The Block’s Scott Cam reveals why the series moved from Sydney to Melbourne

Scott Cam and a producer of The Block have revealed the real reason the show moved from Sydney to Melbourne.

The hit renovation series, which filmed its first three seasons in Sydney, moved production south to Melbourne in 2011, where it has stayed ever since.

Host Scott Cam and producer Justin Sturzaker told Yahoo Australia that the Victorian capital worked better for the fourth season when the show was retooled from a weekly to a weeknight show.

‘It was decided to strip the show, meaning five nights a week, and then all of a sudden we had to come up with a whole new concept,’ Scott said.

Sturzaker then claimed that the audience numbers in Melbourne also motivated the move. 

‘Melbourne was always the number one audience for Australia, like it was always embraced really well,’ the producer explained.

‘And then obviously with the huge amount of passion for design and art that is Melbourne, to come down and give it a crack down here, it went gangbusters,’ he added.

Even though the show premiered in 2003 in Bondi, and returned there for season six for its ten-year anniversary, there are no plans to return to the harbour city.

In 2017, Scott suggested to the Daily Telegraph that New South Wales local councils are harder to work with than their counterparts in Melbourne.

‘We need to get the council on board with us. That’s our biggest problem.’ 

Co-host Shelley Craft joked that the show would not be as enjoyable to watch if it returned to Sydney.

‘It was decided to strip the show, meaning five nights a week, and then all of a sudden we had to come up with a whole new concept,’ Scott said. Pictured: Shelley Craft

‘There is not a lot of excitement watching someone get stuck in traffic for six hours,’ she said.

‘Councils are great to us [in Melbourne], most of our production team and crew have relocated, real estate is obtainable in Melbourne and so for so many reasons we are here,’ Craft explained. 

‘We have amazing support from the city of Melbourne,’ she added. 

The Block: Island is set to premiere on Monday night as 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the popular Channel Nine renovation series. 

In 2017, Scott suggested to the Daily Telegraph that New South Wales local councils are harder to work with than their counterparts in Melbourne. ‘We need to get the council on board with us. That’s our biggest problem’