The Block on Channel 9 – Ahh, there’s nothing like the pressure of the last days before a Block room reveal!
The girls in House 5 are stressing about the size of their room… because they’re now officially in budget hell. With just $100,000 cash left to finish their entire home, they’ve got a massive space and frankly, it needs walls. Floors, furniture and paint would also be nice.
Over in House 3, Brett is feeling the exact opposite about his own workload. He has decided he wants to have more fun while he is on The Block, so he has taken the extraordinary step of hiring himself an apprentice.
We honestly don’t know whether to feel impressed or baffled.
Brett explains his logic. He plans to focus on demo work at the start of the week, and save himself for all–nighters at the end. His apprentice will take on part of the load to allow that to happen.
However, when his builder lets Brett know what needs to be done, Brett is firm. “I’m definitely not doing that,” he says.
“You lazy b–tard!” his builder says, but Brett is firm. “Careful… don’t tell me to insulate,” he says. “I don’t want to do anything.”
“It’s a building show!” retorts his flabbergasted builder.
“Yeah and I’m not the f—ing builder!” replies Brett.
“I want to be having fun here,” he explains. Brett adds that he feels he is still delivering on his “obligations”. “I’ve got a pretty good job at home and I don’t need to be labouring six days a week here and not enjoying the process.”
Let’s cut to Steph and Gian, who have spent the night insulating so their builder can have a clear run at their space today.
Steph’s Dad has also popped up to lend a hand. His last visit led to a heated body corp meeting, where his working status was heavily questioned. This time around, he’s been inducted. And Leah has kept a close eye on the entire process. Phew.
She’s had time to do that because her builders are doing a cracking job with her room this week. Hubby Ash notes that if you didn’t have a building team that could hum along smoothly while you were off at a challenge, you were “in a world of pain.”
Cue House 5!
They’re not humming. They don’t have plaster up and that means they can’t even start the enormous painting job. All–night painting counts for nothing if you don’t have walls to actually paint.
Foreman Dan helpfully suggests a few strategies to get things going… and their builder Mark agrees. “If they don’t [take that advice], I can’t see the girls finishing this room,” Dan admits.
Back at House 3, Brett’s day off is rudely interrupted by his builder requesting he and Kristy organise some demolition. The pair learned early on that they need to re–stump their entire house, due to the existing stumps not being up to code. They’ve been given special permission to work ahead… but that means actually working.
Kristy tells her builder she is trying to save money. “We’ve got too much demo and no money to do it,” she says, as Brett hangs out next to her.
People around Australia scream at their televisions.
Kristy isn’t impressed about constantly having to fork up cash for the re–stumping. It’s a huge cost which has hit House 3’s budget, hard.
“It’s the house you chose,” the builder reminds the pair. “Work with me, not against me.”
He notes the pair should expect to demo every day for the next three weeks, and Kristy bluntly tells him she – and her budget – are well aware of that.
She’s worked out it will be $361,000 to re–stump and complete their house, which is well above the $250,000 they have been allocated.
The pair make a plan to talk to host Scott Cam and Shelley Craft about their woes and this should go well.
While they’re planning their approach, Scott is over at House 1 telling Kyle and Leslie to soak up The Block experience for what it is. “It’s terrible, it’s hard, but you love it,” he says. (We can confirm this will certainly not be the new tagline for the show.)
It’s Kristy and Brett’s turn next, and the budget chat doesn’t exactly start on a promising note. “On this series of The Block, I’m giving away more money than I’ve ever given away in my life,” Scott opens. Shelley notes that the pair won $10,000 for merely cooking a steak.
Scotty asks how they’re going for cash, and here we go…
As Brett details their woes (and does not mention the apprentice), Scotty offers a clear solution. “You’ve gotta win, mate.”
“You’re only two wins away from loving The Block,” Scott smiles. “Good luck,” beams Shelley. And how they managed to swiftly shut down that convo involved skill we can all learn from.
The savvy hosts also serve up a reality check to Steph and Gian, mentally adding up the actual hours it will take to complete their rooms. Turns out, it’s probably more than the 36 hours they have.
The young couple is confident they’ll finish… sort of.
“If we don’t, we don’t,” Gian says.
“We’re not, not finishing,” Steph says firmly. “That’s not an option.”
“Why are you even saying that?” she adds, folding her arms in frustration.
It is clear that all is not well in House 4.
As the hours tick away, the two begin to bicker. “You’re being an idiot,” Gian tells his wife, as she notes she needs to “crack the f–king whip.”
“I get you’re stressed, but you need to learn how to handle it Stephanie,” Gian adds. Terrifying. We all know when the full name is used, it means business.
‘Stephanie’ is not happy. She’s also exhausted, “angry, and annoyed.”
Kristy inadvertently arrives as the two are snapping at each other, and her face says it all.
As she and Steph depart for the shops, Kristy tells Steph, “You’re stressed and you’re taking it out on Gian.”
Steph explains she’s also irritated that people are weighing in on the way she and Gian communicate.
Kristy grins as she says, “You’re a bitch deep down, that’s why I like ya!”
“It’s called being diplomatic,” Steph says.
Sitting alongside Gian later, Steph reflects on the moment. “He’s my husband, I can totally speak to him the way I want because he knows what I’m trying to say, and he knows what I’m going through emotionally and mentally,” she explains.
“Absolutely, I spoke to him in the way in which we communicate and I’m not going to be apologising for that, to anyone!”
Stephanie has spoken. 
Later, Kristy recounts the moment to her Block best friend Leah.
Unaware, Steph tells a producer her version of the friendship she has with Kristy. Steph says she feels she can be “really raw” with her. “Our friendship is like, so brutally honest but like, kind and like, nice,” she explains.
“I’m not closest with her, she might be closest with me,” Kristy tells a producer.
The person Kristy is closest to, however, is Leah in House 2. And she and Ash are also busy spilling about Steph and Gian to a producer. They reveal they recently overheard a big barnie between the pair.
“I just think she’s got some weird manipulating personality vibes,” Leah says.
But when a producer asks Gian if he’s aware Steph is drawing the attention of the neighbours, he’s defensive of his wife. “I think everyone needs to stay in their lane a bit,” he says.
But despite having her husband’s support, Steph’s rattled to hear people are talking about her. She fights back tears as Gian reassures her that she should only worry if it’s something he pulls her up on.
“We’ll be sweet,” he says. “It’s fine, honestly.”
Steph swallows a sob. “I just hate it when people think I’m a bitch when I’m not,” she says sadly.
Things are about to get awkward over at House 1 too, in an entirely different way. The custom Christian Cole dining table has arrived and it’s going into a very, very snug spot.
Kyle and Leslie get to enjoy a convo with the passionate Christian about how exactly they plan to showcase his $16,000 table in the small space provided.
“It would have looked a lot nicer in a bigger room,” Christian admits. “But anyway… you can’t have everything, can ya?”
If “everything” means people seated at the table wanting to get in and out, then yes – you can’t have that.
In unsurprising news, the table is too big for the space – and short of doing some dodgy DIY carpentry to make it smaller, it is what it is. Leslie quickly mentally downsizes the seating arrangement from eight to six… and admits she and Kyle are bracing themselves to hear the inevitable at judging.
As the week draws to a close, everyone is exhausted and only Leah and Ash are feeling peppy about where they’re at.
Well… in most aspects.
By now, all the teams are well aware of the shift between the couples. Houses 2 and 3 are close, with the other three teams also sharing a bond.
“It’s a weird dynamic,” admits Kristy.
But Leah thinks it goes beyond ‘weird’. She’s convinced Steph is trying to get between her friendship with Kristy. It’s something Steph is aware of too, but she has a slightly different take on it.
“Maybe she’s… I don’t want to say ‘threatened’, but maybe she is,” ponders Steph, as Kristy admits she feels “stuck in the middle” of Leah and Steph.
Please refer to that handy video above for further reference…
With budget pressures squeezing more tightly than ever, sleep at a premium and mountains of painting to do, one thing is guaranteed: Things are only going to get more tense.
Thank heavens there’s an apprentice around to ensure the fun remains.
The Block airs Sunday at 7.00pm and Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm on Nine and 9Now. Catch up on all the latest episodes on 9Now.
This recap has been used with permission from Channel 9
Special thanks to Lulu Wilkinson at Nine.
Link to 9Now HERE
Link to Lulu’s full recap including with extra video content and info HERE
About The Block
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.
The Block – on Channel 9 and 9Now
Media Release – Nine
TV Central Nine content HERE
