The One is an Australian television program broadcast by the Seven Network, hosted by Andrew Daddo. The program pits several alleged psychics against one another, participating in trials which challenge their purported abilities in activities such as clairvoyance, telepathy and mediumship to determine who is Australia's "top psychic".
The show was originally created by Fox Studios Australia, who in 2006 contracted Simon Turnbull, President of the Australian Psychics Association, to help create the show. The psychics' abilities are observed by a studio audience or at external locations, and are judged by a two-person panel including Stacey Demarco, a self-described 'metaphysicist', and Richard Saunders, a life member of the Australian Skeptics.
Season 1 of the show (5 episodes) premiered in Australia on Tuesday, 8 July 2008, and ended on 5 August 2008. Season 2 (8 episodes) aired in Australia on the Seven Network, from Wednesday, 5 October 2011, ending on 23 November 2011.
The program was broadcast with closed captions and was rated PG.
Season 1 (2008)
The show was filmed at Fox Studios, Sydney with a production team of David Maher, David Taylor and Lisa Fitzpatrick. The show featured seven contestants, selected from over 1500 applicants.
Contestants Mitchell Coombes – First to be voted off. Rayleen Kable – Second to be voted off and host of a paranormal radio show on the mid-coast of NSW; later starred in the 2014 series Haunting: Australia. Shé D'Montford – Third to be voted off. Jason Betts – Fourth to be voted off. Amanda Roussety – Top Three contestant. Housewife and mother of three, was the only non-professional psychic to appear on the show. Ezio De Angelis – Top Three contestant. A stage medium. Charmaine Wilson – The winner of the inaugural season of The One.
Eliminations were made by the judges each week. On the final episode of The One the winner was chosen by the Australian public, voting via a telephone popularity poll.
Episode 1, broadcast 8 July 2008
Test – "Little Boy Lost". A boy (an actor with his mother and safety officers nearby) is hidden in bushland with contestants given 15 minutes to find him using their claimed psychic abilities. Rayleen Kable failed. Jason Betts succeeded. Mitchell Coombes failed. Amanda Roussety failed. Charmaine Wilson failed. Ezio De Angelis failed. Shé D'Montford succeeded.
The episode also had contestants doing readings to members of the studio audience. Contestants were also asked to predict which three of them would reach the final episode. No contestant was eliminated at the end of this episode.
Episode 2, broadcast 15 July 2008
Test 1 – "Container Search". A dummy bomb is hidden in 1 of 70 large shipping containers at an international port with contestants given 15 minutes to find it using their claimed psychic abilities. All contestants failed to find the dummy bomb.
Test 2 – "Inside the Mind of an Olympian". Contestants tried to glean details about Australian Olympians, using their claimed psychic abilities via holding a personal item belonging to the Olympian (a practice known as psychometry), then face to face. Olympians featured on the episode were Lisa Forrest, Louise Sauvage, Elka Graham, Matt Welsh, Shelley Oates-Wilding, Tatiana Grigorieva and Geoff Huegill.
The episode also had contestants doing readings to members of the studio audience. Mitchell Coombes and Rayleen Kable were eliminated at the end of this episode. Mitchell Coombes' prediction of the final three were Mitchell Coombes, Charmaine Wilson and Ezio De Angelis. Rayleen Kable's prediction of the final three were Rayleen Kable, Ezio De Angelis and Amanda Roussety.
Episode 3, broadcast 22 July 2008
Test 1 – "Where’s Ned?" Contestants search for where the remains of bushranger Ned Kelly were found in the grounds of Old Melbourne Gaol, using their claimed psychic abilities. Charmaine Wilson, Ezio De Angelis and Amanda Roussety came close to the location with Jason Betts and Shé D'Montford at more of a distance.
Test 2 – "Rock 'N' Roll Revelations". Contestants blindfolded themselves and touched an item belonging to famous rock stars. They then used their claimed psychic abilities to describe and possibly name the deceased owner. The items used were a jacket belonging to Michael Hutchence, a sweatband belonging to Freddie Mercury, a guitar belonging to Billy Thorpe, a figurine belonging to John Lennon and a pair of pants belonging to Bon Scott. No contestants named the rock stars in question. Guests on the panel were Ian "Molly" Meldrum and Glenn A. Baker.
The episode also had contestants doing readings to members of the studio audience. Shé D'Montford was eliminated at the end of this episode. Her prediction of the final three were Charmaine Wilson, Rayleen Kable and Shé D'Montford.
Episode 4, broadcast 29 July 2008
Test 1 – "Medical Marvels". Contestants were presented with volunteers who had known medical conditions. They then used their claimed psychic abilities to describe the conditions. Volunteer #1 had a kidney transplant. Volunteer #2 had skin cancer, glaucoma and emphysema. Volunteer #3 had lost her left leg below the knee. Volunteer #4 had suffered a stroke in 2001. Volunteer #5 had suffered 17 broken bones in the past. Contestants mentioned many possible conditions for each volunteer.
Test 2 – "Airport Baggage". Contestants were asked to match an item of baggage to its owner at an airport. All contestants failed to match the baggage to its owner.
Test 3 – "Celebrity YES or NO". Contestants were seated on the one side of a screen while a celebrity was seated on the other side, out of view. The celebrity then pressed a button to indicate when the contestant was right with their questions and statements. Celebrities featured on the episode were Guy Leech, Paul O’Brien, Toni Pearen and Justin Melvey.
The show also had contestants doing readings in the street. Jason Betts was eliminated at the end of this episode. His prediction of the final three were Jason Betts, Ezio De Angelis and Rayleen Kable.
Episode 5, broadcast 5 August 2008
Test 1 – "Where’s Peter Falconio?" Contestants were flown to the location in the Northern Territory near where UK tourist Peter Falconio was murdered in 2001. They then used their claimed psychic abilities to try to find his missing body. All contestants failed to find the body.
The show also had contestants doing readings of members of the studio audience and in the street.
The winner of the series was decided by a phone in poll, with Charmaine Wilson receiving the most votes. Wilson "...couldn't find a boy lost in the woods in episode one, couldn't find a cargo of barrels in a shipping container in episode two, failed to identify the location of Ned Kelly's remains in episode three, couldn't match a piece of luggage with a passenger in episode four, and shed no light on the location of the body of Peter Falconio in episode five." Her prediction of the final three were Charmaine Wilson, Ezio De Angelis and Amanda Roussety. Ezio De Angelis' prediction of the final three were Charmaine Wilson, Shé D'Montford and Ezio De Angelis. Amanda Roussety's prediction of the final three were Mitchell Coombes, Shé D'Montford and Amanda Roussety.
Season 2 (2011) After an absence of over three years, the series returned to air on Channel 7 at 19:30 on 5 October 2011 with Andrew Daddo returning to host it.
The show was filmed at Global Studios, Eveleigh, Australia with a production team of Maxine Gray (Executive Producer) and Maurice Parker (Supervising Producer). It featured ten contestants, selected from over 800 applicants in accordance with an agreement with the Seven Network and the Australian Psychics Association.
Contestants:
Anthony Grzelka - Fifth to be voted off. Debbie Malone - A top three contestant: self-described 'psychic medium'. Greg Riley - Voted by the audience as the winner: self-described 'psychic', hypnotist and therapist. Katrina Cavanough - Sixth to be voted off. Michael Wheeler - Second/third to be voted off. Julie McKenzie - Second/third to be voted off. Maria Elita - Fourth to be voted off. Heidi Hanley - A top three contestant: self-described 'psychic healer', 'empath' and 'intuitive'. Salvatore Trimboli - Seventh to be voted off. Valerie Bradshaw - First to be voted off.
Episode 1, broadcast 5 October 2011
Test “Lost”. Contestants had 15 minutes to locate a helicopter in a pine forest. According to the episode, the area to be searched was the size of 200 football fields. Each had a map and an item belonging to the pilot. Maria Elita, Debbie Malone, Heidi Hanley, Michael Wheeler, Julie McKenzie and Valerie Bradshaw failed. Greg Riley, Anthony Grzelka, Katrina Cavanough and Salvatore Trimboli succeeded.
The episode also had contestants doing readings to members of the studio audience. Contestants were also asked to predict which three of them would reach the final episode. No contestant was eliminated at the end of this episode.
Episode 2, broadcast 12 October 2011
Test 1 - “Speed”. Contestants had seven minutes to find a 'jewel thief' (an actor played the role) amongst passengers on two train carriages, while the train was in motion. Contestants were to glean information about the thief using ‘energies’ picked up from his backpack via 'Psychometry'. They also claimed to invoke 'Remote Viewing' and 'Spirit Guides'. All contestants failed to find the jewel thief.
Test 2 - “Medical Intuitive”. Four volunteers with known medical conditions appeared on stage. “Doug” had his left kidney removed after a bout of cancer. “Sue” picked up a parasite on a trip to Africa (and also was pregnant during the taping of the episode). “Kirstin” lost her leg below the knee after a tumor. “Pavel” had face reconstruction after an accident. The contestants identified many ailments they thought the volunteers might have, but none successfully named the exact condition. This, however, was a matter of some debate between the judges.
Valerie Bradshaw was eliminated at the end of this episode.
Episode 3, broadcast 19 October 2011
Test 1 - “Homicide”. Contestants were taken to a Sydney apartment where, in April 1976, Maureen Klaus was murdered by Kenneth Ballantyne by means of strangulation with the stick of a feather duster. Each contestant was given an unspecified amount of time to wander about the apartment to see if they could glean information on why the murder took place, how Maureen Klaus was killed and where her body was found. Information on the case was provided by retired Detective Inspector John MacGregor of the NSW Police, who watched the contestants on closed-circuit TV. Contestants made many guesses about the crime, some right but most wrong.
Test 2 - “Relationship Challenge”. Four couples were split into two lines, facing each other on the stage. Their positions were random, so the contestants did not know who from one line was coupled with their counterpart in the other line. Contestants were asked to use their claimed psychic powers to match the couples. Julie McKenzie, Michael Wheeler, Anthony Grzelka and Greg Riley failed to match any couple. Maria Elita, Katrina Cavanough, Heidi Hanley and Debbie Malone matched two couples. Salvatore Trimboli matched two couples. The overall results were more or less in line with chance.
Julie McKenzie and Michael Wheeler were eliminated at the end of this episode.
Episode 4, broadcast 26 October 2011