When the Blockheads are called away on a challenge this week, it all starts with smiles.
A helicopter ride over their homes gives an encouraging view of how much they’ve achieved, landing in a winery hints at a luxury day ahead, and the challenge – to recreate an award-winning wine from its components – means they’ll get to sample a few glasses along the way.
But the fun soon ends when one team manages to complete the challenge in minutes, turning out a near-perfect replica of the red-wine blend while everyone else is still struggling.
With no hesitation, Sharon and Ankur add a few drops of one wine, a splash of another and a generous pour of some more to come up with their version of the challenge drink almost an hour ahead of anyone else.
It impresses the winemaker judge so much, he takes just seconds to declare it the winner.
How was that even possible, long-time The Block host Scott Cam asks.
The pair insist it’s because they know their wines, but Scott doesn’t buy their explanation, repeatedly asking them, and then the other contestants, if perhaps there was another answer.
“After the challenge, the thoughts were that Shaz and Anks obviously had to Google the recipe,” Ryan, 36, says.
“Apparently, Anks’ [wine] was almost identical,” Omar reports back to the group after chatting to the winemaker who had judged the challenge.
Sharon and Ankur happily admit there’s a good reason for that – while the others were using trial and error, they went straight to the source and found the tasting notes for the wine online.
“We weren’t telling the other contestants we Googled it, because – as has been made clear by all the contestants – it’s a competition and it was time for us to finally get competitive too,” Sharon, 35, tells TV WEEK.
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“We knew the wine well and have been presented it many times. We knew it wasn’t cheating, because it wasn’t against the rules to search it.”
The pair say they came clean about what they’d done to the other teams, who agreed that they weren’t cheats – they were just being smart.
“We didn’t quite know what the big deal was, as Ankur always maintained he had the tasting notes,” Sharon says.
And what about doubting Scott? Was he just making a mountain out of a molehill? Ankur thinks yes.
“One thousand per cent,” the 41-year-old says. “As we all know, this is a reality television show that thrives on heightened drama and conflict.”
The Block airs Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, Nine Network
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