The Block (Australian TV series)

Format

The original format of the series featured four couples with a prior relationship renovating a derelict apartment block in the Sydney suburb of Bondi, with each couple renovating a separate apartment over a period of 12 weeks and with a budget of A$40,000. The apartments were then sold at auction, with each couple keeping any profit made above a set reserve price and the couple with the highest profit winning a A$100,000 prize. The current format is relatively the same except the series usually features five couples, it is mainly based in Melbourne suburbs and the budget is $100,000+.

Auction

Returning teams

Season 1

The first season of The Block began airing on 1 June 2003 on the Nine Network, replacing Backyard Blitz and Location Location in the network's flagship time slot of Sunday at 6:30 to 7:30 pm (AEST). The season was presented by Backyard Blitz host Jamie Durie and filmed in Bondi, New South Wales, with the majority of filming being completed prior to the series airing for editing purposes.

Selected from approximately 2,000 applicants, the four couples in the season were:

The auction profits had a combined result of $443,000.

Season 2

Following the success of the first season, an expanded second season of 26 episodes, airing twice weekly, premiered on 18 April 2004. The season was again set in Sydney, although in the suburb of Manly rather than Bondi where the first season was located.

The auction profits had a combined result of $155,000 with two properties not selling at auction.

Selected from over 18,000 applicants, the four couples in the season were:

Two original contestants, Dani and Monique Bacha, left the program in January 2004, two weeks into the second season, when it was reported that Dani had spent six months in jail in 2002 following his conviction for a drug-related offence. Andrew Rochford and Jamie Nicholson replaced Dani and Monique Bacha.

Season 3

After a long break, the series was revived in 2010 with a set of four apartments in the upmarket suburb of Vaucluse in Sydney being renovated and Scott Cam replacing Jamie Durie as host.

The auction profits had a combined result of $339,500 with only one property not selling at auction.

Season 4

Season four saw six major changes to the format of The Block.

Eight couples were initially selected, with four being eliminated and the other four being given keys to the houses. The four remaining teams are:

The winners of The Block were Polly and Waz. They made $15,000 in profit and due to the other three couples' houses being passed in, they also won the $100,000 grand prize making them the winners. Also in this finale episode, Josh proposed to Jenna, his girlfriend for five years and partner on The Block.

This was the worst auction in the history of The Block with auction profits having a combined result of $15,000 due to only one property selling at auction.

Polly and Waz were the only couple whose property sold at auction, with the other three failing to meet their reserve prices. Following the auction, Amie and Katrina's property sold for their exact reserve amount, meaning they would not take any winnings from appearing on The Block. Also, Rod and Tania's property sold for the highest profit on The Block, at $72,000 (however, as it was after the auction, Polly and Waz are still the winners).

Season 5

This season, like season four, was also based in Melbourne, in the inner city suburb of South Melbourne with four double storey side by side terrace houses located at 401 – 407 Dorcas Street. The properties are all on separate titles with car access from Montague Street and plans approved to allow for a third story extension.

Eight couples were initially selected, with four being eliminated and the other four being given keys to the houses. The four remaining teams are:

The auction profits had a combined result of $1,743,001.

Season 6

It was announced during the finale of the fifth season that an all-star edition of the series would air in 2013, with viewers able to vote for couples to return from past seasons. These votes were taken into consideration when selecting the contestants, and the four returning couples were announced in October 2012 as Phil and Amity (of season one), Mark and Duncan (season three), Josh and Jenna (season four) and Dan and Dani (season five). Phil and Amity won All Stars with a total of $1,670,000 selling for their home. The auction profits had a combined result of $815,000

Production for the series relocated from Melbourne—which had hosted the prior two seasons—to its original location of Bondi in Sydney to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the show's first season. Filming took place over nine weeks from October to December 2012.

Darren Palmer, who was a guest judge in the fourth and fifth seasons, replaced John McGrath as a permanent judge for this season. Both Neale Whitaker and Shaynna Blaze reprised their roles as judges from the previous season.

Season 7

The Nine Network renewed The Block for a seventh season to air after Easter in 2013. The location for this season was 142 Park Street, South Melbourne. The building consists of 5 levels, with each couple was allocated a full level to renovate. Alisa and Lysandra renovated level 1, Matt and Kim were responsible for level 2, level 3 was occupied by Bec and George, level 4 was completed by Madi and Jarrod and level 5 was made over by Trixie and Johnno.

Twin sisters Alisa and Lysandra won The Block, with a profit of $295,000. The auction profits had a combined result of $1,283,000.

• Alisa & Lysandra win The Block with a $4000 profit lead over Madi & Jarrod.

Season 8

Applications for the eighth season of the series opened whilst the seventh season was airing, with couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents. Filming for the season was scheduled to occur between November 2013 and January 2014, and aired from 27 January 2014.

Season 8 was based in the Melbourne suburb of Albert Park, Victoria. The production company paid $5.9 million for 47 O’Grady Street, a brick warehouse that was then transformed into four luxury apartments.

The working title of season 8 was "Fans vs Favourites" as shown in the 2014 preview that was aired on the Big Brother 2013 finale. Returning to The Block were Brad and Dale (season 5) / Alisa and Lysandra (season 7). Joining The Block were The Super K's – Kyal and Kara, and The Retro Rookies – Steve and Chantelle. Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford won The Block with a profit of $636,000 + $100,000 winners' prize money. The auction profits had a combined result of $2,326,500.

In May 2014, it was reported that Lukas Kamay – who had won the auction for Alisa and Lysandra's apartment – had been arrested for his involvement in an insider trading scam. As a result, the $500,000 deposit he had paid was frozen and the apartment was seized. The apartment will be re-sold at a later date. It's unclear whether Alisa and Lysandra will receive the money they would have received had the scandal not broken, or if they are now considered to have come fourth and did not sell their apartment at auction.

Season 9

The ninth season of The Block featured contestants renovating a former office building in Prahran into luxury apartments, with the season subtitled as The Block: Glasshouse. Filming began in April 2014. One of the contestants was former professional Australian rules footballer Darren Jolly and his wife Deanne as one of the couples. The season debuted on 27 July 2014 at the 6:30 time slot.

Shannon and Simon Voss won The Block with a profit of $335,000 + $100,000 winners' prize money, while Michael & Carlene and Darren & Deanne made the bare minimum of $10,000 above reserve. Even newly-weds Karstan & Maxine only netted $40,000 in winnings. The auction profits had combined results of $705,000.

Season 10

The Block was renewed for a Tenth season which was to begin airing on 27 January 2015.

The working title of season 10 was "Triple Threat" as shown in the 2014 preview that was aired on 23 November 2014. It was premiered on January 27, 2015 where contestants renovate a former three-level block of flats. Darren & Deanne (season 9), Bec & George and Matt & Kim (both season 7) returned to vie for a spot as contestants. Former contestant Dan Reilly from seasons 5 and 6 returned, this time as an apprentice foreman ("foreboy") under Keith's guidance after Dan himself became a qualified builder, who was a qualified carpenter during his stints as a contestant.

Former contestants Darren & Deanne won the season with $835,000 + $100,000 prize money, and all contestants won over $665,000. This is the highest making combined auction profits with a result of $3,065,000r

Season 11

The Block was renewed for an eleventh season, which went into production in May 2015. Season 11 put the show 'back-to-basics' after ratings declines during the tenth season; episodes were cut from 90 to 60 minutes, fewer episodes, the eliminations were removed and Thursday night episodes were dropped.

Filming for season 11 began on May 15, 2015. This season renovated the former Hotel Saville in South Yarra - an octagonal, eight floor brick building. The title for Season 11 is "The Block: Blocktagon".

Co-creator Julian Cress said that this season of The Block would have no tradies and only passionate do-it-yourself couples. In other seasons, at least one person in each team had a trade. The change came in the new direction in the back-to-basics change to the season. Cress said viewers would relate more to the characters who are big on spirit but small on skills when the show returned later in the year.

This season was sponsored by Mitre 10 (building equipment), Swisse Australia (vitamins), Aldi (groceries), Domain (money and apartment information), The Good Guys (electronics and kitchens) and Suzuki (transport).

Shay & Dean Paine won the season with $655,000 + $100,000 prize money, and all contestants won over $349,000. The auction profits had a combined result of $2,439,000.

Season 12

On 28 October 2015, Nine renewed the series for a twelfth season. Since 2013, the Nine Network had aired two seasons of the show each year. In 2016, however, this would be the one and only season airing, and it did not air until the last quarter of 2016. It was once again set in Melbourne. On 27 December 2015, Frank Valentic teased a video saying that there are rumours of The Block going to Greville Street, Prahran.

On 18 February 2016, it was reported that The Block's producers had bought an old heritage-listed soap factory for $5 million at 164 Ingles Street, Port Melbourne. This address was confirmed by Scott Cam on The Today Show on 9 May 2016. Filming began on 26 May 2016. The series began airing in August 2016 and had 5 teams competing. The season premiered on Sunday 21 August 2016. This season's contestants, Julia & Sasha, are the first ever female same-sex couple to compete on any season of The Block. The season concluded on 13 November 2016.

This season is sponsored by Mitre 10 (building equipment), Aldi (groceries), Domain (cash flow and apartment information), McCafé (snacks, beverages, and the McCafe Quality Award), Stayz (challenge and additional finale prizes), Suzuki (transport and viewer voting prize) and Telstra (Smart Home Technology and additional cash flow).

William Bethune & Karlie Cicero won the season with $715,000 + $100,000 prize money. Each team of contestants won $425,000 or more. The auction profits had a combined result of $2,835,000.

Season 13

On 8 November 2016, The Block was renewed for a thirteenth season at Nine's upfronts. Applications for the thirteenth season of the series opened on January 9th 2017, with energetic couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents. Filming for the season is scheduled to occur between April 2017 and July 2017. The casting call also specifies first round couples will be reduced to final participants in the first week of filming, which suggests Season 13 will feature an elimination round similar to that of Season 5.

On 11 March 2017, it was reported that a vacant block of land at 46 Regent Street, Elsternwick, had been purchased for $9.6 million back in December 2016, with plans approved to build a five lot subdivision, meaning for the first time ever, they would be building a property from the ground up, instead of renovating an existing building. On 17 March 2017, it was officially confirmed that 46 Regent Street Elsternwick will be the location of The Block's thirteenth season with filming to begin on 27 April 2017, however they will not be building a property from the ground up, as five old rundown weatherboard houses are being relocated to the location, meaning this will be the first time since the sixth season the contestants will renovate a house.

Future

On 21 November 2016, it was reported the producers were looking at The Gatwick Private Hotel at 34 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda as a possible site for its thirteenth season. On 17 December 2016, it was reported that The Block producers and the owners of The Gatwick Hotel are currently in negotiations on purchasing the property. On 4 March 2017, it was reported that the Gatwick Hotel deal did not go ahead and that the producers are searching for another property, however on 6 March 2017, it was reported the producers were in a closing deal to buy the property as residents of the building are to move out. On 17 March 2017, it was reported that The Gatwick Hotel would not be the location of The Block's thirteenth season, although there was still interest in the building. On 22 March 2017, Nine officially confirmed that the building had been purchased and will be used for a future season of The Block.

Viewership

The two first seasons were successful in the ratings, with the first season averaging 2.2 million viewers. Season 1 Finale was watched by 3.115 million viewers and Season 2 was watched by 2.273 million viewers.

The third season debuted with 1,134,000, a daily rank of 9. It lost to all its main time slot competition consisting of Glee on Network Ten and Border Security on the Seven Network. However, it remained successful with key demographics and enjoyed steady ratings throughout the season. Season 3 concluded with 1.712 million viewers, and was the top program of the night in total people and all key demographics. It was also the second most-watched program of the week.

Reno Rumble

Reno Rumble was a program that pit teams from The Block against teams from the Seven Network's reality series House Rules. The program aired on the Nine Network and was produced by the same production company as The Block.

The series was renewed for a second season but did not involve former contestants from The Block or House Rules and was only produced by the Nine Network.

Adaptations

The Block has also been adapted in Russia, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, United States and South Africa.