THEIR EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN!
The Block Fave blasts judge Shaynna and her ‘wicked tongue’
He’s faced off against fellow Blockheads Luke and Josh and Tanya and Vito, now Mitch has sparked a fresh feud with The Block judge Shaynna Blaze, accusing her and her fellow judges of belittling this year’s contestants.
“Shaynna has a wicked tongue,” Mitch, 58, tells Woman’s Day. “She continues through the whole season. It doesn’t sit well when you’re willing to make nasty, hurtful comments that seem to be for your own self-elevation.”
In recent episodes, viewers have seen Shaynna, 58, blast the team’s work as “weird” and “so wrong”, while fellow judge Neale Whitaker, 59, deemed their work “dangerous”.
In fact, Mitch says he’s downright “uncomfortable” watching the show this year because he feels that Shaynna, Neale and co-judge Darren Palmer, 43, “seem to be grand-standing to keep themselves alive on The Block and keep the audience interested by making silly, unfounded comments”.
He goes as far as labelling their behaviour “bullying”.
“For Shaynna to make comments like ‘I hate it’ and then for Neale to say it’s better for our room to burn down... they know that people have worked really, really hard and to be so disrespectful – in my view it’s borderline bullying,” he says. And while Darren hasn’t been quite so scathing about Mitch and Mark’s build, he did call their work “a planning disaster.”
‘It’s time to transition to a new generation of judges’
Not only that, Mitch thinks their disparaging remarks are also “silly and stupid”.
Mitch’s partner Mark, 59, agrees wholeheartedly and is calling for a casting shake-up.
“When you look at their judging there are inconsistencies, so it’s time to do what Masterchef did and transition to a new generation,” he tells Woman’s Day.
“I really think they need a builder coming in or a real estate person... The judges aren’t real estate agents – they don’t sell in that market. It would be good timing for the longevity of The Block to bring in people who have new ideas. Fresh blood would be great.”
“And some talent,” snipes Mitch.
RIGHT MEN FOR THE JOB
The Sydney couple say they wouldn’t mind taking their jobs. “Maybe ex-contestants could come in...” Mitch hints.
“We’d do it if they asked,” agrees Mark.
After losing trust in Shaynna and the other judges, the boys admit they stopped taking on their feedback.
“Once we got past the first week, we actually decided that we were going to stick to the plan of developing a house that was absolutely appropriate for that market,” says Mitch. “We decided we weren’t going to pay attention to the judges, we were going to pay attention to building the best house.”
“When you look at the houses that have won The Block in the last three or four years, they’re not the houses the judges have liked,” adds Mark. “The judges are not good predictors of real estate success.”
Speaking of auction day, which is slated for November, Mitch and Mark are confident they can come out on top. “We’re on point with the styling, we’re on point with the space, our house is the best house for the market,” says Mitch.
As for reuniting with their fellow competitors, Mitch and Mark say tensions are still running high. Mitch continues to fume over Luke and Josh calling them “rich old snobs” during the “body corporate meeting from hell”.
“What’s so funny about that is they went to [Sydney’s prestigious] The Kings School as boarders, one of the most expensive schools in the country,” Mitch says of the twins. “And me – being the rich old snob – went to the feeder school for the housing commission area!”