The Block returns Sunday, August 8, at 7.00pm to Channel Nine and 9Now for a 17th season with a twist: Fans v Faves – a showdown of epic proportions.
The Block: Fans v Faves brings three unsuspecting yet hopeful couples face to face with two sets of very experienced returning, all-star couples.
For the first time, there will be no house plans for contestants to work off. This year, Blockheads must not only renovate the mammoth project, but they’ll also have to design the layout and inclusions of their houses themselves from scratch.
At stake is $100,000 for the winner of The Block, plus whatever profits their home can make on the critical auction day. All that’s standing in the way is five dilapidated houses and three fierce judges who will score the room reveals as they’re delivered each week.
See More: The Block Fans v Faves: Everything you need to know
Contestants
The Block cast 2021
See More: The Block Fans v Faves: Meet the contestants
The Faves returning this year are Perth’s Ronnie (45) and Georgia (37) from the 2017 Elsternwick series, and Sydney couple Mitch (58) and Mark (59) from the 2019 Oslo series – both renovation powerhouses who don’t plan on letting any newbies show them up.
Identical twins Josh and Luke (27), who made their television debut on Love Island Australia in 2019, will join two other newbie couples – Melbourne parents Tanya (39) and Vito (45), and country music kids Kirsty (33) and Jesse (32), hailing from Wangi Wangi just south of Newcastle.
Season 17
The location for this year has The Block in a setting it has never attempted before, a traditional Australian cul-de-sac. Bronte Court in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Hampton will be transformed as the couples battle it out to create five luxury family homes.
In a season packed with firsts, this one will literally dig deeper than ever, with each property having an underground excavation for contestants to create a massive basement in their homes.
The five houses to be renovated are on separate blocks that range from the smallest, 587 square metres, to the biggest, 911 square metres for house number five. These are the largest blocks of land in the history of the show.
The Block, Sunday August 8 at 7.00pm on Channel Nine and 9Now