It’s the show that’s kept the whole country glued to their screens and on the edge of their seat for the past few weeks – The Floor Australia.
One lucky Australian, Hobart-born Patrick Neasey, took home $200,000 cash last night after beating all 80 other contestants for the final spot on the floor.
The structural engineer says he will spend the grand prize on “a dream road trip in northern Canada and Alaska”.
“I’m definitely not spending it straight away. I won’t change my day-to-day spending habits. I’m looking to be sensible with it and make some long-term investments, and hopefully it can help me buy my first property in the future,” he says.
Starting off with his original chosen category of ‘Instruments’, Patrick managed to beat strong competitor MasterChef’s Amina Elshafei in the best-of-three grand finale.
The 33-year-old admits that winning “feels incredible”, saying, “being part of the very first group of contestants — and coming out on top — is something I’m really proud of.”
There was a lot of effort put into his strategy, which isn’t surprising considering his job.
“I put a lot of study into categories like ‘Girl Groups’, ‘History Makers’, and ‘World Leaders’, so to see that pay off is incredibly satisfying,” he says.
“But honestly, the biggest reward isn’t the money — it’s the friendships I made, the memories from the show, and knowing my family and friends are proud of what I achieved,” he adds.
After his big win was announced, Patrick walked down to the floor, knelt down, and kissed it.
In an interview with 9Now, he says he is “very embarrassed about that now, but whatever, I will just have to wear that as part of the prize” (don’t worry, Patrick – we would have also kissed the floor if we’d just won $200,000!).
Host Rodger Corser paid tribute, saying, “though Patrick flew under the radar for many nights, he took his opportunities when it counted”.
“His knowledge and intellect were undeniable, but his strategic game was even stronger; no one was cooler under pressure…so much so that I had to check for a pulse at one stage. A very well-deserved winner!” he says.
How to apply for The Floor Australia season 2
Eureka Productions is now casting for the next season!
According to the casting website, to be eligible, you’ll need to be Australian (although you can either live in Australia, the UK, or Europe), able to travel for up to one week for filming in a European location, and over 18 years old.
Channel Nine’s Andrew Peace, who is the network’s creative director of programming and production, tells New Idea that, when it comes to casting, they search for “a cross-section of people to really represent the Australian public”.
Andrew says the casting team take into consideration a wide variety of ages, genders and jobs when looking at applications.
In terms of categories (which Andrew said made things “complicated” while casting Season 1), they like trivia topics that appeal to different groups of people.
“I would invite everybody to come on board. Let’s get New Idea readers on the floor!” Andrew says.
