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Airdate: The Block

Updated: New host, new night, new suburb. Nine's reality series is back this month.

Nine’s 2010 revival of The Block begins this month.

Hosted by Scott Cam, the series features an apartment block situated in Vaucluse (pictured).

The original series is arguably still our most successful reality franchise.

Hosted by Scott Cam, THE BLOCK 2010 introduces four couples who are taking on one of the toughest but potentiallly most rewarding challenges they will ever face. The couples will move into four identical and near-derelict apartments in the same building, with little more than the clothes they are wearing.

Cam is no stranger to renovation but this time, in his first solo hosting role, it’s tools down. He’ll play mentor and occasional referee to the four competing couples on THE BLOCK 2010 – and with more than 30 years on the tools, there’s no one better qualified for the job.

“This time around we’ve upped the ante by giving them bigger apartments and only half the time to finish each room. One thing I can say for sure is that while I’m delighted to be the host, I’d never be a contestant,” he said.

Taking on this massive challenge in THE BLOCK 2010 are high school sweethearts John and Neisha, both 33; best mates Mark (52) and Duncan (44) who’ve already earned the nickname “The Two Fat Tradies”; engaged couple Erin (27) and Jake (26); and from Melbourne, the boyfriend and girlfriend team of Chez (28) and Brenton (27).

The couples have just eight weeks and $80,000 to out-design and out-decorate each other in a struggle to complete the best apartment. Each week the couples will present one room to judges Neale Whitaker and John McGrath in a bid to win extra cash and prizes to go towards their budget. But the winning apartment will be decided by the toughest judges of all – the buying public.

When the apartments go to auction later this year each couple will get to keep all the profit they make. The couple pocketing the most profit will also take home the ultimate cash prize of $100,000.

This year’s series is set in Vaucluse, one of Australia’s most exclusive suburbs and a real estate goldmine. Each apartment is on a grand scale with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and huge open-plan living, dining and kitchen areas. But as the renovators will discover in the first episode, big apartments mean an even bigger challenge, and winning this game means giving it everything they’ve got.

The series will premiere 7:30pm Wednesday September 22nd on Nine.

22 Responses

  1. I didn’t watch first time around but might give this a go. Especially as what is on 7 is likely rubbish and Glee does nothing for me. Nine could clean up in the 25-54 demos here.

  2. I think Nine is on a winner here. With the property market recovering and people having a facination with Sydney….tjhis looks to me like it will go well. Maybe not as well as its first outing but should be an interesting watch.
    I’ll be watching!

  3. I’ll be watching Glee! Just like all shows created by Nine they are past their used by dates. This show is no exception. First it was Hey Hey, then Hot Property and now The Block. What next?

  4. This might work because it has been away for a while.

    A lot of reality shows should be rested after a few years because we just don’t have the population base to keep the shows interesting enough for a 5 year run. They all start to attract the less talented, less interesting and less likeable as competitiors. Idol ran 2 years too long, DWTS has all but drained the talent pool and BB killed itself but I believe if they had been rested earlier they would be around today even if it is only for a once every 2 years show.

    I hope the good folk at MC are smart enough to take a year off after a couple more seasons.

  5. Well they have moved timeslots from proposed 8.30 to 7.30. I will wonder how it rates. Seriously it does look better than 4 weddings, beat the star and beauty and the geek. Sorry Ch7 but I think the shows they have been launching are trashy.

    This will rate because it will link Home renos to reality TV….

    It may seem out of date, but I don’t think it is.

  6. I believe that these kind of shows – Hot Property/The Block etc.have fuelled a lot of the ridiculous house prices we see in this country.

    Just think about it, when did house prices start to increase dramatically – early 2000’s – just when these kind of shows appeared and became popular.

    Will they be doing shows when the housing bubble bursts??

  7. I think this was a smart move by Nine, the property market is hot right now and audiences will tire of cooking formats soon enough. My money is on another hit for them .

  8. They’re bringing it back because (a) it was a massive ratings success first time round and (b) from memory, at auction time the flats were sold for exorbitant prices and made squillions for whoever owned them. Sadly, Nine must have lever arch folders marked “ideas from the 80’s” which they insist on revisiting every time they need to make a new local program. It’s almost like there’s a valium-like time lag within program development! I can’t believe this is the best Nine can come up with – surely they can see that renovation reality has been flogged to absolute death.

  9. @pietro, i think in tv land “couples” just refers to 2 people, whether they be partners, friends or family. like biggest loser couples. the amazing race couples and MKR couples.

    from memory last time there was a lot of talk about the high prodution costs. but the promos look very cheap and are quite annoying and off putting. i rekon this year 9 are using “The Block”‘s good name and exploiting it to make some cheap filler show.

  10. You have got to be kidding me. Renovation shows are over, red rover, they are so ’90s.. Have Nine learnt nothing from their HomeMADE debacle last year??????????? This has “turkey” written all over it.

  11. Finally no gay couples this time! Well the 2 who met in a hardware store sound kind of suspicious but anyway.. lol

    They’ll have to get Richard Reid in to judge to fill the gay quota.

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