Sam Wallace crowned Celebrity Treasure Island winner

The Hits’ Sam Wallace has taken out the ultimate treasure hunt, joining the elite ranks of Celebrity Treasure Island winners and walking away with over $100,000 for his chosen charity, the Starship Foundation.

The 38-year-old radio personality outplayed 15 other Kiwi celebrities to take home the title. From day one, Sam had his eye on the prize and played a strategic game, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the competitive radio host. When it mattered most, his determination saw him through to the finish.

In a nail-biting end to the game, as the only remaining Kahu team member, Sam went head to head with original Mako members Shane Cameron and Gary Freeman in a treasure hunt to end all treasure hunts. The men were put through a marathon of challenges that pushed them to their physical and mental limits.

It was a closely fought race, and it all came down to the last challenge that saw the finalists navigate their way through a graveyard. Despite Shane holding the majority of the clues, Sam managed to crack the cryptic puzzle leading him straight to the treasure buried behind the winning headstone.

Sam has always been a huge fan of Celebrity Treasure Island and never thought he’d get the chance to compete in the show, let alone win.

Sam says: “I am delighted to come out on top, however not once did I think I would make it this far. I was up against an incredible bunch of people who possess some amazing talents, so to be the one to dig up the treasure makes me wonder whether this was a case of good luck. I am shocked, and so are my friends, family and colleagues, but I gave it everything I’ve got and am super stoked it all paid off.”

In addition to the $100,000 prize, Sam also won $5000 for the Starship Foundation earlier in the series as part of a charity challenge, taking his donation to a total of $105,000 for the charity.

“We came here to try and win money for our charity and because my little nephew was saved by Starship Hospital and the amazing doctors and staff there, winning this money is what it is all about – this is what makes a difference.” adds Sam.

Celebrity Treasure Island has been a hit with viewers, and had a strong performance with an average episode audience of 253,000 viewers, making it one of the top 20 reality shows on TVNZ since its debut.*

The series has also been a popular choice on TVNZ OnDemand with more than 58,000 streams each week. To date, the show has reached over 63,000 viewers and attracted more than 500,000 streams.**

Missed this season of Celebrity Treasure Island – CATCH UP on  TVNZ OnDemand HERE

*Source: Nielsen TAM, all people 5+, period: Aug-Sept 2019, data after 15th Sept is overnights.

**Source: Google Analytics, all people 13+, up to 24th Sept 2019

Congratulations Sam!