Wild rumour about The Block confirmed

Producers have finally broken their silence over a wild rumour about the forthcoming season of beloved reality show The Block.

Producers of The Block have confirmed that they were forced to scramble to replace a team deep into production of the latest season.

This year, viewers will see the show’s first-ever holiday resort, at Phillip Island, being transformed into five luxurious holiday homes.

While one team quitting is not a first it’s never happened so deep into production, and it sparked total chaos for the production.

The Block is coming back and the season is set to be the most explosive yet. Picture: Nine

“We went into it with five great teams, a really interesting bunch of people. But although we were renovating a holiday park, The Block certainly didn’t turn out to be a holiday for everybody,” executive producer Julian Cress told TV Tonight.

“We didn’t make it through the whole series with all five teams. We had to replace one of them along the way, which was a very dramatic moment. We’ve had a team leave previously in the show in Gisborne, but that was only after a couple of days.

“This time, we have a team, deciding to depart the show, a fair way in to the renovation, and then have another team have to come in and take over that build when quite a few rooms had already been revealed, That’s never happened before.

“It was a very difficult decision for them to come to, but there was a very strong reason why they decided to do it and very dramatic and will be unfolding in the coming weeks.”

It’s rumoured that Perth couple carpenter Jesse and claims specialist Paige are the team that bailed.

Most reality TV contracts have clauses that force contestants to finish their commitments with a show, but TV exec Cress explained that forcing the team to stay in the competition would have been a disservice to viewers of The Block.

One couple quits the show deep into filming, leaving bosses scrambling. Picture: Nine.

“It’s impossible to tell somebody to do The Block. If you don’t have enormous reserves of willpower, excitement, courage, and work ethic … if you even take your eye off the ball on The Block for a day, you get your arse handed to you. Nobody can do it unless they’re 100% committed to the task at hand,” he explained.

“I’m not saying these people left because they were lazy. They wanted to do it, but it just became enormously challenging at some point and their reasons for leaving, are pretty remarkable. I think it will start a very interesting conversation among the audience.”

It’s proven to be a difficult season for production, who were forced to scramble at the last minute in February when the original location for the show fell through.

Adding more to an already action-packed season, this year viewers are set to witness another first; with one of the contestants becoming a father midway through filming.

Meanwhile, foreman Keith Schleiger and judge Neale Whitaker will take a step back this season with Dan Reilly and real estate agent Marty Fox stepping up as foreman and judge, respectively.

The Block returns 7:30pm Monday on Nine.

Originally published as Wild rumour about The Block confirmed