They say bad publicity is good publicity, and Channel Nine’s sky-high ratings for the new season of The Block proved that theory.
The home renovation series blitzes the competition in the ratings race after the high-profile controversy surrounding two contestants who quit the show shortly after signing up.
Viewers flocked to The Block to watch as the series addressed the hasty departure of glamorous Bondi influencers Joel Patfull and Elle Ferguson, who laid down their tools after two days.
Channel Nine’s latest series of home renovation show The Block (pictured: host Scott Cam) is a huge hit with ratings
It was by far the best show in all of Australia on Monday with 835,000 viewers, well ahead of The Masked Singer singing competition with 605,000 and the paltry 408,000 viewers watching My Kitchen Rules.
Elle and Joel reportedly left after Joel’s mother broke her tailbone and fractured her wrist in a fall at her home in Adelaide.
Following their exit, Elle, 36, shared a photo of the couple’s suitcases at Melbourne Airport on Instagram.
“Wherever you are in the world, whatever you do, family always comes first,” she captioned the picture.
Viewers flocked to The Block to watch as the series addressed the hasty departure of glamorous Bondi influencers Joel Patfull and Elle Ferguson, who laid down their tools after two days
But Scott has since denied her reason for leaving, insisting they didn’t tell the producer about the AFL star’s ill mother before fleeing the set of the series.
Last week he told the Kyle and Jackie O show The Block would have been willing to temporarily halt production to allow for the couple’s visit to Joel’s mother if they had been made aware of the situation.
“You didn’t mention the sick mother to us. If they had told us we have to go to my mother, of course family comes first. We would have flown them back to Adelaide and flown them back,” the longtime host said.
“They spoke to our producer and said they decided The Block wasn’t their brand. It was chaos.”
Scott went on to say that despite a strict dress code, Elle insisted on bringing “a lot of designer outfits” for filming.
“You have to wear the safety vest [workwear] and the boots though [Elle] I had a lot of outfits there ready to go,” he said.
Scott previously said at the Logie Awards that entering the competition so early on made Elle and Joel “un-Australian” and “p**s poor”.
He told TV Tonight: “We had a 48 hour challenge to choose the house you get and they took off after 48 hours. It’s something that has never happened before.
Elle and Joel reportedly left after Joel’s mother broke her tailbone and fractured her wrist in a fall at her home in Adelaide
“Forty-five thousand people applied to be on The Block and win life-changing money. Those guys went through and just couldn’t handle the pace after 48 hours,” he continued.
However, the couple have refuted those claims and according to The Daily Telegraph, sources close to the couple say the couple “believe they were used to generate interest in the show” and claim Nine “didn’t know the truth about her.” told to leave”.
The first few episodes of The Block didn’t disappoint viewers hungry to know more, and made the glamor couple’s departure a key part of the story.
During Sunday night’s The Block premiere, viewers discovered that Elle and Joel had immediately rubbed their co-stars the wrong way.
In her introductory packs, Bondi-based Glamazon Elle, 38, described herself as a “global influencer” while Joel spoke of his days as an AFL player.
They immediately annoyed other contestants with their glamorous lifestyles, including social worker Sarah Jane and her partner Tom.
Sarah Jane questioned her motives for taking part in a reality show as the chic couple didn’t seem to need the prize money or extra fame.
The pair immediately upset other attendees with their glamorous lifestyle during their induction package, including social worker Sarah Jane (pictured).