Channel Nine has denied claims conditions on the set of The Block’s 2022 season are ‘brutal’.
According to The Daily Telegraph’s Confidential , the contestants have complained to friends and family about minimal food, freezing temperatures and no access to takeaway.
An insider told the publication that ‘everyone is exhausted and stressed’ and unable to ‘access UberEats’ with the set located in rural Victoria.
‘Everyone knows The Block is tough’: Channel Nine has denied claims conditions on the set of The Block’s 2022 season are ‘brutal’
‘Some days a muesli bar and apple is as good as it gets,’ an insider reportedly told Confidential.
‘Being in such a remote area, they don’t have access to Uber Eats.’
Another insider claimed the contestants were being tightly controlled.
However, it is widely known contestants have their own cars during filming for the show and can go and purchase food and drinks and any they wish.
Claims: According to the report, the contestants have complained to friends and family about minimal food, freezing temperatures and a lack of toilet paper. Pictured: 2021 stars Tanya and Vito Guccione
A Nine spokesperson strongly denied the claims, telling Daily Mail Australia on Saturday: ‘Everyone knows The Block is tough, but these claims are just false.’
The location for the 2022 season is Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges, about an hour from Melbourne.
While he normally oversees the projects, host Scott Cam will also renovate one of the properties himself.
Speaking to The Herald Sun in March, executive producer Julian Cress said this year’s season will be filled with all-original cast members.
Country Victoria: An insider claimed the contestants were being tightly controlled. ‘(They have) their car keys (taken) off them at the end of the day so they aren’t able to even go and get themselves food. And being in such a remote area, they don’t have access to Uber Eats or anything.’ Pictured: the set in rural Victoria
‘We have just done a Fans v Faves series so we have been really conscious not to go down that path,’ he said.
‘We have just given some former Blockheads another shot at it (in 2021) so it’s really time to make sure we offer it to newbies,’ he added.
This year’s show will centre around a ‘treechange’, and will be filmed in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges rather than Melbourne.
Filming was set to commence in February, but was pushed back after a series of production setbacks.
Change of pace: This year’s show will centre around a ‘treechange’, and will be filmed in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges rather than Melbourne
In April, it was revealed that production on the new season had been suspended on the first day of filming after one of the contestants tested positive for Covid-19.
The teams learned the news as they arrived to start renovating their homes in country Victoria, reported The Blockinator Blog.
The show’s filming schedule was postponed by a week because of the Covid case.
A Channel Nine spokesperson said: ‘Like many TV shows, The Block has successfully navigated its way through the challenges of the pandemic for more than two years, in line with state and federal government health guidelines.
‘The Block’s biggest season yet will air on Nine later this year, as scheduled.’
Showing off his skills: While he normally oversees the projects, host Scott will also renovate one of the properties himself
It’s not the first time the pandemic has interrupted production on the long-running renovation series.
In 2020, producers shut down the show for six weeks during the first round of Covid lockdowns.
Last year’s season of The Block saw Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie take out the top spot, with their house fetching an incredible $4,044,444.44 at auction.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald in November, The Block is one of Nine’s best-performing reality TV shows.
The network was in talks with the show’s creators to extend its existing contract ‘by about three years’, which will take it up to 20 seasons.
Production now underway: Filming was set to commence in February, but was pushed back after a series of production setbacks
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