Matthew has won the title of sole survivor on the BBC One reality-competition show where contestants were marooned on a tropical location to outwit, outplay and outlast their rivals.
The 21-year-old hospitality worker from Cumbria said that winning Survivor was the “best moment” of his “entire life” and said he had anticipated being “underestimated” on the show as he was the youngest player.
After 34 days, the game came to a conclusion during Saturday’s episode as the remaining four players: Christopher, Matthew, Hannah and Leilani, competed to be in the final three.
In the episode, the Calena tribe members received tree mail declaring that it was time for their final immunity challenge where they would be in with the chance of securing a spot as a finalist.
During Hand On The Idol, the players stood on narrow pegs while they had one hand on an idol and another on a ring.
The last person standing was Christopher, who after five hours, won individual immunity and a place in the final three.
From that game, the contestants went straight to the tribal council and with three votes, Hannah became the 15th contestant eliminated from the show.
The next day, the remaining three made a statement to the jury about why they should win the title of sole survivor before the final votes were cast.
Matthew emerged victorious and won a prize of £100,000 alongside the title of sole survivor.
Speaking about his win following the game, he said: “I outwitted, outplayed and outlasted 17 other players by playing the social game perfectly.
“I anticipated before the show that I would be underestimated because I was the youngest player, so me being aware of that definitely helped me in the game.”
Discussing the moment host that Joel Dommett announced he was the winner, he added: “When Joel announced me as the winner, that was the best moment of my entire life.
“I was really emotional thinking about how proud my family and friends were going to be.
“I felt like all my hard work had paid off, it was a dream come true. I just wanted to give Joel a massive hug.
“I will always remember that moment it was amazing.”
Speaking about the moment he got home, he said: “My mam, dad and brother picked me up from the train station, I just ran across the platform to see them it was such an emotional moment.
“When we got home we ordered a takeaway and we just talked for hours and hours about everything it was so nice to catch up.
“After the experience of Survivor it made me appreciate everything in my life so much more.
“I went away with some friends as well and I felt like I hadn’t seen them in forever.”
Catch up on Survivor on BBC iPlayer.
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