Previously on The Biggest Loser Commando Steve and Shannan went to the town of Ararat and scared a few kilograms off the residents. And then they trained a few and probably knocked another few off besides.

Tonight the chosen 14 will weigh in for the very first time in front of their friends and families. A new record for heaviest female will be set, apparently. Mary is fairly tall, I guess, so with all that weight stacked on an already large frame the number could be a little scary.

Also there’s going to be some abseiling down a cliff before they can get to the house? I thought climbing the mountain and working out on top was the entry test?

We start the episode with a beautiful sunrise and some lovely bushland. The trainers have the champions on a bushwalk to their next challenge location. Everyone’s still a little tired and sore after yesterday’s epic workout.
But it’s time to prove they’ve got what it takes to get to the house, Shannan says.

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The Biggest Loser is back with its biggest challenge ever. Can Shannan and the lovebirds whip the entire town of Ararat into shape?

Probably not! But this season’s going to be quite a bit different to past seasons so it should be fun to follow along the various journeys.

With a population numbering in the thousands Ararat has been decreed the most overweight in the country and having seen the advertisements it sounds an accurate description.

But let’s get on with the show, eh?

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Natalie Bochenski of the Brisbane Times got to spend a few days at The Biggest Loser Retreat during its first week of operation in 2014. Formerly known as The Golden Door (and doubtless brought about thanks to the success of the show) the fat camp has been rebranded and spruced up a bit.

Full time trainers and other staff are on hand to assist you in getting fit, but it’s still all down to your own motivation to get it done. And probably how much you value the money you spent on attending.

The article is an interesting read, especially if you’d been considering it yourself. You can read it in full here.

Don’t forget The Biggest Loser starts again tonight, 6.30pm on  Channel 10. Recap to appear shortly after the show finishes at 8pm. ;-)

Rather than auditions to just be on the show, which is sort of open to everyone in Ararat, these are auditions to go to some sort of TBL Boot Camp.

Shannan and Commando Steve are doing the interviewing and you can watch online: Clicky link.

A nurse in training, a nurse who has completed her training and the friendly local supermarket manager guy. Nothing too unusual yet. But Ararat’s probably not brimming with unusual folk, is it?

If you scroll to the bottom of the page there’s some other clips available, including another interview with Cameron, the supermarket man and some more teasers for the show.

The interminable wait is over! We finally have an airdate for the next season of The Biggest Loser Australia.

Season 9 of the show, focusing on Ararat, “Australia’s fattest town”, begins January 19th at 6.30pm according to an update this morning to the show’s official Facebook page. See it here.

Shannan, Michelle and Commando Steve are going to tackle transforming an entire town – or at least the portion of the populace who agree to be on TV. The ads they’ve been running have shown a lot of people with extreme weight problems, along with the usual sob stories on how they got that way.

The focus this season seems more on changing lifestyles and shifting the weight of a large number of people, rather than the competitive weightloss of previous seasons. The series was actually filmed in the middle of last year, so it’s unclear why it has taken so long. Perhaps they’ve filmed some proper follow ups this time around, to air as part of a finale episode?

Anyway. Sunday, January 19th. 6.30pm. Channel 10. Are we excited?