When the reality show called Deal or No Deal Island was announced, there was no way to know it would be one of Peacock’s best shows. However, DONDI has been truly fantastic thanks to the show’s epic blindsides and the fact that it has starred several reality TV legends. For example, DONDI has starred the Survivor Hall of Famer Parvati Shallow, and the charismatic Australian Survivor winner David Genat. After becoming a Big Brother icon and escaping that game to get drunk, Dr. Will Kirby also joined DONDI’s cast.

There have been many DONDI scenes that have made the show a must-see for any reality show fan, including when Dr. Will did something extremely daring. Another incredible scene came when Dr. Will confronted David about his past. Dr Will and David exclusively spoke to TheThings about how that incredibly compelling moment felt for them.

Dr. Will Kirby And David Genat Exclusively Told TheThings About Their Epic Confrontation

When Dr. Will Kirby and David Genat wound up on opposite sides of the game during Deal or No Deal Island, that set up an epic feud. The potential of that feud was reached when Dr. Will confronted David about his reality show past in a moment that was akin to the Clash of the Reality TV Titans.

Before competing on Deal or No Deal Island, David won Australian Survivor: All Stars. However, David didn’t tell almost any of his fellow DONDI competitors that he had a reality TV history. Still. Dr. Will came to believe that David understood reality TV too much to be a first-time player. Amazingly enough, Dr. Will’s suspicious led to him directly asking David if he won Australian Survivor.

In February 2025, TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas spoke with Dr. Will and David about their incredibly compelling confrontation. After getting both men’s perspectives on that moment. that was one of the best scenes in recent reality TV history, TheThings can exclusively report on how that conversation played out.

While talking exclusively to TheThings, Dr. Will explained what it was about David that made him believe his rival was a reality show veteran. “Very quickly I could tell that David was a veteran player. He was laughing at the right jokes. He was flattering all the contestants appropriately. His body language, his demeanor, even the way he was flirting; everything pointed to the fact that he was very, very good at this. Well, now these players will gravitate to people most like themselves, I also noticed that Australian Dave was equally dividing his time among everyone. But, the big giveaway, was in the very first challenge that I participated in. He was one of the first people to grab a suitcase, but then he kind of just meandered around appearing frazzled. It was a dead giveaway that he was purposely trying to slow down his own progress in the game as to not appear to physically dominant. I felt like that was too savvy of a move for a rookie to try to pull off.”

Learning why Dr. Will suspected David was a reality TV winner makes a lot of sense. Still, the fact that Dr. Will specifically asked David if he won Australian Survivor remains shocking. As a result, TheThings asked Dr. Will why he talked to David specifically about Australian Survivor. In response, Dr. Will stated that his Nostradamus-like prediction was a lucky shot.

For clarity’s sake, TheThings also asked Dr. Will to clarify if he actually knew about David’s past or if he really just read his fellow competitor. “When I saw David on the dock as I exited the boat upon my arrival at the Banker’s Island, that was the first time I ever laid eyes on him; I had never heard of him prior.”

Still, given how uncanny Dr. Will’s guess was, it would have been easy to understand if David suspected that he knew more than he was letting on. However, David exclusively told TheThings that based off his ability to read people, David was confident Dr. Will didn’t actually know who he was. “I had only had a few days with Will, but I can read people really well. That’s why I’m so good at these games. I was pretty sure that if Will knew I would either be outed by now or leveraged, and he hadn’t done either, he was just feeling me out and checking my response.”

Still, David admitted that he found it suspicious at the time that Dr. Will specifically asked if he won Australian Survivor. However, David explained that he now recognizes that Dr. Will’s guess made a lot of sense.

“Oh yes. 100% it seemed suspicious, but then in hindsight its one of the biggest shows on Aussie TV, he saw Parvati and I working together, he saw I had TV smarts and not to stereotype myself but I kind of look like I belong on a desert island. The current format of US Survivor is like Diet Coke compared to the Australian version you have to be fit and built to succeed at the challenges and Will knew that.”

While talking exclusively to TheThings, David explained why it would have really damaged his game if Dr. Will began telling the other players about his reality show past. “If I thought he genuinely knew then I would have been very concerned, you can see there is a big theme in the show from some of the players about integrity (lol) and honesty and trust and how important that is on the banker’s island, if it came out I was lying to them about this I was cooked. I was having really deep chats with people about life and career and to leave out seven years of TV would have rubbed them the wrong way, but that’s the risk you run doing undercover work.”

Given what David had on the line if he discovered, it would have been understandable if he felt panicked when Dr. Will confronted him. However, David revealed that he isn’t the type of person that panics when things go awry. David also explained the hilarious thing that was going through his mind when Dr. Will was confronting him.

Dr. Will reiterated that, despite David’s suspicions about him cheating, he didn’t know anything specific about the Australian Survivor winner before the confrontation. “When I confronted David about his suspected reality television competition past, I had absolutely no evidence that he had played before. It was pure speculation on my part based on how balanced his gameplay was.”

David went on to explain that while he was shocked that Dr. Will mentioned Australian Survivor, he was prepared for the possibility of his past being exposed. “I was shocked he picked the right show, but I was ready to be outed. My strategy before the game started was to hide my past, but I thought there was a big chance I would get recognized from a super fan and truth be told I didn’t quite believe Dickson didn’t know who I was due to his extensive reality knowledge, so I had my covers in place. This wasn’t the first time Will had asked me if I had been on other shows but it was the first time he called out Aussie Survivor. “

While talking exclusively to TheThings, David definitively stated that Dr. Will believed his denials about his reality show past.

“Yes. He totally believed my denials, his behavior towards me didn’t change, and when Will is onto someone he looks like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and he never gave that vibe after our confrontation.”

However, according to what Dr. Will told TheThings, David shouldn’t have been so confident since he didn’t fully believe his denials.

“He seemed nervous so I didn’t fully believe him. What you saw on the show was just one time where I was questioning his background, but there were other instances, some off camera, where I continued to interrogate him about his history. He continued to deny it, and I just couldn’t get him to validate my suspicion.”

Deal Or No Deal Island’s Dr. Will Kirby And David Genat Had An Amazing Relationship

When TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas interviewed Dr. Will Kirby and David Genat in February 2025, their hilarious and amazing relationship shone through. For example, when Dr. Will sang David’s praises when he was asked why the Australian Survivor winner stood out to him. “David has the intellectual quotient, the emotional quotient, and the kinetic quotient needed to be an incredibly well-rounded player. He’s also just genuinely a really nice and funny guy. I always give credit when credit is due and he is, undeniably, a world-class competitor.”

Similarly, David revealed how much he appreciated Dr. Will during his TheThings interview. During a DONDI episode, David could be seen saying, “I can’t with this guy. He is the worst person I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s The Will Show. It’s so much. It’s it’s so, so much. I swear to God, it might look funny at all. It’s not. Stop laughing. It’s really funny. He’s really good. Godd*** it.” While reflecting on that moment from the show, David explained how funny he found what Dr. Will was doing. However, David explained that he never would have let on to the other players that he liked Dr. Will’s antics.

“Oh I loved what Will was doing but I was never going to show that to the rest of the cast, I was vilifying him and weaponizing his grander against him so that if the occasion arrived he would be an easy guilt free boot, the real question is going to be if I can actually do that and I guess your going to have to tune in to find out.”

During his TheThings interview, David also revealed that he and Dr. Will even considered being in an alliance together.

“Its not relevant or shown but when Will and I had conversations about a possible alliance he was trying to call us ‘Hard Ice’ and I was pushing very hard to call our alliance the ‘Golden Girls,’ and saying we are so golden and trying to get him to say it. At this point I didn’t realize he had called himself a golden god on BB which would have made that even more insane, but I think he even forgot he did that it was so long ago. I don’t think there is a plastic surgery procedure to improve aging memory.”

Based on their confrontation and the things they had to say about each other, Dr. Will and David are great together.