Ardmore native and ‘Survivor’ champion is returning to compete against 19 other winners
Wendell Holland, 35, will again appear on the program, which this season will pit 20 previous Survivor winners against one another in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary.
A Survivor champion who hails from the Philadelphia area is heading back for another round as part of the show’s upcoming 40th season.
Wendell Holland, 35, will again appear on the program, which this season will pit 20 previous Survivor winners against one another in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary. Holland, who was raised in Ardmore and is a graduate of Harriton High School and the University of Pennsylvania, emerged victorious in the show’s 36th season, Survivor: Ghost Island, in 2018.
Holland took home the show’s $1 million grand prize that season, telling Entertainment Tonight that he would “be smart with my money” and “invest it or save it and let it work for me.” Holland founded and serves as the chief designer for locally based custom furniture company Beve Unlimited.
His win was a notable one in Survivor history: It initially featured a tie between the Philly-area native and fellow finalist Domenick Abbate. However, a third finalist, Laurel Johnson of Cherry Hill, cast the tie-breaking vote for Holland, giving him the win.
This time, Holland will compete for a $2 million grand prize, which CBS said is the “biggest prize in reality show history.” Titled Survivor: Winners at War, the upcoming season will pit Holland against such past winners as Sandra Diaz-Twine (2003 and 2010), Tyson Apostol (2009 and 2010), and Sarah Lacina (2017).
Survivor: Winners at War follows a controversial Season 39, during which contestant Dan Spilo was removed from the cast following allegations of offscreen sexual misconduct. Fellow contestant Kellee Kim accused Spilo of touching her inappropriately during the course of the competition. Spilo later issued a statement to People that included an apology in which he said he regretted that “anyone was made to feel uncomfortable by my behavior.”
Winners at War will kick off Survivor’s 40th season at 8 p.m. Feb. 12 with a two-hour premiere on CBS. The full cast list is available on the network’s website.