Any time rooms on The Block are judged, one winning team is left happy and four left grumbling. Throw in a bonus Block Gnome – the trophy awarded to whoever wins the midweek challenge that adds an extra point to the judges’ scores – and things can get pretty heated.
This week, after Ankur and Sharon used the gnome they won at an earlier challenge to take out the first guest bedroom by just half a point, some of the other teams aren’t impressed.
Their dismay is compounded when they’re given an inspection tour of Ankur and Sharon’s room and spot what they thought were errors that should have dropped the team down the rankings.
Ankur and Sharon took out the first guest bedroom by just half a point.
(Image: Nine)“This is crap!” Sarah-Jane, 31, says as she takes in the painting issues and a fireplace that doesn’t even work.
“If I were Dylan and Jen, I would be… not happy,” Rachel, 36, adds.
Insisting she’s not just a sore loser, Jenny, 25, could only shake her head as she tried to understand how they’d lost.
“We were robbed!” she tells TV WEEK. “As soon as we opened the door [to Ankur and Sharon’s room], we didn’t think they should have come close to us, considering the ceiling painting didn’t look finished and a few other things weren’t executed well. We think we were robbed of the win.”
But while the victory shifts the dynamic of The Block for the rest of this week, Sharon, 35, points out that the gnome, and everything that comes with it, is as much part of the game as building.
“You spend a whole day winning a challenge to get the gnome, so it’s absolutely fair to use,” she says. “Every single other contestant would – and has said they would – do the same.”
“If I were Dylan and Jen, I would be… not happy,” Rachel said.
(Image: Nine)Omar and Oz’s Ramadan journey
With relentless deadlines and constant work, finishing The Block is always a challenge.
For Sydney best friends Omar and Oz, there was an additional layer to their first few weeks in the home-renovation competition: Ramadan.
A month of prayer and reflection for Muslims, it’s also a time of fasting from sunrise to sunset. It means the mates didn’t eat or drink during the day.
But the pair tell TV WEEK it wasn’t tough – if anything it helped inspire them to do better.
“From a young age, we were taught to cope with hardship and strive against our desires so we can be disciplined,” Oz, 30, says. “In my mind, if we can leave off food, drink and other things that are usually allowed in any other month, then I can not only build a house, but a kingdom on The Block.”
“We definitely love our coffee,” Oz says with a laugh, admitting they almost moved in and turned the McCafe into their office. “And maybe we were just catching up from the first month we missed during Ramadan!”
WATCH: The Block 2022 Guest Bedroom room reveals. Article continues after video
Another scandal?
After the explosive cheating scandal of 2021, every Block contestant knows to be very careful about the rules.
But when a challenge this week leaves room for interpretation, is it just playing smart to use any advantage you can? Maybe – but don’t lie to show host Scott Cam about it, because he’ll know!
Omar and Oz undertook Ramadan during filming.
(Image: Nine)“They lied to you, straight to your face!” co-host Shelley Craft (above inset) tells Scott when they confront the couple at the centre of it all.
Even if it isn’t cheating, it’s still enough to drive a wedge between the teams. And at a time when they need each other more than ever, perhaps “playing it smart” might not be the smartest move after all.
The Block Monday to Wednesday 7.30pm, and Sunday 7pm, Nine Network
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