It’s episode one of The Block and we’re back in Melbourne — Hampton East to be precise — and we have five new teams from across Australia who are about to have the adventure of a lifetime. They hope.
This year, newlyweds and childhood sweethearts from NSW Steph and Gian, married couple Leah and Ash from Queensland, South Australians Kristy and Brett, sisters Eliza and Liberty and Western Australian husband-and-wife Kyle and Leslie have joined the cast as well as newcomer judge Marty Fox who apparently hates everything the light touches.
After meeting the new Blockheads, host Scotty Cam shares some seriously gorgeous renders of the five fabulous houses on Charming St, something that has never been done before. While their jaws hit the floor over the properties, they also wonder how da fuq they will deliver them in just three months…
After lots of “oohs”, “aahs” and “why did we sign up for this?”, the teams were then whisked away to check out the 1950s post-war houses that will be transformed into incredible world-class homes.
An honourable mention must also be given to Eliza and Liberty, who have precisely zero reno experience and while they’re there to ~bUilD~ a house, they’re also on site to find themselves a husband. Unfortunately for them, all the other couples are loved up AF and also unfortunately for them, they come with a lot of, ahem, baggage.
“Got any questions?” Scotty asks.
“Are any of your sons single?” Eliza says and basically, this girl has our heart.
House Decider Challenge
For the first challenge of the season, the Blockheads had just 48 hours to create a kid’s room based on a Disney+ show, character or sub-genre. With exceptional product placement, the couples were provided with their inspo including The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda, Buzz Lightyear, National Geographic and Frozen.
Then it was time to meet the builders for the first time. In another Block first, the builders have never worked on the series before…
What happened during the challenge?
During the first 48 hours, Steph decides to go over budget with a cute chair while Leah freaks out over the horrendous traffic in Melbourne and a downpour aims to eff everything up.
And then drama strikes between the aforementioned Steph and Leah. When Leah visits House 4 to find some gap filler, she begins apprehensively searching the house. When Steph catches her red-handed, she delivers an “it’s fine”, which we all know means… it’s not.
Back to our heroes Eliza and Liberty, they take Scotty through their luggage, which is filled with everything you could possibly need… if there was an apocalypse and they were the last people left on the planet.
Scotty is all like:
However, you can tell he secretly LOVES them and wonders if they will share their GastroStop with him. Gross.
The Judging
After a baptism of fire, the Blockheads finish the House Decider challenge. Neale Whittaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer arrive to judge.
An emotional Neale tells his co-judges that he won’t be joining them for every challenge this year before they get to judging… with some very mixed results.
Steph and Gian
Firstly, it’s important to note that Steph only works with “beige”…
Inspo: Buzz Lightyear
Cash spent: $4,972
The judges felt that Steph and Gian had completely missed the brief because it was supposed to be a kid’s room, not a spare bedroom for a one-time visitor at the bottom of a house…
Kristy and Brett
Inspo: Frozen
Cash spent: $4,972
The judges thought there was lots of creativity, but felt that they could have gone further.
Kyle and Leslie
Inspo: Star Wars – Grogu
Cash spent: $4,925
Overall, it was a good effort; however, the styling was underbaked. The couple also left Lego on the floor and because a) Lego is a punish to pick up and b) stepping on it hurts like a mother trucker, it wasn’t a hit…
Leah and Ash
Inspo: National Geographic
Cash spent: $4,992
The judges thought it was a beautiful effort, and agreed it was “the best challenge room ever in 19 seasons”. They were also impressed by the handmade bunk beds.
Eliza and Liberty
Inspo: Guardians of the Galaxy – Groot
Cash spent: $4,904
Even though they hadn’t picked up a hammer before this very show, the judges thought their room was well executed but needed more layers.
Final judges 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 |
The Verdict
Due to the fact they “nailed the brief”, Leah and Ash were named the winners of the House Decider challenge and will decide which home they will be building in episode two.
The Block airs on Sunday at 7:00pm and continues Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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