to represent a brand of motorcycle equipment, of which she is a follower. "Besides, if Denis Brogniart is looking for a columnist on Automoto ..." she slips.
Teheiura (2011, 2012 and 2014): "I bought myself a food truck"
Teheiura, selected four times by the production of the game, would like his experience as an adventurer to be used for another show as well. Cooking this time, his specialty. “Why not Objectif Top Chef? He hopes. His three previous participations in "Koh-Lanta" enabled him to "resign" from a restaurant in Burgundy, "to generate a little money" and to buy a food truck. "As I have my photo on the truck, I am honking my horn on the roads," laughs this father.
He is counting on the new season to "boost" his image. His goal: to open his own Polynesian restaurant, his roots.