The Block 2018: meet the cast

Five new teams take on The Block at The Gatwick, St. Kilda, hosted by Scott Cam & Shelley Craft.

“I knew it was a fantastic, iconic building, and I knew it had so much potential, so I was very excited when I heard The Gatwick would be our next project,” says Scott Cam, who is returning to host the show for its 14th season.

“Fitzroy Street is itself an eclectic hub and The Gatwick is at the heart of that. It’s had various lives over its time and now we’re about to breathe new life into it.”

“This series brings us right back to where we started in Bondi in 2003,” says Executive Producer, Julian Cress.

“We filmed in summer, which gives it a flavour, I think, that hasn’t been seen on The Block for a very long time.

“It’s usually bitterly cold and raining. So there’s naturally a very different look and feel to this year’s show.”

The renovations are again overseen by site foreman Keith Schleiger with Dan Reilly and judged by Darren Palmer, Shaynna Blaze and Neale Whitaker. Alice Stolz, Managing Editor of Domain magazine, will also be back.

“I think the best part about this year’s series is the transformation we’re going to create. We’re changing a big piece of St Kilda and this will be the beginning, we hope, of something really great for that part of the suburb,” says Scott Cam.

Here are the 5 teams in competition:

Courtney & Hans, Western Australia
This go-getting couple have sky-high ambition, but will their lack of practical renovating experience see them grounded before the competition takes off? One thing’s for sure, they’re here to give it a red-hot go.

Hans 37
Commercial airline pilot
He’s been flying professionally since he was in his late teens, but adventurous Hans admits he’ll never get bored with the view up front. “I still take photos out the window. A sunrise or a cloud formation, blues like you’ve never seen – it’s absolutely stunning,” he says. A pilot for a major commercial airline, Hans did the hard yards starting out, flying across different parts of Africa, never taking a backwards step in his quest to fly large passenger aircraft for a major airline, something he’s been doing now for several years. In 2011, he met Courtney, his equally driven soul mate, a woman who keeps him grounded and continues to support him in his aeronautical endeavours.

Courtney, 33
Flight attendant
Flight supervisor Courtney knows a thing or two about sleepless nights. She’s accustomed to putting in long hours as she criss-crosses the globe as a long-haul flight attendant. “I fly to LA, Dallas and Dubai on the A380 out of Sydney. They’re long flights,” says Courtney, who points out that when it comes to those Block all-nighters she has the form on the board. “I go to work and everyone says, ‘You look so glamorous.’ But wait until it’s time for landing, when I’ve been awake for over 20 hours. It’s a different story.” Originally from Perth, Courtney has travelled the world, first as a model, then with her job. Her quest for adventure makes her the perfect partner in the air and on the ground for fiance Hans, who popped the question a week before they started on the show.

Kerrie & Spence, South Australia
This husband and wife team might just be the most experienced contestants the show has ever seen. An unstoppable renovating duo, they’ve already had their home featured on Grand Designs and they can’t wait to showcase their skills via The Gatwick.

Spence, 46
Prestige builder
Spence, a high-end residential builder by trade, knows a thing or two about the finer things in life. A lover of good food and wine – at one point he had a cool 600 bottles in his collection – he has dedicated his career to working on prestige builds. He recently completed his own dream project, a total reimagining of a property in Victoria, featured on the popular architecture series, Grand Designs. In 2015, he and Kerrie relocated from Victoria to the Barossa Valley, where they bought a bed and breakfast set on 17 hectares adjacent to the property owned by local food hero, Maggie Beer.
“We had this idea of retiring in the Barossa because it is the most amazing place,” he explains. But a quiet life amongst the vines will have to wait as Spence dons his toolbelt one last time for the ultimate challenge on The Block.

Kerrie, 48
Nurse
An extreme sports/adventure addict, there’s not a lot Kerrie hasn’t tried her hand at. Whether it’s skydiving, motorbike riding, or even professional body sculpting contests (that’s bodybuilding, to the uninitiated), this ambitious go-getter is a force to be reckoned with. Life has slowed considerably for Kerrie, a qualified theatre nurse, in recent years. But that doesn’t mean she’s been sitting still. In between shifts at the local hospital Kerrie runs the couple’s B and B. A pragmatist and optimist, Kerrie is prepared to give The Block her all. “I prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” she says.

Hayden & Sara, New South Wales
While Sara might never have worked on a building site before, new hubby Hayden has over 20 years’ experience as a project manager in construction. He’ll have no problems steering the ship – if he can get a word in.

Hayden 45
Construction project manager
Laidback Sutherland Shire native Hayden might look like your average knockabout tradie, but don’t let his relaxed demeanour fool you. This is a man on a mission: to get ahead, give his young family the best possible start in life, and have stacks of fun along the way. As well as working as a project manager on construction sites, Hayden moonlights as a professional photographer, his surf photos, interior shots and portraits appearing in a host of magazines and advertising campaigns. He once did a mate a favour and modelled in a Bisley workwear catalogue with none other than our own
Scotty Cam. Fresh from their December honeymoon, Hayden is looking forward to bringing his construction know-how to The Gatwick with his wife in tow. “The whole experience is going to be pretty amazing,” he says. “Hopefully we can win some money and build our house.”

Sara 31
Former flight attendant, now stay-at-home mum Sara might be small but she sure is mighty. Unafraid to speak her mind and brimming with enthusiasm, it’s hard not to get swept along when this former stewardess is in full flight. “It was my idea to apply for the show,” says Sara, who admits she’s in the driving seat when it comes to organising their lives. “We had never applied before. But I kept saying to Hayden that we should do it and this year everything fell into place. If we had done it last year we would have had a newborn, and next year hopefully I will be pregnant again, so the timing was perfect.” Mum to Harlow, 14 months, Sara has barely stood still since the wedding last October. The other contestants had better watch out: The Block is next on her to-do list.

Norm & Jess, Queensland
There’s not much builder Norm won’t try his hand at, but will The Gatwick get the better of this country couple from Queensland? Not if Norm’s apprentice Jess has anything to do with it. It’s safe to say The Block hasn’t seen anything like this couple of kidders from the Sunshine State.

Norm 40
Builder
When Scott Cam first found out fellow builder Norm was on The Block, he welcomed him as one of his own. “He goes, ‘So Norm, you and I are from the same vintage.’ And I had to say hang on a second, mate, I only turned 40 last month!’’ laughs young-at-heart, old-of-face Norm. A builder by trade, who runs his company Mr Build from his home base, Norm is keen to get stuck into The Gatwick and knows he’ll be right at home amongst the dirt and rubble. And worksite politics? No worries. “I have a zero-d***heads tolerance,” he says. Engaged to Jess his equal in every way, he’s looking forward to getting stuck into this project as a double act, if they can get past the first 24 hours working together. Last time they joined forces on a building site, Norm sacked his rookie apprentice before the day was out. “I fired her for putting the screws in crooked,” Norm declares. “He forgets I’m his partner and not his apprentice,” Jess laughs. “He told me to get off site.”

Jess, 33
Breakfast radio host
Master storyteller, good-time girl, one-time national lawn bowls champion and all-round top chick, Jess might be mum to Freddie, four, and Matilda, one, but this jill-of-all-trades wears many hats. Along with juggling breakfast radio hosting duties for the Sunshine Coast’s Sea 91.9 FM, Jess also recently launched her own online childcare support service. “It’s called Sick Sit. So when your child has a cold or the flu and you can’t go to work, we have the most beautiful tribe of women who are on call to look after the kids, clean and cook dinner, so you don’t have to take the day off,” she says. This pocket dynamo grew up the hard way in country Victoria. Her family weren’t well off and had no electricity until she was 18. Needless to say, that experience made her super resourceful as an adult and a dab hand at making her own fun, and she intends to have stacks of it at The Gatwick. Contestants, you’ve been warned.

Bianca & Carla, Victoria
These best friends work incredibly well as a team, both on and off the court. Last year they renovated Carla’s warehouse apartment together – and they’re chomping at the bit to get started at The Gatwick. Whatever you do, don’t underestimate this competitive duo.

Bianca, 35
Ex-professional netballer, now in sports welfare
Bianca played on the Australian netball team for 11 years, vice-captaining her squad to a gold medal victory at the Commonwealth Games four years ago. But secretly, this mad-keen renovator always had another burning desire: to compete on The Block. Never one to give up, this driven and competitive former professional sportswoman tried out three times for the show before gaining a berth in this year’s series with best friend Carla. “It’s in my family, renovating. My dad’s a builder,” Bianca explains. “I did my first property in Kew and then in 2015 I bought a little art deco apartment in St Kilda, just down the road from The Gatwick. I’m so excited to have finally made it onto the show and I can’t wait to get stuck in.” Bianca, who retired from professional netball after the last Commonwealth Games, now works in sports commentary for TV and radio, as well as moonlighting as a consultant for the Collingwood Football Club.

Carla, 35
Ex-professional netballer, now in sports management
Originally from Adelaide, Carla has spent the better part of the past 15 years travelling around Australia, playing for different national netball teams. She briefly relocated to the UK before returning to Australia where she finished her last playing year with the Vixens alongside Bianca.
After retirement, Carla began working with the Australian Cricketers Association. “I case-manage all cricketers when they come off contract and into retirement,” she says. “So it’s very similar to what Bianca and I have been going through.” Now settled permanently in Melbourne, Carla recently renovated a warehouse apartment in trendy Prahran. “I dragged Bea in to help me when I first found my place,” she says. “It stank and was really gross. But she took one look and said, ‘That’s just cosmetic, if you did this, this and, this …’And I was like, yeah! Right, you’re helping.”

7pm Sunday, 7:30pm Monday – Wednesday on Nine.