Enjoyment of Ten’s cat-and-mouse reality series Hunted always requires some suspension of disbelief, as contestants try to evade “hunters” on a 21-day chase around Victoria, despite being trailed by conspicuous camera crews.
CCTV footage, social media log-ins, even the ability to hack into car systems to track the fugitives live – sometimes it feels like the show’s Hunters have every possible advantage at their disposal.
But a bizarre coincidence in the closing minutes of Sunday’s episode of the show was a stretch too far for some viewers, who have accused the show of “jumping the shark.”
However, speaking to news.com.au this morning, Hunted ground crew member Kellie Andrews - who played a pivotal role in the scene - revealed that it was no set-up, and was in fact a case of “absolute s**t luck” for the contestants involved.
Contestants Callum and Ben were on the run in a regional area 50km north of Melbourne. They stopped at a train station in the tiny township of Wandong to consider their options – and asked the only other person waiting at the station, a bearded tradie in hi-vis named Matt, if they could borrow his phone to make a few calls.
Explaining their situation to him, it seemed as though the pair had gotten a lucky break: He very kindly offered to drive them back to his house, where they could hide out and plot their next move (note to those watching: Never follow the stranger to a second location).
As the all-too-trusting Callum and Ben walked into this kind stranger’s house, he hung back outside to make a call to his sister.
… Who just happened to be Kellie Andrews, one of the Hunted ground crew, tasked with driving around Victoria searching for the fugitives.
“You’re never going to guess what just happened to me... you’re not by chance looking for a couple of fugitives, are ya?” he asks her.
Fade to black, as it appears Callum and Ben’s time on the run may soon be up – but the plot twist left viewers with a lot of questions. Coincidence - or massive stitch-up?
Speaking to news.com.au this morning, former police officer Kellie scoffed at viewers’ suggestions the scene was rigged in the Hunters’ favour.
“It can’t be, there's so many gaming laws and restrictions when these people are playing for money,” she revealed.
“The fugitves are from around that area, so that terrain is most likely well-known to them. My brother knows that terrain - it’s his back door - and he came across two fugitives. That’s just how it happened.”
Well, almost. Turns out Kellie’s brother Matt wasn’t innocently waiting for a train.
Rather, he’d finished work for the day and was sitting at Wandong’s only pub, which is directly opposite the station. Spying Callum and Ben on the platform with their camera operator in tow, he realised he might’ve just stumbled on some of the fugitives his sister was tasked with finding - so he went to the train station to listen in, when the boys approached him. A good brother but no friend to fugitives, he lured Callum and Ben back to his house, then called Kellie to dob them in.
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“My brother’s now named as the first Hunter ‘Ghost Agent’,” Andrews said.
“It was absolute s**t luck for the boys.”
Hunted continues 7:30pm tonight on Ten.
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