Kristina Kell was the first person to find an immunity idol on this season of Survivor. However, her strong start was almost too strong, as she tried to take out Rob in the very first week. But after the most entertaining first Tribal Council in Survivor history, thanks to Phillip's antics, Kristina found herself on the wrong side of the numbers. She was soon voted out of the Ometepe tribe and after losing a duel to Matt on Redemption Island, was the third castaway to go home. We talked to Kristina this week about Rob, rice, and whether a certain player really is a former federal agent.

Knowing what happened at that first Tribal Council,looking backis there anything that you might have done differently throughout your game?

Gosh, you know it's so funny because after the game you go through "coulda, woulda, shoulda" but while I was there on the island, I really went over different scenarios: should I go to Rob, should I do this, should I do that. And going to Rob was an option, but he just really did not leave the door open for me at all. I felt that if I had come to him with the [immunity] idol that he would have betrayed me anyways. So, I tried to stick with what I thought at the time was the best option. But it was tough because those guys had a lot of numbers right off the bat. And Phil, who was an absolute loon, I had to deal with him. I had absolutely no choice. What an awful person to play Survivor with because of his unpredictability and his moronic way of thinking. It was just a tough roll of the dice I got.

Tell me about your relationship with Rob and his alliance.

Rob is a brilliant player, he's tactical, he's smart. You can see how great he's doing. You know, he even looks better than he normally would in this season because he has an alliance, a group of people that really aren't very strategic-minded folks. A lot of the girls are really young, they don't have a lot of life experience, and they weren't really thinking about the psychology of Survivor at all. Rob and I were the only ones to even look for an idol. Grant, Ashley, Natalie - they were just extensions of Rob, doing whatever he said, doing it the way he said it, unquestioning, following him down the beach. I think they were enamored of his celebrity. Everything was done to his specifications, from building the hut - which I can understand because he has experience - but even to the way we cooked the rice! It had to be cooked to the texture that Rob liked, it had to be overdone and crunchy, it wasn't like regular rice. And if it wasn't cooked to that specification the girls would get really upset and freak out that Rob would be angry. Look at the first episode when we lost: Ashley's comment on camera was she was disappointed in the loss because she didn't want to disappoint her leader. This is the mentality I had to deal with.

Both you and Francesca, right from the start you knew that Rob was a strong player, that he was a threat and you were acting to get rid of him. Why weren't more people seeing what you were seeing?

You know, that's the million-dollar question, no pun intended. It just drove me crazy. You look how he's playing them. Look how he's telling them he has go to the bathroom and he goes and looks for the idol. He's just steamrolling over them because they aren't thinking about the game or strategy, they're having spa days on the beach. They weren't challenging him at all, they weren't seeing how dangerous he is. I mean, he plays this game like a champion! The other team was smart to get Russell out at the beginning because then they're all on an evil - ha, that's a funny slip, right? - they're all on an even playing field. And Francesca and I - and Phillip, to his credit - knew that Rob was a definite threat, because he's so good. Brilliant guy, gets the followers and gets a team together that's got the numbers, and he took it and ran. You gotta hand it to him.

Now, Matt was one of his followers but then he got blindsided by Rob. Has Matt seen the light?

Ohhh, yes. Matt was really upset about being blindsided. And when I got to Redemption Island Matt came to me and said "you know, you were right, Rob was so dangerous, I can't believe I didn't see it, I wish Andrea and I had aligned with you." And I was sitting there going "well, that's great now. Really, thanks a lot!" And this is what's going on with everyone at the tribe. Grant's like the court jester and he's just getting played right and left. We saw it last week with the clue. You look at the clue that Rob dug up, and passed off to Grant - the thing's folded in four, it's got dirt on it...

It doesn't smell like coffee.

Exactly! It doesn't smell like coffee, it's not rolled up, it looks like it's been trampled on by a herd of elephants. And Grant, blinded, doesn't even question the loyalty of Rob who's played this game four times. It was just the most frustrating situation to be in. But Matt's so nice and so sweet. I remember at Redemption Island he turned to Rob and he called Rob a rascal! How great and old-world and sweet is that to call him a rascal? So I think Matt will probably pretend to be on Rob's side but he wants to slit Rob's throat.

Do you think he'll have a chance to do so?

I don't know. But I'm sure rooting for him.

You mentioned Phillip and how frustrating it was to work with him. What's your take on Phillip?

Phillip fancied himself the real leader of the tribe, the wisest person on the tribe, the person with the most "intel" or experience on the tribe. Mister I-can-tell-if-you're-lying-by-whether-your-hair-is-fixed-a-certain-way guy. Phillip's only capacity in any kind of leadership position would be if voted Mayor of Crazytown. The guy is delusional - really, really delusional. And he's paranoid, and he's just out of his mind. Having to play a mental game - a mentally taxing, strategy game - with a guy like Phillip was the worst nightmare anyone could have as a participant in Survivor. It was awful.

Do you think he really was a former federal agent?

That's an absolute joke. If he had any kind of serious responsibility in our government I would urge every single person living in the United States to write their congressman immediately, because it's appalling. I mean, would you want Phillip in charge of anything that was important?

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Survivor: Redemption Island airs Wednesdays at 8.00 et/pt on Global.