The seventeenth season of Australian reality television series The Block, titled The Block: Fans v Faves, premiered on 8 August 2021 on the Nine Network. Hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft, site foremen Keith Schleiger and Dan Reilly, and judges Neale Whitaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer, all returned from the previous season.
Production
Applications for the seventeenth season of the series opened in August 2020 until 27 September 2020, looking for couples aged between 18 and 65 years old being sought by casting agents. Filming is expected to be a 10–12 week shoot period from late February 2021 In September 2020, the seventeenth season of The Block was officially confirmed at Nine's 2021 upfronts. In October 2020, it was reported that 5 properties on Bronte Court in Hampton, Victoria, were in the process of being purchased by Nine. In December 2020, it was confirmed that Bronte Court will be the next location for renovation, Nine Network acquired five houses in the area for $11.5 million combined.
In July 2021, it was officially confirmed the season will be Fans vs Faves, although this is the second time the title Fans vs Faves will be used, this is actually the third season to have returning contestants versus new contestants (seasons 8 & 10 respectively). Season 8 was the first time the series was titled Fans vs Faves.
Mitch & Mark won the series with their house selling for over $4.04m. All houses sold on auction day with all teams profiting well over $295k.
Contestants
This season introduces 3 new couples (dubbed "Fans") and 2 returning couples (dubbed "Favourites"/"Faves"). The couples selected were as follows: Of the new "Fans" Josh & Luke Packham have previously participated on Love Island Australia.
House Couple Age Location Relationship Occupations 1 Faves Georgia & Ronnie Caceres 37 & 45 Perth, WA Married with children Professional Renovators 2 Faves Mitch Edwards & Mark McKie 58 & 59 Sydney, NSW Partners Resigned Grandparents 3 Fans Tanya & Vito Guccione 39 & 44 Melbourne, VIC Married with children Makeup Artist & Window Furnisher 4 Fans Josh & Luke Packham both 27 Sydney, NSW Identical Twins Studying Mental Health & Synthetic Grass Installer 5 Fans Kirsty Lee Akers & Jesse Anderson 32 & 31 Wangi Wangi, NSW Married Country Singer & Videographer Notes
Cheating scandal Schedule scandal
Two of the teams — House 3's Tanya and Vito and House 4's Josh and Luke — had a photo of the production schedule, which meant they knew exactly when certain rooms would be called, and the dates of challenge days. Josh and Luke said that they received the photo but wouldn't say from where, and after denials, Tanya and Vito revealed that Tanya had sent the photo to Luke. Tanya said that she received the photo from a former tradesperson on The Block. Having the production schedule was a massive advantage. When the photo was brought to Scott Cam's attention, he wiped the schedule clean and said they would pick rooms at random to complete for the rest of the season. Scott Cam punished Tanya and Vito and Josh and Luke by deducting two points per team, effectively ruling them out from winning Basement Week. There was considerable anger among fans, who thought that this punishment should have been harsher.
In the final episode of the show, during the final interviews, Tanya was questioned about the cheating scandal once again. She again said that she hadn't taken the photograph and showed a text feed between her and a supposed ex-tradie from The Block. Her partner Vito was supporting and also denied the suspicions.
However, House 4's Josh & Luke decided to 'get [the truth] off their chests' and did a full tell-all interview. They explained how during the filming of the promotion, they were using the toilets in the production office (which was another house being rented out by Nine Network). When Luke went to use the bathroom he noticed an open door, which was Scotty's office. The entire production schedule was written on a whiteboard at the back of the room. Luke was only able to memorise the first 3–4 weeks on the schedule but never considered taking a photo. Later in the day, Luke (and possibly Josh) was approached by Tanya, who asked if they could be on guard for her while she took a photo. They reluctantly agreed.
The twins explained that the reason they had kept quiet was because Tanya wasn't willing to say her part in it. During Half Basement Week (the week the scandal was exposed), Josh & Luke came out but Tanya initially did not wish to. Josh and Luke initially kept her identity anonymous because of this reason. They later managed to convince Tanya to come out with her part by implementing the fake ex-tradie story which most people believed.
Josh & Luke also explained that they didn't want to go against Tanya's will because they wouldn't have been able to get several things signed off by them, including a moved driveway and ability to use their property for access so that they could dig their pool.
While the contestants were waiting for their reserves the day before Auctions, they were informed of the twins' story. Ronnie & Georgia and Mitch & Mark had suspected that this had been the case but had never known for sure. When Josh & Luke arrived, Luke apologised for his part in the scandal and this was generally accepted by the other contestants.
While driving to meet the other contestants, Tanya was annoyed at the twins for not informing her that they were going to tell the truth. Her husband Vito responded by saying that he was still on her side and would support her. Tanya got very upset when confronted by other contestants about it, and using Mitch's words, "... it's too late, now she's caught."
Laundry scandal
Because of the schedule scandal, the Block was thrown into disarray because all of the pre booked and planned work had to be restructured. One of these problems was Kinsman, who were booked in to do the laundries during the now Living & Dining Week. The contestants were told that they had to prep their laundries for install by Kinsman as well as doing their living/dining rooms. If they managed to complete this during the week, Kinsman would install for free as they were a sponsor. However, if a team failed to complete it they would have to pay for install during another week. All teams managed to complete it in time except for Tanya & Vito. As per the rules Tanya & Vito were required to pay for their late install, but instead they manipulated Kinsman who agreed to do it for free. However, the other contestants stepped in and caught Tanya & Vito out and made sure they paid for their laundries.
Reaction
Fans were angered by the whole scandal, particularly Tanya's failure to reveal the truth until the final episode. Most fans felt that the punishment should have been much higher, and like suggested by Ronnie, have all points and extra money taken away from the responsible teams. Some fans even felt that the auction results of the two teams should have been changed, mainly Tanya and Vito's.
The producers and casting agents of the show were also brought under fire, fans questioning the choices of Josh & Luke and Tanya & Vito as contestants. Many fans felt that the casting agents should have spotted the bad qualities in the contestants and not cast them. They also questioned the casting of Josh & Luke, as former Love Island contestants many felt that they were cast just to cause drama and as advertising for the show.
Theories
Fans have speculated many theories about the scandal and why Tanya would feel the need to take the photo in the first place. One of these theories is that Tanya may have felt disadvantaged as she was up against a bunch of All Stars.
Score history + Teams' progress summarised through the competition Teams Ronnie & Georgia Mitch & Mark Tanya & Vito Josh & Luke Kirsty & Jesse Rooms Scores Guest Bedroom 24½ 22½ 23 24 23 Guest Ensuite 26½ 28 24½ 20½ 24 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe 23½ 26½ 24 27 23 Basement 28½ 28½ 25½ 19 29 Master Ensuite 29 22 22½ 28½ 26 Guest Bedroom & Redo Room 29 28 27 20 28½ Kitchen 27 22½ 25½ 26½ 29½ Living & Dining 29½ 25 29½ 22½ 29 Hallway, Laundry & Powder Room 29 26½ 25 18½ 29½ Backyard 28 28 22½ 28 29½ Garage, Study & Wine Cellar 27 23½ 19½ 8 26½Front Garden & Facade 27 29½ 24 24½ 28½Super Power Leader Board 331½ Ronnie & Georgia gets an extra 3 Domain super power leader board points as they won the Domain listing ChallengeScott Cam Announced Ronnie & Georgia as the Domain Super power leader board winners at 304½ points310292½267326
Weekly room budget Week Room(s) Budget Costs Ronnie & Georgia Mitch & Mark Tanya & Vito Josh & Luke Kirsty & Jesse 1 Guest Bedroom $21,000 $21,305 $13,823.20 $14,199.98 $20,722.80 $14,757.58 2Guest Ensuite $23,000 $24,500 $20,833 $33,237 $25,356 $19,022 3 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe $22,000 $24,500 $20,376 $25,649 $19,830 $24,920 4 Basement $25,000 $23,410 $31,795 $32,106 $28,231 $34,117 5 Master Ensuite$22,200$26,792 $17,458 $41,980 $27,044 6 Guest Bedroom & Redo Room $21,000 + $5,000$5,000 courtesy of Hipages$24,680 $22,461 $15,220$17,248 $19,855 7 Kitchen $21,000 $39,396$33,768 $27,083 $33,024$49,085 8 Living & Dining$25,000$47,001 $37,691$49,618$37,367 $47,863 9 Hallway, Laundry & Powder Room $37,418 $25,092 $34,138$29,504$44,428 10 Backyard $35,000 $76,033 $46,425$45,005 $53,538$86,411 11 Garage, Study & Wine Cellar $30,000 - - - - - 12 Front Garden & Facade $40,000 - - - - -
Weekly room prize
Week Room Winning team Prize 1 Guest Bedroom Ronnie & Georgia $10,000 and a getaway to the Mornington Peninsula 2 Guest Ensuite Mitch & Mark $10,000 and a getaway to the Lancemore Crossley St. Hotel 3 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe Josh & Luke $10,000 and a night away to the Yarra Valley 4 Basement Kirsty & Jesse $10,000 + $5,000 for getting a 10 and a night away to the Lancemore Crossley St. Hotel 5 Master Ensuite Ronnie & Georgia $10,000 + $5,000 for getting a 10 and a luxury holiday to Lyon House in Ballarat 6 Guest Bedroom & Redo Room $10,000 + $5,000 for getting a 10 and a luxury holiday to Lancemore Werribee Mansion 7 Kitchen Kirsty & Jesse $10,000 + $10,000 for getting two 10's and a wall of $100k wine fridges from Gaggenau + a night away to the W Hotel 8 Living & Dining Ronnie & Georgia $5,000 each and a night away to Red Hill Polperro FarmhouseTanya & Vito gets $10,000 for getting two 10's Tanya & Vito 9 Hallway, Laundry & Powder Room Kirsty & Jesse $10,000 + $10,000 for getting two 10's and a night away to Mitchelton estate in an airstream caravan 10 Backyard $10,000 11 Garage, Study & Wine Cellar Ronnie & Georgia $10,000 + a one night away holiday to the Yarra Valley 12 Front Garden & Facade Mitch & Mark $10,000 and a Ford Puma
Results Judges' scores Colour key: Highest Score Lowest Score
+ Summary of Judges' Scores Week Area(s) Scores Teams Ronnie & Georgia Mitch & Mark Tanya & Vito Josh & Luke Kirsty & Jesse 1 Guest Bedroom Darren 8 8 7½ 8½ 8½ Shaynna 8½ 7½ 8 8 7 Neale 8 7 7½ 7½ 7½ Total 2 Guest Ensuite Darren 9 9½ 8½ 7 8 Shaynna 8½ 9 8 7 8 Neale 9 9½ 8 6½ 8 Total 3 Master Bedroom & Walk-in-Robe Darren 8 9 9 9 8 Shaynna 7½ 9 8 9 7½ Neale 8 8½ 7 9 7½ Total 4 Basement Darren 9½ 9 9 7 9½ Shaynna 9½ 10 9 7 9½ Neale 9½ 9½ 9½-2 7-2 10 Total 5 Master Ensuite Darren 9 7½ 7½ 9 8½ Shaynna 9 7 7½ 9½ 8½ Neale 10+1 7½ 7½ 10 9 Total 6 Guest Bedroom & Redo Room Darren 9½ 9½ 9½ 6½ 9½ Shaynna 10 9 8½ 7 9½ Neale 9½ 9½ 9 6½ 9½ Total 7 Kitchen Darren 9 7½ 8½ 9 9½ Shaynna 9 7½ 8 9 10 Neale 9 7½ 9 8½ 10 Total 8 Living & Dining Darren 9½ 8½ 9½ 7 9½ Shaynna 9½ 8 10 7½ 9½ Neale 9½+1 8½ 10 8 10 Total 9 Hallway, Laundry & Powder Room Darren 9½ 9 8½ 6 9½ Shaynna 10 8½ 8½ 6½ 10 Neale 9½ 9 8 6 10 Total 10 Backyard Darren 9½ 9 7½ 9 9½ Shaynna 9½ 9½ 7½ 9½ 9½ Neale 9 9½ 7½ 9½ 9½+1 Total 11 Garage, Study & Wine Cellar Darren 9 8½ 6½ 3 8½ Shaynna 9 8 6½ 3 9 Neale 9 7 6½ 2 9 Total 12 Front Garden & Facade Darren 9 9½ 8 8 9 Shaynna 9 10 8 8 9½ Neale 9 10 8 8½ 10 Total
Challenge scores