The Block offers rare public apology to contestants

Omar and Oz claim they’ve been treated unfairly by The Block all season – and their complaints have led to a public apology from Scott Cam.

There are just six episodes left of this season of The Block – and tempers are fraying as more than one team complain about what they perceive to be “unfair” treatment by the show.

During Sunday’s episode, the complaints even led to a rare mea culpa from Block HQ, with Scott Cam offering Omar and Oz a full apology on the show’s behalf for giving them a raw deal.

Earlier in the episode, Omar and Oz had fumed when they were told they wouldn’t be able to present a finished work-from-home space like the rest of the contestants this week, through no fault of their own.

The Block’s builders ran out of time to complete the roof of their Stratco shed, with bad weather hampering their efforts. The friends both questioned why their shed was left to last by the production’s building team – something they claim has happened to them repeatedly this season.

“We’re the only contestants on The Block that doesn’t have a roof on their shed at the moment,” said Omar.

Omar and Oz voice their frustrations.

“It does feel like we haven’t had the right end of the deal on this Block at all. We’re still trying to produce rooms, and it’s finally come to a stage where we’re being told ‘You’re not going to get the room [finished],” he continued.

“It’s not fair, that’s for sure.”

Foremen Keith and Dan apologised to the boys and offered them a rare rule-bending allowance to make up for it – telling them their brothers, who were on-site after a family visit, could help them paint the space.

But both Omar and Oz politely refused the first-time-in-Block-history offer, predicting it would only lead to complaints from the other teams who weren’t given the same allowance.

By the time it came to judging, Keith and Dan’s warning had proved correct – with tarps up and water damage still needing to be repaired, Omar and Oz’s room wasn’t able to be finished, effectively knocking them out of the running for a win this week.

Host Scott Cam opened his spiel to the contestants by addressing their complaints.

“On a personal note, I want to apologise to Omar and Oz on behalf of The Block. What with the rain we’ve had over the last month, we were unable to finish your shed – and therefore, you were unable to finish your room. So for that, we say sorry,” he told them.

Scott Cam gives the boys a full apology.

Cam also said he’d instructed the judges to judge the room as though it was finished, given the incompletion was not Omar and Oz’s fault.

He also dropped a bombshell: In another Block first, judges Neale Whittaker and Shaynna Blaze were both absent, both having contracted Covid. Instead, remaining judge Darren Palmer would be joined by former Block winners Alisa and Lysandra.

Omar and Oz get their apology.

And it was a fair showing for Omar and Oz, who finished in the middle of the pack in third place – while Tom and Sarah-Jane took out their fifth win of the season for their shed which included a home office, wine tasting area and home entertainment room.

Coming dead last were Sharon and Ankur, with the judges complaining their shed was littered with “week one mistakes.”

As the episode ended, the contestants finally received some good news: With the competition entering its final stages, they would each receive a bumper new budget of $90,000 per house to complete the landscaping of their massive blocks.