Get ready, Australia. The Block, the number one renovation reality program, returns for an incredible 19th season on Sunday, August 6, at 7.00pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
This year The Block promises to be a blockbuster series set in an amazing 1950s time warp, full of new challenges to keep contestants on their toes.
Set in the family-friendly Melbourne suburb of Hampton East, the new series features five houses designed and built in the 1950s and located on the aptly named Charming Street. These grand old dames are now aged in their 70s and way overdue for a contemporary update.
For the first time in Block history, host Scott Cam will be providing contestants with the full renovation schedule ahead of time this season. So get your cameras out, Blockheads, it’s photo time.
But as our five keen couples will soon find out, it’s not all smooth sailing when you have to renovate a fully furnished and untouched original 1950s home.
State versus state rivalry will be ignited as our five couples will each be flying the flag for their homeland states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
And in a move set to push our contestants to the brink, all teams will be given the arduous task of creating secondary accommodation on their properties. While adding value and something special to each home, will the extra workload be enough to tip one of our couples over the edge?
The five couples in contention for Block glory are:
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Personal assistant Eliza (37) and integration producer Liberty Paschke (34) – sisters from VIC
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Firefighter Kyle (36) and teaching aide Leslie Cottone (34) – parents from WA
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First aid officer Leah (32) and builder Ash Milton (38) – parents from QLD
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Project manager Kristy (34) and safety officer Brett Beames (34) – married from SA
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Architect Steph (27) and start-up worker Gian Ottavio (27) – married from NSW
Gold Logie-winning host Scott Cam, back for his 17th series of The Block, is promising a series like no other.
“This series is guaranteed to be a dead-set blockbuster,” he said.
Scott’s co-host Shelley Craft agrees that this year’s time warp back to the 1950s will provide plenty of surprises along the journey.
“This series’ houses may seem charming on the surface, but our contestants will be in for a shock as they uncover a host of pitfalls not evident upon first inspection,” she said.
Plus, for the first time in over a decade, a new judge joins Shaynna Blaze, Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker.
Real estate expert, Marty Fox, who has sold two houses on The Block before – Harry and Tash’s in Brighton in 2020, and Rachel and Ryan’s in Gisborne in 2022 - will tag-team judging on Sunday nights as Neale partly steps back this season.
Marty Fox isn’t the only new addition to the lineup this season. The formidable foremen Keith Schleiger and Dan Reilly will be joined on site with the fan favourite from last year, Tom Calleja.
The nation fell in love with Tom and his wife Sarah-Jane because of their work ethic and relatable marital bickering, and he jumped at the chance to work with Scotty and come back as this year’s official Block plumber.
The designs of the amazing homes in this series again come from The Block’s resident architect, Julian Brenchley.
This year The Block also celebrates 20 years since the first series in Bondi went to air and changed the Australian television landscape forever.
Executive Producer Julian Cress, who created the show with fellow EP David Barbour, says the 20-year birthday is a fantastic achievement.
“We thought we were pretty lucky to get the show on air in the first year we made it,” he said
“Just getting The Block commissioned was a huge achievement and there is no way we thought we would still be here making the show 20 years later.
“But the great thing about it is we all still love making the show, and no two series of The Block are ever the same, as these five new teams will truly prove this year!”
At stake is $100,000 for the overall winner of The Block, on top of any profit the five couples can all make on the critical auction day. Plus bragging rights for the winners’ state.
Since premiering on Channel 9 in 2003, Australia’s richest reality program has awarded a total of $32,592,807.65 in prizemoney.
HAMPTON EAST PROFILE
The median price for a four-bedroom house is $1,648,000 in Hampton East (source: Domain)
The population of Hampton East is 4,693.
Charming Street is surrounded by busy shopping strips and shopping centres including Hampton St, Bluff Rd, Nepean Highway and Southland.
The area is fantastic for sport and recreation with parks, tennis courts, football ovals and gyms within a 10-minute walk of Charming St.
St Kilda Football Club’s training base is just around the corner from The Block in the neighbouring suburb of Moorabbin.
There are lots of new developments across the suburb, as Australians grow to fall in love with the area.
THE 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BLOCK FACT SHEET
The first series of The Block in 2003 featured four apartments renovated in a block in Sydney’s Bondi.
The finale of the first series was a ratings smash, averaging an incredible 3.1 million viewers, with the whole nation talking about the Bondi auction.
The first four couples, Adam and Fiona, Gavin and Warren, Kylie and Paul, and Phil
and Amity, maintained their jobs while renovating on the show.
The most prizemoney won in 20 years of the program went to Omar and Oz from The Block: Tree Change in Gisborne last year. They won $1,686,666.66 when House No.5 sold for $5,666,666,66 after a bidding war between entrepreneurs Adrian Portelli and Danny Wallis.
The Block creators Julian Cress and David Barbour have helmed the show since 2003. Fellow executive producer Justin Sturzaker and series producer Tim Wise, as well as senior sponsor producer Sarah Armstrong and camera operator Matt Bronger, have also worked on every series since 2003.
The reserve price for the first series of The Block in 2003 for a two-bedroom Bondi apartment was $595,000. The median two-bedroom apartment price in 2023 is $1.4 million.
856 episodes have gone to air. 53,706 minutes have gone to air. 838 rooms have been delivered.
The Block is on air in 170 territories, and 15 territories have produced their own versions: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, [Germany – to launch end July], Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, UK, US.
In 20 years there have been four regular judges: real estate agent John McGrath in 2003 and 2004, followed by Neale Whitaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer. Marty Fox, who joins the show in 2023, is the first major change to the judging panel since 2013.
There have only been two program hosts: Jamie Durie in series 2003 and 2004, and Scott Cam since The Block returned to the airwaves in 2010.