CTI Special: Portia Woodman

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Harrison Keefe (0:57)

This is The Ash London Show podcast.

SPEAKER_2 (1:00)

Celebrity Treasure Island special hosted by Harrison Keefe.

Harrison Keefe (1:05)

Kia ora and welcome to a special Treasure Island episode of The Ash London Show podcast. There's no Ash, no Yas today, just me, Harrison Keefe, a Celebrity Treasure Island Season 7 contestant sitting alongside another contestant who has just been eliminated from the show.

Here to talk about the time of the show is a competitive spirit with a heart of gold. It's the world's greatest ever rugby player ever, Portia Woodman!

Portia Woodman (1:29)

What up?

Harrison Keefe (1:32)

Portia, how's it going? Big night last night, how are you feeling today?

Portia Woodman (1:38)

Yeah, today's been a bit harder. Obviously, I've had a whole heap of whānau message me. They're really upset, they're gutted, but what we get back was, we're brought back every emotion possible.

Harrison Keefe (1:52)

Yeah, I want to say you're, from watching you from Team Kaewi, because we like, we'll be honest, we haven't really talked before. Like, we didn't really talk, we were separated. I got kicked off before I even got to really have any connection with you. To my point of view on you was you're an emotional person. You all got hard on your sleeve, because you were kaihoto, so you made big calls, but then you'd make big calls, you'd stand up and you'd sit down, then you'd start crying. And I was like, oh no!

What's up with this?

Portia Woodman (2:23)

I know, and I think because people think, I'm a rugby player and I have this persona that's on the field, like an absolute beast. But everyone who knows me, really knows me, knows I'm actually a big softie. So I wear my emotions on my sleeve, I cry at any chance possible. And I'm not a person that will stand up and go, you're doing this and you're doing that. That is so against every grain in my body. So to come in and be kind to, and that first day when I had to put someone up and it was poor Sammy, like that was gut wrenching for me. And so to be in that position, putting people up for elimination, it was just really, really hard. And it's just not something that I like to do. So crying, yeah, the whole country knows I'm a big tongue-in-wit for now. Great.

Harrison Keefe (3:14)

Well, mate, I cried every single elimination too, so I think we're in the same boat. What was your first reaction when you got the call up for Treasure Island? Were you keen? Have you turned it down before? How did that go for you?

Portia Woodman (3:28)

Yeah, I guess when I first got asked, I was like, man, that's, it sounded really cool. I was like, yeah, yeah, sweet. And then as I started talking to my agent, he was just kind of explaining how things go. And I was like, ooh, ooh, is this really something that I can do? You know, like, I spend my whole career trying to work as a team.

Like, you're pumping everyone up, you're getting everyone together, and you're trying to achieve some amazing things together. And then this was like a different concept, a different idea of that. Like, yes, you're a team to start off with, but then there's eliminations and then you're fighting for your charity. And so it was quite hard to come to the conclusion that yes, I'll do it. And even just the thought of reality TV, you know, you have no idea what that even entails. You know, like being on camera from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and being asked questions constantly.

And I think what got me was like trying to live up to your own values and persona, but being on live TV and you're being asked, who's the threat in kahu? And you're like, oh, I don't know, that's not how I do things at all. Well, it was just really interesting. So ultimately what got me on the show was just an amazing challenge, an opportunity to meet some really, really cool people and just to have a crack. And I think that's how I've kind of done everything is, if there's an opportunity presented to me, oh, you just take it and run with it and see how far you go. And yeah, extremely grateful that I did. I don't know, it was hard, but some amazing moments, met some amazing people. And the worst part was not being able to connect with you guys. Like, you know, that ice core, you don't have to shut up and not say a thing. That sucked. Because I just want to talk to people. You know, you see these people on TV or their personalities on social media, and I just want to connect with them, but you can't. So that was the hard part.