Commonwealth Games champion Bianca Chatfield has been revealed as the first contestant to take on the infamous Gatwick Hotel in the new series of The Block.
The netball star, 35, was spotted filming outside the dilapidated St Kilda property with the sordid past on Thursday, alongside a group of other soon-to-be stars, reported this week’s The Herald Sun.
She was joined by show host Scott Cam for day one of the action as the cast moved into the notorious former boarding house – which has a history of murders, rapes and drug overdoses.
And we’re off! Commonwealth Games champion Bianca Chatfield has been revealed as the first contestant to take on the infamous Gatwick Hotel in the new series of The Block
Bianca made her Australian Diamonds debut as an 18-year-old in 2001, one of the youngest ever players to represent her country.
She went on to be a co-captain of the Melbourne vixens and was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Bianca is also a world champion, representing Australia at the 2007 Netball World Championships in New Zealand.
A kombi van dropped off this year’s contestants, in photos obtained by The Herald Sun.
Builders arrived on Friday to start transforming the house into the Channel Nine show’s renovation location in a project that will reportedly push back the start date by two weeks.
The Melbourne hotel was covered in heavy scaffolding and high black cladding, with part of nearby Loch Street being blocked off to make way for construction.
‘House of horrors’: The netball star, 35, was spotted filming outside the dilapidated St Kilda property with the sordid past on Thursday, alongside a group of other soon-to-be stars
Ready to renovate! Scotty Cam is due to host the next series, which began filming this month
The location is known for its sordid ‘house of horrors’ past, with the infamous building’s history including robberies, murders and rapes.
It was previously revealed that Channel Nine hired ‘specialist forensic teams’ to ensure St Kilda’s dirty and dilapidated Gatwick Hotel was safe for contestants to enter.
A Block insider told The Daily Telegraph: ‘It was not a safe environment.’
The boarding house, which has seen a series of fatal drug overdoses over the years, was apparently cleaned of 389 syringes, with some found wedged under carpets and floorboards.
The source claimed: ‘Some rooms were immaculately maintained by elderly boarders and then right next door would be an ice lab.’
That’s serious! It’s been revealed Channel Nine hired ‘specialist forensic teams’ to ensure St Kilda’s dirty and dilapidated Gatwick Hotel was safe for contestants to enter
‘They had lifted up carpet to push needles through holes in the floorboards’: The boarding house, which has seen a series of fatal drug overdoses over the years, was apparently cleaned of 389 syringes, with some found wedged under carpets and floorboards
‘There was graffiti sprayed on the walls and they had lifted up carpet to push needles through holes in the floorboards,’ they added.
Not only was the property cleaned of harmful and unsightly items, but a priest reportedly visited the former rooming house to bless ‘haunted’ rooms.
According to The Herald Sun, Father Bob Maguire shared a poem in front of the Fitzroy Street address ahead of the January renovation.
‘It does not matter if The Block builds the most beautiful apartments in the universe, the ancestors will be there, not to frighten anybody but they will be just there,’ he explained.
‘Yes, they dragged us in the other day. It wasn’t the owners.’
The whimsical poem is believed to ward off ‘trouble,’ the priest confirmed.
Blessing the former residents: Father Bob Maguire shared a poem in front of the Fitzroy Street address ahead of the January renovation
Would you go inside the haunted house? Scott Cam is gearing up for season 14 of The Block
‘Bless this house, O Lord we pray, make it safe by night and day,’ he chanted.
In 2017, Channel Nine attempted to buy the apartment block but mysteriously, after months of negotiations and reported purchase offers in excess of $14 million, the deal fell through.
With a truly intriguing location locked in, season 14 is set to be the series’ most controversial yet.
It has been the site of four murders, including 34-year-old Arthur Karatasiosis – who was stabbed to death in the foyer in 2006.
During that same year, a 52-year-old woman was raped and robbed in a gruesome attack.
In the past, Inspector Jason Kelly called for improved security and safety from the building’s owners and government agencies after attending five jobs a day at the former hotel.
Block it in! Season 14 of The Block could begin filming in as little as eight days, it’s been revealed, with News Corp claiming the show ‘is already set to start next month’