Scott Cam reveals massive Block rule change this season

Keen to avoid the cheating scandals that have engulfed the show in previous seasons, Scott Cam is making a big rule change this year.

The Block host Scott Cam has let slip a major change to the show’s rules that will be in force during this season of Nine’s hit reno series.

Speaking to 2DAY FM’s Hughesy, Ed & Erin earlier this week, Cam revealed that before the five teams chose their houses for the renovation, he armed them with more information than contestants had ever received before.

First up: An artist’s rendering of what each house would look like when completed, so they could make an informed choice about which one they wanted.

Secondly: And this is the big one, given how much controversy it has caused in the past – he gave them the show’s entire production schedule, so they all know from the start of the build what rooms they’ll be doing each week and can plan accordingly.

Scott Cam has an announcement …

The change leaves contestants stunned.

“We showed them the entire schedule – we’d never do that before. But it’s such a big build that we thought, we need to give them a heads up so they can plan for the future,” Cam revealed.

A newly released teaser for the season shows the moment Cam surprises the contestants with this treasure trove of information.

“I’ve decided to make a few changes this year,” he tells them, wheeling in a whiteboard covered with a sheet.

The Block’s production schedule is usually a tightly-held secret from contestants, who are typically kept in the dark about the order of what’s to come so that they can’t work ahead.

The 2021 production schedule that sparked a scandal.

Tanya denied everything – until she came clean during the finale.

But it was also at the centre of one of the show’s biggest-ever scandals, when 2021 contestant Tanya Guccione was accused of sneaking into a production office and taking a photo of the schedule, giving her an upper hand on her fellow contestants. She denied the accusation all season, before finally confessing at the finale.

Following that drama-filled season, 2022 saw the show move to a rural location for the first time, in a season that saw disastrous auction results for several teams and a lot of angst as contestants struggled with the elements and the remote setting.

“It was a tough year last year in Gisborne,” Cam told Hughesy, Ed & Erin this week. “We got in and got it done, but it was cold and wet – it rained for 60 days out of 90. Constant drizzle … that breaks ya.”

All give houses sit on Charming St, Hampton East.

Radio host Dave Hughes noted that he saw some of last year’s contestants at the Logies over the weekend, and felt some seemed like they had “PTSD” from their time on the show.

“It was just tough conditions. Our crew carrying cameras 300 metres between houses, in mud, in the middle of nowhere … morale was low within the crew, including me,” Cam said.

For tonight’s season 19 premiere, The Block returns to inner city Melbourne, as the five teams renovate 1950s brick homes in Charming Street, Hampton East.

“This year’s been fantastic – we’re back. There’s a footpath to walk between [the houses]! Great contestants, great location, great weather – it’s reinvigorated everyone,” said Cam.