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Toad & Mandy win House Rules 2018

NSW dairy farmers win the $355,000 prize -by just a single point.

NSW dairy farmers Toad & Mandy have won House Rules 2018, pocketing a $355,000 cash prize.

They scored 24 / 30 points, just one point ahead of Queensland couple Mel & Dave on 23 / 30 points.

The grand final required teams to make over each other’s front yard in just four days.

Mel & Dave’s front yard, renovated by Toad & Mandy, saw judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen declare, “I see an incredibly commercial piece of design, I see that and that proves to me you two can go to the outside and create very, very successful design alongside the dairy farming… perhaps not as innovative, not as creative and not as sexy as we have seen from you in the past… but it absolutely answered the brief and I think it was the perfect evocation of their style of Hamptons.”

Of Toad & Mandy’s front yard, renovated by Mel & Dave, Wendy Moore said: “I think you did create a really beautiful, elegant home. You did justice to the house… and that front section finished it off beautifully. You did have a lot of ideas but I liked most of them.”

This year’s prize money was the profit from a challenge house sale renovated in the season launch.

Asked by host Johanna Griggs what they would do with the prize Mandy said: “We are probably going to get married first.”

Despite a soft start the House Rules quickly built in audience numbers, proving competitive to both Australian Ninja Warrior and MasterChef Australia.

Seven has confirmed it will return for its 7th season in 2019.

5 Responses

  1. so glad a farming couple won it. tho from what I saw on the show their property didn’t seem to be in drought.. I wonder if it was rigged for them to win?

  2. While the ratings build throughout the show, unfortunately the grand finals continue to be underwhelming. Both front yards were 90% preplanned and constructed by tradies, and so similar that the result could be decided either way by the judges. Still a lack of transparency in the scoring. Toad and Mandy deserved the win, probably being the most consistent, however Mel and Dave would have been equally deserving, but they had been set up as “baddies” so it couldn’t happen.

    1. I don’t agree they were “set up” as baddies. They were ultra competitive and played dirty every week. Unliked by their fellow competitors and viewers.

      1. Mel and Dave “played” the producers. They knew that they had been chosen to replace Leigh and Christie and refused to play ball. In both backyard battles, they gave in to the other team, and made the best of their second choice. They often refused to rise to the hysteria of Chiara and David, and again gave in to them on space frequently, usually to the detriment of Chiara and David (who self-sabotaged most weeks). All the way through you could tell that they were very aware that roles are allocated on these shows and they played up to them, usually with a knowing twinkle in the eye, and obligingly giving one liners that could be used over and over, to so-called prove their attitude.

        Mel and Dave showed a strong loving equal relationship, they dealt with the rubbish from the other teams graciously (except Leigh and Christie who would require the Pope to not react), they worked hard…

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