The winner of the BBC reality-competition show Survivor was announced during the final on Saturday (December 16) night.

Survivor UK returned to television screens for the first time in more than 20 years in 2023 after first airing with ITV back in 2001/02.

The new UK series was hosted by Joel Dommett and saw contestants "marooned in a tropical location where they are divided into two tribes, competing against each other in a range of physical and mental challenges" in an attempt to be crowned the sole survivor. 

After 34 days, the game came down to four contestants - Christopher, Matthew, Hannah and Leilani.

Saturday's final episode of Survivor began with an immunity challenge to whittle down the four contestants to three.

The four contestants took part in Hand On The Idol, which saw players stand on narrow pegs while they had one hand on an idol and another on a ring.

The last person standing in the challenge was Christopher, who after five hours, won individual immunity and a place in the final three.

From that game, the contestants then 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.

The Herald: See who won Survivor UK 2023.See who won Survivor UK 2023. (Image: BBC/Remarkable)

Who won Survivor UK 2023?

Matthew emerged victorious and won a prize of £100,000 alongside the title of sole survivor.

The 21-year-old hospitality worker from Cumbria said that winning Survivor was the “best moment” of his “entire life” and he had anticipated being “underestimated” on the show as the youngest player.

Speaking about his win, Matthew 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.”

The Herald: Matthew (right) was crowned the winner of Survivor UK 2023.Matthew (right) was crowned the winner of Survivor UK 2023. (Image: BBC/Remarkable)

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.”

Matthew revealed his return home was an "emotional moment" as he explained what he got up to straight after his departure from the show.

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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.”

You can catch up on all episodes of Survivor on BBC iPlayer.