The Block fan favourite Foreman Keith reveals why he quit

Foreman Keith stepped back from The Block this year after more than a decade on the show. Now, he’s revealed the brutal reason why.

The Block’s fan favourite Keith Schleiger has revealed one major reason why he decided to step down from the renovation show this year, labelling some of the contestants he worked with as “d**kheads”.

Known as Foreman Keith to viewers, the builder scaled back his involvement in the Channel 9 show this season after more than a decade, initially saying he wanted to spend more time with his young family as the series filmed on Phillip Island in Victoria, two hours’ drive from his home in Melbourne.

Speaking on theYour Haus & Home podcast more recently, the father-of-two said he had been “enjoying going back to a normal life” following 13 seasons as chief foreman, adding the gruelling 24 hour days with oft-difficult contestants became too much.

“Imagine you’re a builder, and you’ve got some contestants who’ve got no idea about building, and you’re giving them instruction and they tell you to get stuffed,” Schleiger bluntly said.

“All these amateurs have got no idea what they’re doing. We’re building beautiful homes for people, and I never got why people [contestants] would argue with me. It just didn’t make sense.”

Foreman Keith has revealed why he left The Block.

Indeed, some of the dramatics to play out on The Block have often involved Schleiger, who was unafraid to confront couples on the show.

During last year’s season, Schleiger hit out at several contestants for relying too heavily on himself and fellow foreman, Dan Reilly, prompting him to share stern words with married duo Leah and Ash.

He continued on the podcast, “I used to get grumpy on telly, but there was a reason for it. [I had] some d**khead just giving me grief, and it wasn’t warranted.

“If I’m a subbie [subcontractor] going on site, and I’ve got a foreman giving me instruction, you’ve just gotta follow it. There’s no ifs or buts.”

Leah and Ash starred on the 2023 season of The Block, and were involved in a lot of the drama.

Despite the downsides of working on a top-rating series, Schleiger said he also had some fond memories, describing The Block as a “big adrenaline rush”.

“I must admit, when I was doing The Block initially, I was doing other projects, and the other projects were quite boring,” he said.

“And one thing we did learn was how to do things quickly. We had to work hard.”

The skilled builder and carpenter handed over his hat to Foreman Dan this year, who first appeared on the show as a contestant in 2012 with his now-wife, Dani Wales.

Schleiger, who first joined The Block as an on-site foreman in the 2011, is now keeping busy with his new business, Keith’s Bathrooms and Renovations, which he launched in May.

Meanwhile, next year’s 21st season is set to take place in the country town of Daylesford, Victoria.

Originally published as The Block fan favourite Foreman Keith reveals why he quit