Latest news with #ScottCam
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
How Victoria is beating NSW on The Block
The flashy harbour city prides itself on its property sparkle but when it comes to the nation's top real estate reality show Sydney can't get a look in. Once again turning their backs on NSW as a location for the renovation juggernaut in favour of regional Victoria's picturesque Daylesford, The Block producers have taken its Sydney lock-out a step further in 2025 by casting no contestants from Australia's biggest city. Host Scott Cam said the absence of Sydneysiders from the 21st season was more to do with personality than geography. 'We don't always cast state by state,' he shrugs. 'It's nothing to do with being Sydneysiders. I think they're terrific. This was about wanting to cast people who were more resilient.' He was less effusive in his praise for the NSW Government, however, accusing it of not being as welcoming of the production as its southern counterpart. Only four of the 21 seasons of The Block have been made in NSW, the last of which was in 2013. Since then, The Block has called Victoria home. And will continue to do so again in 2026. 'The Government and the local councils look after us in Victoria,' Cam says. 'They don't give us any special treatment! But they appreciate what we bring to the state, and they don't want us to go to New South Wales. 'And New South Wales do not look after us. Well, they haven't in the past. They may want to now, because we bring millions and millions of dollars into the Victorian economy.' To illustrate his point, Cam says The Block had so far injected almost $8 million into the Daylesford community this season. 'Victoria understands that [The Block is good for employment and the economy],' he says. 'They don't fast track anything. We have to go through all the hoops that everyone else has to go through. But they always say, 'How can we help? How can we not make you go to New South Wales?' 'And that's honestly it. It's not any favouritism or anything like that. They just want to make sure that we're happy. Because, just like any big business, the government keeps manufacturing businesses in town for the economy, and we're just one of those.' With more than 80 people working behind the scenes, Block co-host Shelley Craft says it makes sense to keep the show in Victoria where 'so many of the crew live. 'So, it's very easy for them to still have home lives while they are working on a show that runs 24 hours a day.' Likewise, Craft said Victoria offered 'such a wonderful diverse range of landscapes and suburbs and areas that showcase different lifestyles.'
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Block contestant's bold admission exposes detail about Channel 9 show
From an outsider's perspective, The Block appears to be one of the most challenging reality shows a person could sign up for. Contestants are given 12 weeks to renovate and style a property to sell at auction, and for the first time ever this season, they will be building the houses from scratch. While you might assume that participants are required to have previous renovation experience or skills in a trade to take part in the competition, one of this year's teams has proven otherwise. Not only do best mates Robby and Mat have zero experience in the field, but Mat has never even watched an episode of The Block. In fact, a recent trailer shows the 41-year-old hairdresser telling host Scott Cam that he thought Scott and Cam were 'two different people', much to his amusement. RELATED: The Block 2025 introduces two big twists as Channel 9 celebrates milestone The Block's Dan Reilly drops major news about 2025 season: 'Amazing' MAFS' Dave Thomas Hand confirms appearance on The Block 2025: 'Super fun' Do you need to have renovation experience to succeed on The Block? Robby and Mat certainly aren't the first team to take on The Block as renovation newbies, with sisters Eliza and Liberty competing in 2023 and walking away with a whopping $1.05 million profit. The fan favourites tell Yahoo Lifestyle that although it's 'definitely beneficial' to have renovation skills, The Block is 'a totally different building ball game'. 'Trades often find themselves just as overwhelmed as rookies do, with crazy and unusual working environments, timelines and pressures,' Eliza says. 'Never giving up is by far the most valuable tool (pardon the pun) in our opinion.' The secret to competing on The Block Eliza reveals she's already met this year's cast, who she describes as 'great people', and says she and Liberty are really looking forward to watching them compete on the new season. 'The Block is so much harder than it looks (we were very naive), so being grateful and having fun was the key to our amazing experience,' she remarked. 'If you don't laugh, you'll probably cry!' View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Block (@theblock) Who are the teams on The Block 2025? In addition to Team Green's Robby and Mat from South Australia, the season 21 cast includes Team Orange's Han and Can from Western Australia, Team Blue's Em and Ben from Victoria, Team Red's Britt and Taz from Western Australia, and Team Yellow's Sonny and Alicia from Queensland. This year marks the first time The Block won't feature any contestants from New South Wales, which is particularly interesting as a Sydney-based team has won the last four seasons. How much experience do the 2025 teams have? Robby and Mat have the least renovation experience amongst the five couples on The Block 2025, although they know how to be project managers after building successful businesses, including hairdressing salons. Han and Can have both been exposed to construction and real estate through their families, and are currently renovating their own home, a Californian bungalow, in Perth. Britt and Taz describe themselves as 'amateur renovators' because they haven't fully renovated a house before, but have completed smaller-scale projects themselves, such as window bench seats, paving, and landscaping. Sonny and Alicia sit in the middle when it comes to renovating experience, as they built their current family home and previously renovated a granny flat. Meanwhile, Emma and Ben have the most renovation experience among all the contestants, having completed two houses, as well as another new build. They bought their first house when they were 24 and have been flipping houses and documenting it on their socials ever since. SHOP: ☀️ Tax laws to burn Aussies on summer essential: 'Many of us struggle' 💁♀️ Two-minute product that works wonder on brows in 28 days 💄 Aussie brand's 'near perfect' dupe of $70 cult product wows for half the price When does The Block 2025 premiere? The Block 2025 is set to premiere Sunday, July 27, at 7pm on Channel 9 and 9Now. This marks the first time in eight years that the reality show won't premiere in August, meaning that the auctions will likely take place at the end of October rather than the beginning of November.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Scott Cam reveals why The Block 2025 is different from previous seasons
Admitting he's had a gutful of difficult contestants, host Scott Cam is relieved the 21st season of the renovation juggernaut is going back to basics with far less toxic drama. The laidback host has declared this year's five teams the best crew he's ever seen in his 19 years at the helm of the Channel 9 reality series. 'Over the years, there've been some great contestants, but as a collective group, these have been my best,' Cam says. 'I think they've worked really hard, which I love. And resilience is a really important thing to me, and lack of complaining.' In recent years fans have accused the series of being more soap opera than renovation show, amid cheating scandals, nasty bickering and mean girl bullying. But for Cam the behaviour which has grated on him the most is the whingeing. 'The complaining annoys me because I've worked hard all my life, and when I was a young bloke, I worked like a Trojan. And so, I could have done this,' he shrugs. 'This lot worked really hard with a great deal of resilience, and they were good to the crew. 'That's the other big thing. They had a few blues with each other. So, it's not boring. But it's justified. And they were just good to everybody.' Co-host Shelley Craft agrees, saying the teams' positivity was a welcome reprieve after previous seasons. 'This year there are a bunch of very mature contestants,' she said. 'They've got their heads screwed on. I believe they're here with all the right motivations, and that made for a good show.' Accepting that everyone deals with stress differently, Craft pondered: 'But why are you here if you're going to be miserable?' 'I understand there'll be moments of that, but ultimately, you sign up for this, so get the most out of all the experiences. 'And obviously renovation is one thing, but there are so many great things that we do along the way that are once in a lifetime opportunities. 'So, you just want everyone to be in that frame of mind when they're coming in. It can be very hard to maintain for 12 weeks. I understand that. But these guys did it, and it made our job so much fun, and we felt so lucky.' As a longtime fan of The Block who has auditioned for previous seasons, Gold Coast contestant Alicia is grateful that she didn't make the cut until this year. 'Look, there's always going to be a little bit of drama,' she says. 'We're all here for our own reasons and our own purposes. There's absolutely drama, but at the end of the day, I feel like we were very cohesive as a group and we all love and care about each other.' South Australian hairdresser Mat, who is renovating his property with his best pal Robby, says fans would often stop him on shopping trips to ask: 'Please tell me there's no bitching' or 'please tell me there's no bullying'. 'And I was like: 'Nah, there's none of that!' In the pressure cooker of reality TV, tempers did flare on occasion, but Mat says 'there was never drama detrimental to any friendships or relationships.' The group became so tight knit that they hired a house together for their last night in Daylesford so that they could all be under the one roof to celebrate. 'And when we told the judges, Darren (Palmer) nearly fell off his chair,' Mat laughs. 'He was hitting Shaynna (Blaze)'s arm in shock [that we all got along] and she was just [incredulous] going: 'You're lying?''
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
How Adrian Portelli's exit will affect The Block 2025
Scott Cam won't miss Adrian Portelli on auction day. The Block host believes the billionaire businessman's decision to retire his paddle after spending more than $27 million on eight houses will simply pave the way for families to get back in the bidding at long last. 'I won't be nervous about that at all,' Cam said of Portelli calling it a day after dominating the previous two auctions. 'You know we might not get ridiculous prices but we're going to give mums and dads the opportunity to buy one of these houses. 'And we're going to get families the opportunity to buy one. Or holiday houses for people. It's going to open it right up. We want these homes to go to families. They eventually do when Portelli buys them, but this way we cut out the middleman. Let's just get them to the families.' Portelli broke records in 2024 when he snapped up all five Phillip Island properties for more than $15.03 million. The combined total of $5.43 million in winnings also made it the most lucrative auction day for contestants in the show's history. The richlister is now hoping to sell the entire Phillip Island complex to a single buyer after failing to offload the resort in a December lottery. In the previous year, Portelli earned the nickname 'Lambo Guy' when he rolled up to the Gisborne auctions in a yellow Lamborghini and bought three out of five houses for a combined price of $12m. For Cam, with or without Portelli, auction day is always a nerve-racking affair. But he's confident all five houses will draw a crowd this year. 'It's a very trying time for Shelley (Craft) and I,' Cam explains of the unpredictability of auction day. 'It's the only day we get nervous. We want them to win. We never set anyone up to fail. We want them to make money. And they've worked hard, and they deserve it. Actually, sometimes people don't deserve it, but this year, they do.' Victorian contestant Em admits that while she's 'a little worried' to not have Portelli bidding this year, she feels confident in what she and husband Ben have built. 'I think we've created a beautiful house. So, I think there'll be a buyer out there that'll be very interested in this house,' she says. Her South Australian neighbour and fellow contestant Robby agrees, adding: 'With Adrian Portelli not buying houses, it opens it up for everyone. 'Before, when there's some big buyers in the room and Adrian's in the room, they think they have no chance. This might bring it back to how it used to be.' As for Shelley Craft, she isn't certain we have seen the last of the mysterious Portelli, who, history has shown, always enjoys the element of surprise. 'We haven't heard from Adrian, so who knows whether he will be here or not,' she smiled. 'He said he's not coming … but who knows.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘It can get out of control': Why The Block is getting back to basics
This season marks 15 years since tradie-turned-Gold-Logie-winner Scott Cam took over the reins to present the renovation reality smash The Block. When he came on board in 2010, the show had been revived after a six-year absence from the small screen and Cam could never have predicted how big it would go on to become. 'I knew it was an iconic show,' says Cam. 'The reason it rested was because of the real estate market at the time. When it was coming back, I was very privileged to be asked to host the show. Of course, I didn't think it would go for another 19 seasons.' The Block returns this month with its 21st season, including its 1000th episode, and continues to up the ante. The upcoming outing marks the first time teams will be building homes from scratch that are all designed with identical layouts. 'Each room is exactly the same to the millimetre, so it's a really even playing field this time around,' explains Cam. 'It makes [the contestants] bring their design A-game to stand out from each other, which is good for the viewers because there's some great stuff going into the rooms. They had to really innovate.' Cam says he believes the constant reinvention by The Block team is a key factor as to why the series has remained popular for so many years. 'We do have to come up with new ideas all the time to freshen up the show. I've been very lucky for its longevity, but I think the longevity just goes to show that we do mix it up, and we keep delivering good old-fashioned family viewing that Mum, Dad and the kids can watch together.' Loading After last year's controversial 'flirt-gate' scandal – in which comments made by a married contestant caused his wife to walk off the show – Cam says this season's new crop of contestants sees a back-to-basics approach to casting. 'I believe we probably had a little bit too much drama last year,' reveals Cam. 'But we don't orchestrate that, we try to manage it. It sometimes gets out of control because of the personalities. Some people say they get a bad edit, but we actually soften those people in the edits, which they don't realise. 'Look, I think that this year is a very different series. We get back to the grassroots of building and designing and great competitive spirit. We all had a good time, contestants, crew, production.'
