Turning despair into courage is my new motto,” declares Aidee Walker. And as the actress and director readies herself for weeks of physical and mental challenges, as well as a lack of food and creature comforts, her new mantra should serve her well on Celebrity Treasure Island.
Yet the challenges the star – who found fame as feisty Draska Dosolic on Outrageous Fortune – will face in CTI should be a breeze compared to those she, her fiancé Taylor Wikohika and their five-year-old daughter Te Awaroa have faced in the past few years.
“We lost our house in the August 2021 floods and we’re still not back in,” sighs Aidee, 43. “We’ve moved eight times as a family. We’ve tried to take it in our stride and just get on with it, but it has taken its toll on us.”
Her account of that dreadful night in West Auckland sounds like something straight out of one of her films.
“We had to evacuate in quite a dramatic fashion,” she recalls. “Our daughter and my mother-in-law nearly died that night. If we’d left the house eight minutes later, the water would have swept us away.
“The currents were huge and the water was over my head – it lifted me out of the house. I didn’t realise how bad it was at the time because it was pitch black. We could have been buried under debris and thousands of trees because we lived out in the bush. It was incredibly intense.”
With that traumatic experience now behind her, Aidee agreed to compete on CTI for a chance to win $100,000 for charity.
“I signed up because I would love to raise money for Relief Aid,” she says. “They’re a charity working in Gaza, Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine. If I win, 160,000 Gazans get water or 12,000 Syrians could get shelter, clothing and water.”
Even though the thought adds a lot more pressure to what’s already a stressful situation, not competing on the show and feeling ineffectual at home would be much worse.
“I couldn’t say no because otherwise I’m just on social media, feeling down about the world,” she explains.
With such strong motivation, it’d be natural to assume Aidee’s pre-game preparation was intense. Well, not so much.
“My prep was binge-watching past seasons – and I went for one swim,” she laughs.
Nevertheless, she did pick up a few pointers she’ll be bringing into her game plan.
“I learned strategy is quite important, especially for people like me who aren’t league stars or netball captains,” says Aidee.
“I’ll have to rely on other things. I’m not as super-fit as everyone else. I’ll probably keep going, get myself injured and push through. But I’ll need to think strategically.”
Aidee adds that she’ll have an inner battle raging between her natural competitiveness and her concern for others.
“I’ve got that competitive, sporty vibe, but I’ve also got the mum vibe coming out – I want to look after people,” she smiles.
“But ultimately, it’s fun. I don’t want it to get too serious and for us to all become psychos. I just have to keep reminding myself, ‘We’re here to raise money and awareness for our charities.’”
Aidee admits she’ll miss her morning coffee terribly, but when the pressure builds, she still has one very Zen ace up her sleeve.
“I’m going to rely on my Buddhism heavily,” she tells. “I’ll get up early every morning, go find a little spot and have my Buddhist chanting just to turn the fear into courage. I will be and I am anxious, but in Buddhism, you turn everything into something positive.
“You don’t freak out and go, ‘Oh, my God, that’s a bad feeling.’ You transform it. So that’ll be a little personal goal every day.
“Everyone thinks Buddhism is just meditation and being at peace, but it’s actually about life state.”
It’s a far cry from Outrageous Fortune’s hard-drinking, street-fighting Draska – and while it’s been almost two decades since she played that part, it’s still a role she gets recognised for even now.
Aidee laughs, “I went to a show the other day and people were like, ‘Excuse me, Draska?’ Can you believe it? It’s nearly 20 years. I still feel shocked!”
Celebrity Treasure Island premieres 7.30pm Monday on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.
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