The second season of the Australian version of The Mole originally aired from 21 February 2001 to 25 April 2001. It took place in Victoria and was hosted by Grant Bowler.

Details Unlike other seasons of The Mole, this season began with sixteen players, who were whittled down to ten in a qualification round, which was referred to as the "last step" in the audition process.

The maximum prize amount in this season was $200,000. Filming took place throughout November and December in late 2000. More than 5,000 people auditioned to be on the show.

PlayerAgeHometownOccupationOutcomeChristopher "Chris" Zeiher26South AustraliaRetail Manager15th-10th placeMike Shepherd61QueenslandStudentTerri Sharp39Western AustraliaPharmacy AssistantMichael BrownN/ANatalie McCayN/AJessica Hardy23New South WalesReceptionistHelen Nation54New South WalesOpal Miner9th PlaceJohn Edwards50New South WalesPlumber8th PlaceAngela Linforth31Western AustraliaBeauty Therapist7th PlaceFiona White-Hartig29Western AustraliaCare Worker6th PlaceShane Jolley27VictoriaAdvertising Executive5th PlaceEmily Fitzsimmons19Cronulla, New South WalesStudent4th PlaceMal Granturco38Blacktown, New South WalesWarehouse Supervisor3rd PlaceHal Pritchard31Berowra Heights, New South WalesShop OwnerRunner-upMichael Laffy33Hawksburn, VictoriaFormer AFL Player/BuilderThe MoleBrooke Marshall24East Bentleigh, VictoriaFormer Bar ManagerWinner

Further Appearances Jessica Hardy, who was eliminated in the qualifying mission on The Mole would later be a housemate on Big Brother Australia 2002.

Elimination chart

+Elimination ChartPlayerPre12345678 & 9BrookeININININININININWINNERMichael L.ININININININININMOLEHalININININININININRUNNER-UPMalINININININININOUTEmilyININININININOUTShaneINININININOUTFionaININININOUTAngelaINININOUTJohnININOUTHelenINOUTJessicaOUTNatalieOUTMichael B.OUTTerriOUTMikeOUTChrisOUT

Indicates the player won the game Indicates the player was the mole Indicates the player won a free pass Indicates the player scored the lowest on the quiz and was eliminated

Episodes

Episode 1

Episode 1 recapLocation: Victoria, AustraliaAssignmentGroupsSuccessful GroupsHotel Huntdown (Qualification Mission)44Qualification EliminationChris, Mike, Terri, Michael B., Natalie, and JessicaThe 6 players who did not qualify.AssignmentMoney earnedPossible earningsAssault Course$10,000$10,000

Hotel Huntdown (Qualification Mission): The players were split into four teams of four and started in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, and Hobart. The groups' assignment was to get to a Rydges Hotel in Melbourne by 4:00 P.M. They were given $500 each and were told not to use more than the budget. They were also required to use at least five methods of transportation, and each must take them at least 1 kilometre. If the players broke any of the rules or failed to make it to the hotel, the entire group was eliminated. All four quartets made it to the hotel in time.

Qualification Elimination: During the first assignment, the players were given dossier cards about the players not in their group and were encouraged to try to find out the same information from their teammates. Once at the hotel, players took a computer test based on general knowledge about all sixteen people. The top ten scorers advanced to the main part of the game.

Assault Course: The ten players who survived the first elimination were flown by helicopter to HMAS Cerberus and told to complete a Naval training assault course for a $10,000 reward. There were nine obstacles on the course, which would take a fit person 20 minutes to complete. The group was given 40 minutes for all of them to complete it. For each obstacle they refused or failed, they would lose two minutes off the time limit. Though they inadvertently ran around one obstacle and had to double back on it, they completed the course in time and won the money.

Episode 2 Episode 2 recapLocation: Victoria, AustraliaAssignmentMoney earnedPossible earningsTour Guides$5,000$5,000Time Bomb$0$10,000Underwater Keys$0$5,000Free passesShaneRetrieved a key opening a red box in the "Underwater Keys" assignmentEliminationHelen1st player eliminated

Tour Guides: Immediately after the Assault Course, the group selected Fiona and Shane as the two players who they thought were most handy at spinning a yarn. The two of them were taken to Melbourne, given the assignment of posing as guides on a tour bus, and lying to 26 strangers. They had to tell two boldfaced lies and be believed, and tell two jokes, getting a laugh from each. Shane tried to lie first, but told an unbelievable, absurd, and overly detailed story. Fiona then managed to tell outrageous lies that were counted. Shane next tried a joke, but since he asked the tourists to laugh, it was disallowed. They then each managed to tell a joke that got at least someone in their group to laugh. At the end of the trip, each tourist was presented a survey form, and to win the $5,000, each of them had to grade Fiona and Shane's job as tour guides either "excellent" or "very good." They received nine "very good" and seventeen "excellent" ratings, winning the money.

Time Bomb: The other eight players were taken to Fort Nepean, a mostly inactive military fort with many tunnels, gun emplacements, ammunition stores, lookout points, and bunkers. One bunker contained a time bomb. The host told the players to pick two of them who were comfortable in confined spaces. These two were John and Michael, who were put into the bunker with the time bomb and told that to defuse it, they must cut four differently coloured wires in the correct sequence. The other six split up to look for four brainteaser puzzles placed at the fort. The correct answer to each corresponded to a colour, which they were to give to John and Michael. If they solved all four puzzles, they would have the correct wires and the bomb could be defused, adding $10,000 to the kitty. The others all found their puzzles and retrieved a coloured disc corresponding to the correct wire to cut, but Hal and Helen never found theirs and simply picked a piece of coloured wire up off the ground, thinking it was what they were sent to find. John and Michael ultimately cut orange, pink, purple and yellow wires in succession, and the timer did not stop. An explosion of smoke signified their failure. Afterward, the host informed them that the answer was in front of John and Michael the whole time - the manufacturer name on the bomb canister was PYRO Explosives, Inc., referring to pink, yellow, red, and orange wires in succession.

Underwater Keys: The group was told to select someone to have a chance at a free pass through to the next episode. On a random draw, Shane was selected. On a pier, there were four blue lockers and six red ones stacked. If Shane dived underwater and retrieved a key that opened a red locker, he will win the free pass. If they key opened a blue locker, the group will win $5,000. Ten keys were thrown into the water near the pier, and one at a time, the members of the team were given the opportunity to retrieve one key apiece to try to open the red lockers, reducing the odds of Shane retrieving a key to open one of them. Shane could only dive for his key when the other nine decided it was time. Helen, Brooke, Michael, Mal, and John dived before Shane and retrieved four keys, opening red lockers and one opening a blue, meaning Shane had two chances to win a free pass and three to add $5,000 to the kitty. Despite the odds being against him, Shane retrieved a key that opened a red locker, meaning no money was won and he got the free pass.

Episode 3 Episode 3 recapLocation: Victoria, AustraliaAssignmentMoney earnedPossible earningsNight Maze$0$10,000Fugitive Pursuit$10,000$10,000Mannequin Dress-Up$0$5,000Free passes—Brooke failed to evade the others in the "Fugitive Pursuit" assignmentEliminationJohn2nd player eliminated

Night Maze: Immediately after the previous episode's elimination, the remaining nine players were taken to a colossal hedge maze in the dead of night. A crane was rigged with military-caliber night vision cameras 50 meters above the maze, to give a bird's-eye view. The players divided themselves into three groups of three, with one player running in the maze and the other two guiding them. Amid three opportunities in the maze, the players had to retrieve two of four light beacons while evading a hunter, all easily visible from the crane camera. Michael ran first but was tagged by the hunter while carrying a beacon, putting it out of play. Shane then ran and retrieved a beacon. The last runner was Hal, who got to a beacon, but was tagged before he could exit the maze, meaning the assignment was lost.

Fugitive Pursuit: The players met for breakfast, and on the table was a sealed note instructing whoever picked it up to immediately leave for an assignment. This was Brooke, who was told to drive to downtown Melbourne to act as a fugitive from her teammates. She had to carry a limbless mannequin with her at all times, stay within the shaded area on a map she was provided, and she was told not to enter any buildings. The others, upon finishing their breakfast, were told to select four players to chase her. These were Fiona, Hal, John, and Michael, and they were taken to Melbourne and told to find her, for $10,000. If Brooke evaded detection from the others for one hour, she would win a free pass through to the next episode and the others would not win money. There was one twist - the players in pursuit of Brooke were given two-way radios to communicate with each other, but what they did not know was that Brooke had one as well, and she could hear everything they were saying. The pursuers had to follow the traffic rules at all times, whilst Brooke did not have to. Nonetheless, the others found her after about 45 minutes, winning the money and denying her a free pass.

Mannequin Dress-Up: The other four, Angela, Emily, Mal, and Shane, were split into duos with Angela and Shane heading off to a different location while Emily and Mal were given the players' luggage and told to select for each player a complete outfit, with five items of clothing. Later on, Angela and Shane were presented with nine mannequins, each corresponding to a member of the team, and told to dress them with the clothes Emily and Mal had selected. They were allowed to make ten mistakes. All nine players later reunited to inspect their own mannequins and tell what clothes were not theirs. If Angela and Shane made ten or fewer mistakes, $5,000 would be won, but they wound up making eleven, including putting four or six articles of clothing on certain mannequins, putting men's clothing on mannequins representing women, and not noticing that the socks they put on Hal actually had John's name on them.

Episode 4 Episode 4 recapLocation: Victoria, AustraliaAssignmentMoney earnedPossible earningsHostage Rescue$0$10,000Predictions$5,000$15,000Robbery Game$10,000$10,000Free passes—Fiona failed to identify the thief in the Robbery GameEliminationAngela3rd player eliminated