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The Block 2021: meet the cast

These are the 5 couples competing on Fans v Faves season.

Season 17 of The Block begins on Nine, renovating 5 homes in Bronte Court, Hampton.

Three new couples (Fans) compete alongside two returning teams (Faves). Amongst the other “firsts” this season, there are no house plans supplied for contestants to work from.

Properties range from 587 square metres to 911 square metres -the largest blocks of land in the history of the show. Each property also undergoes an underground excavation for contestants to create a massive basement.

“Some of our Blockheads have asked for guidance from Block architect Julian Brenchley and others have ignored many of his suggestions and trusted their own ideas, which will be very interesting to watch,” said host Scott Cam.

Joining him again is Shelley Craft, site foremen Keith and Dan, and renovation judges: Neale Whitaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer.

“Building in a cul-de-sac is such a unique first for The Block. We are building the classic Aussie dream for five lucky buyers, to help them discover that good neighbours do become good friends,” said Craft.

“But before that, we will see some fiery renovators revealing some stunning spaces.”

“The Fans have everything to gain and the Faves have reputations to uphold. This will be a dramatic showdown like we have never seen before,” added Cam.

In the biggest shakeup in Block history, for the first time there will be no house plans for contestants to work off – we’re tearing them up. This year, Blockheads must not only renovate the mammoth project, they’ll also have to design the layout and inclusions of their houses themselves from scratch.

The location for this blockbuster faceoff has The Block in a setting it has never attempted before, a traditional Australian cul-de-sac. Bronte Court in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Hampton will be transformed as the couples battle it out to create five luxury family homes.

In a season packed with firsts, this one will literally dig deeper than ever, with each property having an underground excavation for contestants to create a massive basement in their homes.

The five houses to be renovated are on separate blocks that range from the smallest, 587 square metres, to the biggest, 911 square metres for house number five. These are the largest blocks of land in the history of the show.

For the uninitiated, at stake is $100,000 for the winner of The Block, plus whatever profits their home can make on the critical auction day. All that’s standing in the way is five dilapidated houses and three fierce judges who will score the room reveals as they’re delivered each week.

Tanya & Vito (Fans)
Parents from Melbourne, VIC
Tanya, 39, makeup artist / Vito, 45, window furnisher
Together for two decades and married for 18 years, with children Eva (12) and Josiah (8), Tanya and Vito are as close as couples can get.
They have watched The Block with their family for as long as they can remember and can’t believe they made the cut this year.
Tanya and Vito have big personalities and are not afraid to either show or hide their emotions – they plan on making a big impact on the program, that is certain.

Experience:
Tanya and Vito, who have always lived in Melbourne’s north-west suburbs, have built three houses of their own during their marriage.
The most recent one – where they live with their two children – in Airport West is their pride and joy. They believe this experience of building homes will help them immensely on The Block.
“We understand trades and what it takes to get the job done,” Vito said. Their style is loud and bright and colourful, like them, so look out.
“The Block is something we have watched for years so it’s just amazing to be on it. We can’t believe this is happening to us,” Tanya said.

Vito is a keen cyclist.
Church and faith are an important part of Tanya and Vito’s life.
Vito’s dad is a bricklayer and he had a go at being a brickie early on in life.
Some of the celebrities Tanya has done makeup for include Tina Arena and Chrissie Swan.

Josh & Luke (Fans)
Identical twins from Sydney, NSW
Josh, 27, studying mental health / Luke, 27, synthetic grass installer
We met Josh and Luke when they made their television debut on Love Island Australia in 2019.
Charismatic, passionate and loveable, these twins are set to entertain Australia again, but will charisma be enough to get them through the rough and tumble of The Block? That remains to be seen.

Experience:
When it comes to renovation experience, it’s probably fair to say Josh and Luke are the most inexperienced Blockheads in program history.
While massive fans of the show, neither has renovated before. But they see this as an advantage, because other contestants may dismiss them and not realise they are tough competitors.
The youngest couple this year, they want to show everyone they can do it. “We might be the juniors and not have much renovating experience, but we are going to give it our best shot,” Luke said.

The twins grew up and live on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Family is very important to the boys. They aren’t afraid to ask for help from their dad who has a background in real estate.
Luke once tried out for the Royal Marine Commandos.
Luke was a champion 400-metre runner, making the national finals in the Under 20 category with a personal best time of 48 seconds.
Josh has the most Instagram followers of any Block contestant this year, with 164,000 on his personal account.

Kirsty & Jesse (Fans)
Kirsty, 33, country singer / Jesse, 32, videographer
Married from Wangi Wangi, NSW
Together since they were 16 and married now for seven years, Kirsty and Jesse are a rock-solid couple. Whatever they do they give 100 per cent and going on The Block will be no different. Coming from humble beginnings, they see this as a huge opportunity to get ahead in life.
Experience:
Kirsty and Jesse bought their first house together when they were 18. After Jesse got his apprenticeship as a fitter and machinist two years earlier, he set a goal to buy a property as soon as he could. “I think I blew my first pay, but after that I saved half my pay until I was 18, so we could buy a house for $165,000,” he said.
They did up that house and sold it, making $60,000 and catching the renovation bug. Since then they have bought and flipped six houses.

The couple owned and operated a 60-seat café that had seven employees in their hometown of Wangi Wangi for three years, before going to Nashville.
They are huge fans of Ronnie and Georgia.
“Hamptons beach vibe” is their preferred style of renovating. Kirsty and Jesse got married on 4/4/2014 at 4pm.
Kirsty has won two Golden Guitar Awards for country music.

Ronnie & Georgia (Faves)
Parents from Perth, WA
Ronnie, professional renovator, 45 / Georgia, professional renovator, 37
With their first appearance on The Block in 2017 in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, Ronnie and Georgia became fan favourites. Hugely competitive and outspoken, there’s never a dull moment for these two.
They have unfinished business after finishing third in 2017. They took home $161,000 from Elsternwick but they want to come away with the ultimate prize this year.

Experience:
Ronnie and Georgia renovate and flip houses for a living, so the pressure on this Perth couple to perform is huge. They know that this means their build on The Block has to be pretty well perfect.
“I want to do a really good job, and returning as all-stars brings even more expectation and pressure,” Georgia said. “We are our own worst critics.”
They hope their previous experience on the show will work in their favour. “We will be a little bit smarter and a little bit wiser this season,” Georgia said.

Georgia has a background in musical theatre and studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. She previously performed in her own cabaret show.
Ronnie enjoys bike riding as exercise, and he plans to do that on the show.
The couple met in Perth when Georgia was 21 and Ronnie was a single dad with a toddler named Giordano, who is now 20.
Ronnie is passionate about beach volleyball and has competed in the United States.

Mitch & Mark (Faves)
Grandads from Sydney, NSW
Mitch, entrepreneur, 58 / Mark, entrepreneur, 59
Australia first met the fabulous Sydney couple Mitch and Mark on The Block in 2019 at The Oslo in St Kilda. They came fifth but still took home $384,000 in prizemoney. Now they return to The Block to show more of what they can do and snatch the crown as winners.
Together for 16 years, Mitch and Mark work incredibly well together. They aren’t afraid to speak their mind and never fade into the background. They are a force to be reckoned with, especially when it comes to the amount of work they can do in a short time.

Experience:
Mitch and Mark know their stuff when it comes to renovation and flipping houses. They are now up to house number 20, and before going on The Block they were getting ready to start renovating their own home on the northern beaches.
“There is nothing like finishing a project after planning it for so long and seeing it come to life – we love it,” Mark said.
They plan to use their experience in renovating and being on the show before to maximum advantage, but this might mean occasionally letting their guard down.
“Last time we got so caught up with the build and doing well that we didn’t allow ourselves the time to have as much fun as we could have,” Mitch said.

7pm Sunday, continues Monday – Wednesday on Nine.

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