The twentieth season of Australian reality television series The Block premiered on 12 August 2024 on the Nine Network.[1] Hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft, Dan Reilly takes over being site foremen from Keith Schleiger as he was unable to move to Phillip Island full time, and judges Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer, all returning from the previous season, with Marty Fox taking over judging from Neale Whitaker.[2]
Production
Applications for the twentieth season of the series opened in September 2023 until 15 October 2023, looking for couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents.[3] Filming is expected to be a 12 week shoot period from late February 2024.[4] In September 2023, the twentieth season of The Block was officially confirmed at Nine's 2024 upfronts.[5][6] The location for this season was set to be in Daylesford, Victoria, however due to permit issues and complaints by local residents, Nine decided not to build in the area and started searching for a new location.[7][8][9] In October 2023, it was reported Nine had purchased the Island Cove Villas, set over 2.5 acres, for $9.5 Million on Phillip Island.[10][11] On 3 November 2023, the location was officially confirmed by Nine.[12][13] In December 2023, a tall privacy wall was built around the perimeter of the location to prevent locals from entering the premises.[14] In May 2024, foreman Keith Schleiger announced he would be drawing back his appearance to guest this season due to family commitments.[15] On 26 June 2024, the first teaser was shown which also revealed the contestants.[16] It was also revealed that longtime judge Neale Whitaker would not be returning to the show as a regular judge, after previously stepping back on judging duties in 2023. Marty Fox will return as his replacement, and Whitaker will make a guest appearance.[17]
During the fifth week of filming, Jesse & Paige decided to leave the competition based on advice from the series psychologist, and a new team will take their place with already 4 rooms complete.[18][19][20] Former contestants Ronnie and Georgia filled their place for one day as a prank before Maddy and Charlotte, sisters and home flippers from New South Wales, joined The Block in the following episode. They are the youngest ever duo to compete on the show.[21]
After the reveals of the final room, front yards, Kylie and Brad decided to leave the competition and not return. The last challenge, the club house, had all-stars return, however since Kylie and Brad didn’t come back to the work site, their all-star team, Jimmy & Tam (season 16 winners), had to renovate their rooms on their own.
The Block auctions (or Block-tions) for the houses will be held on Saturday, 9 November 2024, with the final episode of 2024 airing the next day on Channel Nine and 9Now at 7:00 pm (AEDT) on Sunday, 10 November 2024.[22]
Choose a penguin sculpture which has a colour on the back corresponding to one of the houses
Decides their house
Blue (House 1)
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Red (House 2)
Yellow (House 3)
Green (House 4)
Purple (House 5)
3
Penguin nesting box
The teams must create a nesting box for the penguins and the team that makes the best one will win.
$5000 & Bonus Point
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—
—
—
1st
—
4
Catch the Fish
The teams must catch a fish with the team with the heaviest fish wins
A Tommy Trout sign and $1000
—
—
—
Won
—
—
Cook The Fish
Teams must to cook a meal with the caught fish from the previous challenge with the best dish wins
Bar Crusher Fishing Boat valued at $100k
—
—
—
Won
—
—
5
Paper mache lamp
The teams must design a paper mache lamp to display in their bedroom and the team that makes the best one will win.
$5000 & $20000 Painting
—
—
—
Won
—
—
6
Surf Club Renovation Challenge
The teams were divided into 2 teams and they will be renovating a mutli use area of Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club, a volunteer lifesaving service on Phillip Island.
$10,000
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Team 2: Ocean side
Team 2: Ocean side
Team 1: Island side
Team 1: Island side
Team 2: Ocean side
7
The Block Art Exhibition Challenge
The teams have to paint a surfboard as a functional art piece that will be displayed in their homes
Gets to decide which space they would like to create in the Disney+ clubhouse and a bonus point gnome
—
3rd place
1st place
4nd place
2nd place
5th place
Basketball Challenge
Blockheads played a game of round-robin
$5000
—
runner-up
won
8
Racing Challenge
The teams have to race in go-karts having 10 laps.Each pairs' fastest combined lap would be tallied to determine who placed first, second and third
1st place: $5000, 2nd place: $3000 and 3rd place:$2000
—
1st place
3rd place
2nd place
9
Hallway Challenge
The teams need to complete their hallways as it was allocated to a week and will be judges by Neale Whitaker, Scott Cam and Shelley Craft
$10,000
—
won
Domain Buyers Jury
The teams open their homes to 100 possible buyers and the buyers vote on whose house they like the most
$50,000 and lunch with Alice Stolz and Shelley Craft
—
8%
17%
29%
19%
27%
10
Fun Fair Challenge
the teams have to create a carnival stall stand.
$10,000
—
Frozen themed
Giant-sized Guess Who? style game
Raffle
Balloon popping
Dunk tank
10
Depreciation Schedule Challenge
The teams have to calculate a value nearest the estimate Depreciation value of their houses compared to BMT
$7,895.10
—
$ 5,329,591.10
$ 2,553,772.25
$ 4,195,800.22
$ 4,268,462
$ 3,620,266.36
13
Disney+ Clubhouse Challenge
The teams have to create a designated space in the clubhouse that was picked by them in week 7 in the order of winning the Block Art Challenge. Each team is paired up with an all-stars team from previous seasons.
^The original score of Kylie & Brad Kitchen was 28½, but they used their bonus point they won in the Penguin nesting box challenge. Their score was changed to 29½.
^The original score of Courtney & Grant Guest Bedroom & Laundry was 28½, but they used their Bonus Point Phil the Penguin, they won in the Block Art Exhibition Challenge. Their score was changed to 29½.
^The original reverse was $1.95m but they scored $50,000 off their final price due to winning the Disney+ Clubhouse challenge.
^Knox, David (13 August 2024). "Monday 12 August 2024". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
^Knox, David (14 August 2024). "Tuesday 13 August 2024". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
