New 'Survivor' Cast Includes 'Facts of Life' Star

Lisa Whelchel

'Facts of Life' Star Lisa Whelchel Joins 'Survivor: Philippines'

There will be some familiar faces on the new cast of Survivor: Philippines, especially if you were a fan of the 80s sitcom The Facts of Life.

Facts of Life Star Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair Warner on the popular series, will now show off her wilderness survival skills.

While I'm not sure yet how prepared Whelchel is for the reality show challenge, I do know that watching her character Blair try and rough it would be pretty entertaining.

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CBS has revealed 15 of the 18 castaways who will compete on Survivor: Philippines, which includes Whelchel, 49, and former San Francisco Giants player Jeff Kent, 44.

Whelchel could still be interesting to keep an eye out for, especially for anyone, like myself, who grew up on The Facts of Life.

It's also interesting to note that she's a Christian author and speaker, so we'll have to see how her religious beliefs play into the game, if at all.

Something tells me she may not be as conniving and deceitful as some of the other players.

Whelchel did share a bit about the Survivor experience, writing on her website, "I don't think 'fun' is the word I would use to describe my experience. Those days on the island were the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It pushed me to my extreme limits physically, mentally, spiritually, and especially, emotionally. I'm so very grateful for the opportunity and I'm so glad I did it, but I think it's like childbirth ...I may need to put a few years behind me and some perspective in front of me before I would ever consider doing it again."

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Can you expect any twists in the new season of Survivor? So far, all that's been revealed is that, for the first time in eight years, there will be three tribes.

Tune in to the Survivor: Philippines season premiere on September 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.