New season starts Sunday August 6 according to a promo during ACA tonight.
That’s one week after the conclusion of men’s Ashes series and possibly on the same week as the finale of Hunted.
Five charming 1950 homes set to be unveiled
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.
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.
Adding to the year of Block firsts and amping up the stakes at play during the 48-hour House Decider Challenge, contestants will be seeing all finished designs of the houses on Day 1. Who will prevail and get the house of their choice?
Not only will they get the schedule and designs up front, but in another first, they’ll receive their entire budgets as well.
However, the Blockheads will soon find out that it’s not all smooth sailing when renovating an original 1950s home – structural issues, extreme weather events, and a mountain of demolition will test our five keen couples every step of the way.
Plus, The Block’s state-versus-state rivalry will be amplified by the sheer closeness of the houses this year. Who knew being able to peak into your neighbours builds would cause such tension?
The couples in contention are: sisters Eliza and Liberty Paschke (personal assistant, 37, and integration producer, 34, VIC); parents Kyle and Leslie Cottone (firefighter, 36, and teaching aide, 34, WA); parents Leah and Ash Milton (first aid officer, 31, and builder, 36, QLD); married couple Kristy and Brett Beames (project manager, 34, and safety officer, 34, SA); and newlyweds Steph and Gian Ottavio (architect, 27, and start up worker, 27, NSW).
Real estate expert 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.
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.
UPDATE 27/7
Whoopee… 
(boo! 
)
I had hoped there was a possibility of a refresh of the format to coincide with the 20th anniversary to return to their roots after last year’s complaints. But it was obvious with the newer promos that was entirely ruled out of happening.
Good. I live for The Block drama. Manufactured or not 
Each to their own, which is fine, but there’s such a contrast between the earliest season and the 2010 revival ones. The first season for example was quite raw, very Grand Designs-esque.
It would just be nice if there wasn’t always some big controversy or argument every Season and there was more focus on the actual task at hand.
In short,
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I imagine if the produces wanted what mediaspy wanted, we may find that the show would no longer be around. I think all good producers know to go with what unfolds during production and base “storylines” around this, rather than what they necessarily think will work
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Is there a media kit yet?
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.
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Episode 1
The Block is back in Melbourne in the suburb of Hampton East, and we have five new couples across Australia who are about to have the adventure of a lifetime.
A new judge will be joining The Block this year. Real Estate guru Marty Fox will step in for Neale Whitaker, after Neale decided to take a step back from The Block to spend more time at home as his partner David hasn’t been well. Shaynna and Darren will judge every week.
Scotty is back and he introduces our new Blockheads:
Sisters Eliza and Liberty from Victoria.
Married couple Leah and Ash from Queensland, who have three kids.
Married couple Kyle and Leslie from Western Australia, who have two kids.
Kristy and Brett, married couple from South Australia, and,
Childhood sweethearts Steph and Gian, married couple Steph and Gian from New South Wales.
Scotty shows the Blockheads the renders for the five houses in Charming St, in a first for The Block.
Our couples look on in amazement at the renders, and also wonder how they are going to build such houses in just three months.
Our five couples head to Charming St to check out the 1950s post war houses that will be transformed into incredible world class homes.
They are all set with a House Decider challenge to decide what house they will get. In just 48 hours they have to create a kids room, based on a Disney+ character. They all meet their builders for the first time. This year in another first, all the builders are fresh and new and none of them have worked on The Block before.
Our cntestants soon realise The Block isn’t child play, as they wake up and face their first full day on The Block.
In the next 48 hours they undergo the usual first week challenges that come with being on The Block. They struggle with the $5000 budget. Making shopping decisions quickly. Also managing trades and their builders all new skills they have to learn quickly.
In a hint of things to come, there is already a sign of tension between Steph and Leah. Leah goes over to borrow some gap filler and sneaks around Steph and Gian’s house, and she is caught by Steph. Steph says it’s all fine, but is it?
Scotty does a walk around to meet our contestants. He notices Eliza and Liberty brought a record number of suitcases to The Block, even though they just live down the road in Melbourne. He also questioned Steph and Gian’s kids room. He thinks it’s more like a hotel room for adults to have a fun weekend away.
After a baptism of fire all of the Blockheads finish the House Decider challenge and they are exhausted. Neale, Shaynna and Darren arrive to judge, and an emotional Neale let’s Shaynna and Darren know he won’t be in Melbourne very week this year. They get set to judging, with some mixed results.
Steph and Gian spent $4972
The judges thought they completely missed the brief. They didn’t deliver what was required, and that is a room for kids.
Kristy and Brett spent $4972
Lots of creativity, but they felt the South Australian couple could have gone further. A big improvement compared to Steph and Gian.
Kyle and Leslie spent $4925
A good effort, but when it came to styling it was underbaked. The Lego left on the floor wasn’t a hit with the judges.
Leah and Ash spent $4992
A beautiful effort, they nailed the brief. The hand made bunk beds in particular were very well done.
Eliza and Liberty spent $4904
A fair effort for the two sisters who have never renovated before. The judges thought it was well executed but needed more layers.
At the end of episode one Scotty praises our Blockheads and there is one winner, Leah and Ash. We will get to see which house the Blockheads decide in episode two
HOUSE DECIDER CHALLENGE JUDGING SCORES
| Darren | Shaynna | Neale | Total | |
| Kyle and Leslie | 6 | 5 ½ | 6 | 17 ½ |
| Leah and Ash | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Kristy and Brett | 6 | 6 ½ | 5 | 18 |
| Steph and Gian | 5 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| Eliza and Liberty | 7 | 6 ½ | 5 | 18 ½ |
How long until the scripted drama enters the show? lol.
Jokes aside, good to have a new judge entering the show. Am hoping Marty Fox does a good job.
So good to have it back. Already clear who the villain is. And she’s playing it well.
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Comm Bank have replaced Suncorp as financial sponsor this season
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As the winning team of house decider challenge, Leah and Ash got the first pick of the five houses in episode two. They chose to renovate house No.2.
The rest of the picks was:
Eliza and Liberty – House No.5
Kyle and Leslie – House No.1
Kristy and Brett – House No.3
Steph and Gian – House No.4