Who Is the Banker on ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Season 2?
UPDATE: The Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 banker was revealed to be none other than Chrissy Teigen, who was one our guesses below. Teigen was previously a case girl on Deal or No Deal and revealed herself to be the banker in the final temple with Season 2 winner David Genat.
ORIGINAL STORY: There’s a new banker making all the calls on Deal or No Deal Island Season 2. As with the first season of NBC’s hit new reality competition series, the identity of the banker is being kept under wraps until the finale, but we do have a few major clues about who it is this time around: (1) It’s not Howie Mandel, who was unmasked at the end of Season 1, (2) it’s a woman, and (3) host Joe Manganiello has teased that the banker will “have roots in Deal or No Deal.”
So who might the DONDI Season 2 banker be? Here are some of our theories.
Deal or No Deal Island, Tuesdays, 9/8c, NBC
Meghan Markle
Hear us out. Meghan Markle is coming back into the small screen spotlight with With Love, Meghan, so she’s clearly ready to get back to her former dayjob these days. Plus, she has a long-standing history with NBC thanks to Suits, and the spinoff, Suits LA is coming to the network in the next few weeks. Perhaps most importantly, Markle is also probably the biggest name to come out of the Deal or No Deal universe, having gotten her start as a suitcase model all the way back in 2006. Couldn’t you just see the duchess manning that yacht phone? We so could.
Heidi Klum
As one of the judges on America’s Got Talent, Heidi Klum has a very good relationship with cohost Howie Mandel, which makes her a pretty obvious possibility. She’s also a permanent fixture of the NBCUniversal world thanks to AGT and her Emmy-winning turn as cohost of Project Runway on Bravo.
Chrissy Teigen
Another former suitcase model who made it into the bigtime is Chrissy Teigen. In addition to her direct Deal credentials, she’s also a family member of the NBC world thanks to her own reality history with the network (executing producing several holiday specials with them) and husband John Legend’s stint(s) on The Voice.
Jordan Fowler
Also fitting the bill as a potential banker is DONDI Season 1 winner Jordan Fowler! She had what it took to beat the banker and take home over $1 million last time, so it’d make sense for her to be the one challenging the new crop of contestants to do the same.
Claudia Jordan
Though she did get her start on The Price Is Right, competed on multiple seasons of The Apprentice, and made a splash on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Claudia Jordan has become a big part of the Deal or No Deal world as well. She was the briefcase model for #1 for years in the first few seasons. She reprised her role on Island‘s first season, so perhaps she got a bump up to the big boat for Season 2?
Amanza Smith
After spending years as the briefcase model for #20 on Deal or No Deal, Amanza Smith made a new name for herself on Selling Sunset. But perhaps Season 2 provided her a chance to get back to her true reality TV roots?
Sofia Vergara
This one is a longshot, but we can’t completely rule it out yet since she’s also a judge on AGT and thus has the in with Mandel, who executive produced Island, and the network connection. Sofia Vergara also has a very long history with DONDI host Joe Manganiello, who just so happens to be her ex-husband. Considering they’ve had a very public custody dispute over their embryos, it’d be a true shock if she was the one who emerged from the yacht in the end. And we know the banker loves bold moves.
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