Just a few days after filming for the latest season of The Block began, contestants Joel Patfull and Elle Ferguson suddenly quit.
At the time, Elle posted a cryptic message to her Instagram which suggested the abrupt departure was due to family reasons.
“Where you are in the world. Whatever you are doing. Family always comes first,” she wrote.
Nine also released a statement in light of the news.
“Over the weekend, we were surprised to have one of our new contestant teams depart The Block a few days into filming for the upcoming season,” a spokesperson said.
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“Where you are in the world. Whatever you are doing. Family always comes first,” Elle wrote.
(Image: Instagram)“We wish them all the best for the future and we’re excited to cast two new Aussies for the opportunity of a lifetime on The Block. The Block Tree Change will air as scheduled later this year.”
Host Scott Cam also had some choice words for the pair, calling the move “un-Australian”.
“45,000 people applied to be on The Block and win life-changing money. These guys got on and they just couldn’t handle the pace after 48 hours … Which to me is a bit un-Australian! Have a go! It’s p-ss poor,” he told TV Tonight.
Days later, the carpenter softened his initial comments on The Block website, writing: “Obviously I wish Joel and Elle success in the future. It’s just that they created a fair bit of chaos for us here in the first 48 hours.
“The show … we put a lot of time and money into the start of our show and then we had to rejig the whole thing … the whole promos had to be re-shot.
“Have a go! It’s p*ss poor,” Scott Cam said following the decision.
(Image: Instagram)He continued: “It just was a lot of angst on our part when they just departed the way they did.
“When I say those words, that’s just Scott Cam speaking from the heart.”
Later, Scott doubled down on his comments while speaking to our sister publication, Woman’s Day, relaying that couple’s concerns that the show wasn’t “on brand” for them.
“That was her words. And look, we’re only renovating, it’s not the end of the world, but if you come in with a good old-fashioned spirit and have a crack like the others did, you’ll get it done.”
WATCH: Scotty Cam to build his own house on The Block. Article continues after video
“I love a bit of adversity. I’ve worked in trying conditions all my life, I’ve worked hard, and I don’t mind rolling my sleeves up. I’m always going to have a go.”
According to Scotty, Elle and Joel also told production that the hi-vis attire required for The Block didn’t go with their aesthetic, and that “the toilet paper was too scratchy”.
Along with Scott, contestant Sarah-Jane had some choice words about the influencers.
“I could see it coming, they didn’t make any effort to get to know us, they looked miserable the whole time,” she says on the show.
“I’m glad someone is going to get the opportunity that will appreciate it. Don’t bring them from Bondi.”
“They didn’t give us a reason why they were leaving,” Scott said.
(Image: Nine)Meanwhile, Joel and Elle alleged they left the show after the former’s mother suffered significant injuries in a fall, but Scott later told news.com.au that the would-be reality stars left in the middle of the night with “no explanation”.
“They didn’t give us a reason why they were leaving,” he told the publication. “They never mentioned anything about visiting a sick mother.
“In fact, we flew them to Adelaide before The Block started for a week, and put them up in a hotel so they could see (Joel’s mother), and they came back and said everything’s fine.”
Scott added that the network would have shut production down if they’d known about the familial circumstances.
“As we’ve done in the past, we shut the whole show down for a sick family. If they’d mentioned their sick mother, of course we would have allowed them to go home. I certainly wouldn’t be holding someone back from seeing their sick mother, that’s outrageous.”
