The milestone 20th series of The Block Australia is going to go off with a bang, according to this year’s stars. “I feel like this is going to be the biggest season,” says contestant Courtney McInnes. It’s a big call, but with rumours that one couple walks out – and another splits – it sounds like she may be right!
On top of the conflict, there’s the small matter of the five family holiday homes on Phillip Island – 140km south of Melbourne, famous for its penguins, plus famous local lads Chris and Liam Hemsworth – that are in desperate need of a refresh. And, of course, there are hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft.
“Even if you’ve watched the show for 20 seasons, I don’t think you can really know what you’re in for,” says participant Paige Beechey.
Show creator Julian Cress agrees, “The audience is going to be in for some major surprises during this series.”
Meet the 10 Blockheads who’ve signed up for three months of mud, sweat and tears – and the chance to win a $100,000 grand prize…
Meet the 2204 cast on The Block Australia
The Red Team: Courtney and Grant
Landscape developer Grant Freeman, 30, tells Woman’s Day he’s “a better husband” after tackling The Block with his wife of three years. “I learned how to bite my tongue a little bit,” laughs the Sydneysider. Furniture designer Courtney McInnes, 32, also jokes, “He learned how to just say yes and agree with everything I wanted to do. It was much easier!” She later adds they kept their fighting in-house. “There’s actually a lot of drama between Grant and I – nothing between the other houses.”
Read more about the red team here.
The Yellow Team: Ricky and Haydn
Prepare to fall in love with these down-to-earth Melbourne besties, who are more like brothers. Plumber Ricky Recard, 34, hopes his real dysfunctional family doesn’t come calling after seeing him on screen. “If they reach out, they reach out, but they won’t get onto me.” Meanwhile, IT worker Haydn Wise, 37, says they’ve been friends for 20 years. “But we grew really close when I lost my dad and Rick lost his best mate. We persevere – we push through.”
Read more about the yellow team here.
The Green Team: Kylie and Brad
“We potentially thought it could have been a holiday for us, but it was definitely not,” says electrician and plumber Brad Baker, 32, of leaving the couple’s four kids at home in Cairns to take on The Block. Meanwhile, his no-nonsense hairdresser wife Kylie, 37, fears she may rub viewers the wrong way, laughing, “I think I’m going to be called the green-headed goblin!”
Read more about the green team here.
The Blue Team: Jesse and Paige
They’re engaged to be married, but wedding planning went out the window once they hit The Block! “Paige bought a diary for wedding stuff. When we came home, the book was still empty,” laughs carpenter Jesse Maguire, 29. The Perth couple insist they were kept busy with building – not feuding. “Obviously, last year, there were a few issues, but this was a really tight-knit group,” claims specialist Paige Beechey, 27.
The Purple Team: Kristian and Mimi
After their 2023 wedding went viral on TikTok, they’re used to getting attention. The Adelaide couple, who are tipped to be this year’s villains, aren’t backing away from creating a buzz. “We were our authentic selves,” restaurant manager Mimi Belperio, 28, says when asked if she’s nervous about how she’ll be portrayed. Electrician Kristian, 31, says the show proved to be the “ultimate test” on their months-old marriage. Uh-oh!
Read more about the purple team here.
In 2023, team blue Gian and Steph Ottavio smashed Block-history. They made a staggering $1.65 million profit for their Japandi-styled home. Could their luck rub off on this year’s blue team?
“I tell ya, this is going to be the greatest one,” Scotty declared in the trailer. “Shell, this year. I’m taking this in a whole new direction.”
Suddenly the trailer took a different approach, with judge Darren Palmer running down the beach shirtless in Baywatch style. “This isn’t Love Island,” he laughed.
Darren, clearly returning for the new season, will be joined on the judging panel by Shaynna Blaze with real estate giant Marty Fox who is temporarily filling in for Neale Whitaker – the same arrangement fans watched in 2023 – however, he was not seen in the trailer like the other judges.
The Block Australia screens 7pm Mon to Wed and 7.30pm Sundays on Three, streaming on ThreeNow.
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