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"&amp;quot;Brilliant idea!&amp;quot;\r\nWhen CBS premieres its 25th season of Survivor:  Philippines next month, three former contestants will be making a second appearance -- along with one other familiar face: Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve watched every episode! Any episode I missed was only because TiVo missed it, then I went online to research what happened,&amp;quot; self-proclaimed Survivor superfan Whelchel -- who played spoiled preppy Blair Warner on the 80s sitcom -- told Us Weekly during a chat on-location days before the game began.\r\nEarning her spot on the series thanks to a viral video campaign where fans helped circulate her audition tape via Twitter, Whelchel, now 49, says she&amp;apos;s more than ready to outwit, outplay and outlast her 17 competitors this fall in an effort to pocket Survivor&amp;apos;s $1 million prize. &amp;quot;Last summer I went voluntarily on a vision quest [spiritual journey] for 10 days with just a backpack, water, and a tarp. I love this kind of thing!&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAs she competes for Survivor&amp;apos;s $1 million prize, Whelchel tells Us there&amp;apos;s a good chance her former costars Nancy McKeon (&amp;quot;Jo&amp;quot;), Charlotte Rae (&amp;quot;Mrs. Edna Garrett&amp;quot;), Kim Fields (&amp;quot;Tootie&amp;quot;) and Mindy Cohn (&amp;quot;Natalie&amp;quot;), will be rooting her on from their living rooms. &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m kind of like the mama so I know where everybody is, what they&amp;apos;re doing and I stay in contact,&amp;quot; says Whelchel, who married and had three children, now grown, since Facts of Life wrapped in 1988.\r\n\r\nShe may even have a celebrity fan in former Facts of Life costar George Clooney, who appeared in a recurring role as George Burnett. &amp;quot;He was more like a big brother back then; it was great to have some testosterone on the set and he was really fun to be around,&amp;quot; Whelchel says of Clooney, with whom she once had a kissing scene.\r\n\r\nNow focused on the game, Whelchel thinks her odds at taking home the top prize aren&amp;apos;t too bad. &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m not one of those that say, &amp;apos;Yeah, I&amp;apos;m going to win,&amp;apos; because there&amp;apos;s so many things that could happen. But I think I could!&amp;quot;\r\nCompeting with Whelchel this season on Survivor: Philippines are: Sarah Dawson, Katie Hanson, Jeff Kent, Dana Lambert, Carter Williams, Abi-Maria Gomes, Roberta &amp;quot;RC&amp;quot; Saint-Amour, Artis Silvester, Peter &amp;quot;Pete&amp;quot; Yurkowski, Malcolm Freberg, Zane Knight, Angie Layton, Roxanne &amp;quot;Roxy&amp;quot; Morris and Denise Stapley. Three former contestants who were medically evacuated during their seasons will also join the newbies to take part in this season&amp;apos;s competition, and will be revealed by CBS at a later date.\r\nSurvivor: Philippines premiers Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. (EST) on CBS."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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