The Block 2025 meet for the first time on the Daylesford site.
Five houses with the exact same footprint. Ten new contestants hoping to go home winners in 2025.
Ahead of the 21st season of The Block, we have the lowdown on the five teams who will be building dream homes (and making drama) in Daylesford this year.
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The Block 2025 meet for the first time on the Daylesford site.
Sonny and Alicia
Sonny and Alicia. Picture: Supplied
The only tradie on The Block this year, Sonny, 44, is a plumber. His wife Alicia, 42, ran a dental practice on the Gold Coast until quitting her job to do the Channel 9 reality series.
Although the couple assured their three kids that they wouldn’t embarrass them during the time on the show Alicia said that pledge quickly went out the window.
“Oh, we absolutely were embarrassing!” she laughed.
“As soon as we got in the car when we got home, we turned to the kids and said: ‘Sorry!’”
Before The Block, the couple had only undertaken small scale renovation projects “like a bathroom here or there but never a whole house”.
Alleviating some financial pressures for their family was the chief reason the pair signed up.
“It was absolutely hard leaving the kids behind,” Alicia said.
“They were our driving force and our motivation. And, on those tough days, we’d often remind ourselves that they’re our reason for being there.”
Robby and Mat
Robby and Mat. Picture: Supplied
South Australian barber Robby, 37, and his wisecracking best mate Mat, 41, (a hairdresser) hadn’t renovated a single room before The Block.
While Robby was a fan of the series, Mat had not seen a single episode and arrived on set believing Shelley Craft was one of the judges.
“Rob wanted me to do it for a decade,” Mat smiled of his friend who became a father for the first time just before they were cast.
“And I always said, ‘There’s no chance in hell,’ because I didn’t think that he would have the work ethic to do something like this.
“And he goes, ‘Give me one shot, just one shot. So many people apply, the likelihood of us getting on is very slim.’
“Anyway, we got on and his work was phenomenal. We were a powerhouse together.”
Han and Can
Han and Can. Picture: Supplied
A geologist who has worked in the mines, Han, 29, and her social media and marketing analyst girlfriend Can, 31, are eager to prove that women can do anything that men do on a worksite.
Han (affectionately nicknamed Handy Han by Can) in particular, grew up on worksites as her dad ran a renovation business and would get her to help with bathroom excavations while she was still in primary school.
The pair have no regrets about doing the series even though it proved a daily rollercoaster of emotions.
“The Block is the ultimate relationship tester,” Can said.
“It is a high-pressure environment for anyone, and it honestly just made us stronger in the end. Having been through this together and picking each other up each day and knowing that I could always rely on Han when I needed to, was so special.”
Britt and Taz
Britt and Taz. Picture: Supplied
Married police officers, Britt, 30, and Taz, 30, had to leave their two small children behind with family in West Australia to compete on the show. A huge fan of the series, Britt talked her less ardent husband into auditioning.
Apart from missing their kids, the hardest part of their time in Daylesford was adjusting to the weather.
“Where we come from, it’s about 40 to 50 degrees every day so to come down here, and it’s negative two degrees every day is a shock,” Taz said (admitting to wearing multiple layers even on sunny days whilst he was in Daylesford).
“But even when it was 20 degrees, it felt very cold to me.”
The pair were very mindful of doing the uniform proud on screen.
“Every person that’s a copper knows that they are always looked at as a police officer [even when they are off duty],” Taz said.
“We have been told that even when you finish being a copper, you’ll be known as a ‘former police officer’.
“So yeah, there definitely was that pressure. But we just stuck true to who we were, and we’re pretty happy with how we came out.”
Em and Ben
Teacher and pole dancing champion Em, 33, and her engineer husband Ben, 32. Picture: Supplied
Teacher and pole dancing champion Em, 33, and her engineer husband Ben, 32, auditioned for The Block seven times before finally making the cut.
As the lone Victorian team, Em and Ben believe they had the home ground advantage over the interstate teams.
“At the start, we were like, yes, we’ll bring all our mates up who are trades,” Em laughs.
“We thought we wouldn’t need to look around for trades at all, but we’re actually two and a half hours away from home in Daylesford, so we ended up finding all local trades here.
“We did have the home advantage with the weather, because definitely the Perth crew (and the Queenslanders) struggled. Taz was wearing three jumpers every morning.”
The high school sweethearts have already flipped a few properties together but relished having a far bigger Block budget to really get creative.
“We’ve done things that we would never even imagine doing on our home renos down in Mornington,” Em said.
The Block will premiere on Sunday July 27 at 7pm on Channel 9 and 9Now
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