It is the opinion of this masthead that the only thing more thrilling and anxiety-inducing than Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, is the new season of Hunted Australia.
Ten teams of ordinary Australians are about to hit the ground running try evading capture for 21 days from some of the country’s most experienced law enforcement operatives and a chance to win $100,000.
As a Water Cooler exclusive, we sat down with the Chief himself, Dr. David Craig to get the low-down on Season 2.
Plus! As a special treat to Paramount staff, we’ll be sharing the premiere episode with you this Friday, ahead of the show’s premiere on Sunday. Keep an eye on your email for more details!
Firstly, we LOVE this show. We know you were a bit apprehensive about signing onto the show at first. How do you feel now, two seasons in?
Great! I’m very fortunate to have been invited back again to work with the Hunted family. By that I mean not just the highly qualified group of Hunters, I’m also referring to the production and post-production teams; most of which I’ve never even met! How they are able to capture the very essence of a complex intelligence-led police operation and put it into an entertaining format is astounding to me.
Have the fugitives from Season 2 come in too cocky, thinking they know all your tricks?
Some of the fugitives did come into S2 way too cocky. Having said that, some of them also had the skills to back up that attitude. The Hunters have a large bag of tricks – no one knows all of them.
Has there been a moment during either season where you were really caught off guard by a move from one of the fugitives, or can you always predict their moves?
It’s very difficult to predict anyone’s moves when they are on the run – we certainly don’t always get it right. But that’s what makes the competition so challenging.
Your career is pretty mind-blowing, having worked for the AFP, FBI and Scotland Yard, just to name a few. What’s the best part of your job and the most challenging?
I’m very patriotic, I love Australia and our way of life. The best part of my job is being able to make a small contribution toward protecting both. It’s no different from many other professions such as teachers, nurses, paramedics, social and community workers.
On the flipside, the most challenging has been responding to terrorist threats. These people hate, and plan to harm anyone that doesn’t think and believe the same as they do. It’s hard to comprehend that we have people living in Australia today with that very un-Australian mindset. Fortunately, they are a very small minority.
Your roles are very high stress. How do you manage to switch off and relax in the down time? Do you even get down time??
Unfortunately, I’m not very good at switching off. But exercise and family time seems to work!
Have your kids ever managed to sneak out of the house or get up to no-good without your knowledge?
Yes!
