It isn’t the first foray into game shows for Hunted fugitive Stathi Vamvoulidis, who won ten thousand dollars on Aussie game show Millionaire Hot Seat last year.
Stathi – who is a refugee case officer – took up the hot seat on the popular game show in May 2021, and while he didn’t take out the top prize of one million dollars, he did take home a pretty respectable 10k, as per So Dramatic!.
The 35-year-old contestant, who is competing on Hunted with his best friend Matthew Bergin has previously worked in the Australian Border Forces Marine Tactical Unit and plans to use his acquired skills to help outrun the show’s hunters and collect a share of the $100,000 prize money.
“I got exposure to surveillance techniques and strategies that’s really required if you’re gonna be on the run,” Stathi said during the July 18th episode of Hunted Australia.
Hunted began in the UK and has spawned six regular seasons and three celebrity seasons. The premise sees a group of ‘fugitives’, who are paired up with a loved one, go on the run. If they are able to avoid authorities – who are real life military and intelligence operatives and have access to high-level technology – for a set amount of time, they win a share of the prize money.
The first season of Hunted Australia launched last Sunday and has already captivated viewers. On Monday, it clocked over one million viewers, beating Beauty and the Geek which only achieved 587,000 viewers. Throughout the week, the new reality show has continued to deliver great ratings for Channel 10.
The show’s chief hunter David Craig is a former agent with the Australian Federal Police who led the investigation into the 2005 Bali bombings. Speaking of the expected reaction to the show, Craig said that he thinks Hunted will open viewers’ eyes to the powers that law enforcement officers have.
Love Film & TV?
Get the latest Film & TV news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“I think a lot of people watching it will go, ‘Oh, this would be easy’,” he said of the fugitives evading capture. “Then when it starts I think they’ll be surprised at the things law enforcement can do to track you and how hard it is actually to cover your tracks.”
Hunted airs from Sunday to Tuesday each week, at 7.30pm, on 10 and 10 Play.
For more on this topic, follow the Film and TV Observer.
