Season 10 (!) of The Block NZ sees the return of some familiar faces. Tara Ward gives us the lowdown on the teams seeking renovation redemption. 

The Block NZ is back and I’m more excited than a builder paying $410 for a single sheet of Gib. The latest season of New Zealand’s favourite competitive renovation show begins on Monday night, with four teams from previous Block NZ years returning to right the wrongs of seasons past. These contestants know how the competition works, they’ve had years to hone their design skills, and their eyes are firmly set on the $100,000 grand prize. Blockheads, this could be the most intense season yet.

This year The Block NZ will be based in Orewa, where the teams will be transforming four townhouses into urban family homes. The contestants aren’t the only familiar faces heading back to the building site, with designer Jason Bonham returning to the judging panel alongside former Block NZ challenge-wrangler Shelley Ferguson. Mark Richardson continues his reign as the show’s host, while site foreman Peter “The Wolf” Wolfkamp will ensure nobody wastes any of those precious sheets of Gib.

In 2021, The Block NZ teams earned record-breaking profits after a season disrupted by Covid-19, but with the cooling of the housing market and a nationwide shortage of construction materials, the vibe of the 10th season is likely to be a bit different. In an ideal world you do the mahi and get the treats, but these teams know from experience that hard work doesn’t always reap rewards. Here’s everything you need to know about the teams seeking redemption on The Block NZ this year.

Quinn and Ben (Point Chevalier, 2014)

The year 2014 feels like a lifetime ago, but who could forget Quinn and Ben? They were the team who discovered they were pregnant in the first few weeks of filming, and who were gifted $30,000 on auction night by winners Alex and Corban. The Christchurch couple were renovation rookies who didn’t win a single room reveal, and their Block NZ journey was a bumpy rollercoaster ride of hormones and heartbreak.

But eight years later, Quinn and Ben are ready to rebuild. They now have two young children and have renovated seven properties since they left Point Chevalier, so they’ll be handier on the tools than the first time around. May The Block NZ gods shower them in room wins, or at the very least, just give them a nice working shower.

Ben and Chloe (Hobsonville Point, 2018)

Like two bits of Gib glued together to make a partition wall, former contestants Ben and Chloe joined up to create a new team for 2022. They competed separately in the Hobsonville Point season, when Ben and teammate Tom came second earning $57,000, while Chloe and her BFF Emily walked away with only $11,500 profit.

When Emily was unable to return to The Block NZ, Chloe persuaded old mate Ben to join her. Will Ben continue to put multiple skylights in every ceiling? Will Chloe stay away from rogue carrots, and will they have any more blocked septic pipe disasters? Only Mark Richardson knows the truth.

Maree and James (Point Chevalier, 2014)

These high school sweethearts came second in the 2014 season, scoring themselves a healthy profit of $147,000. They also won a Block NZ challenge where they had to drive a Freedom Furniture digger through a cardboard box obstacle course, but you can’t put a price on that.

Although they won a shedload of money the first time around, Maree and James reckon they weren’t competitive enough. They’ve since married, had two children and renovated their own home, and are coming back to do the competition justice. Fingers crossed that cardboard box obstacle course also comes back for redemption too.

Stacy and Adam (Firehouse, 2019)

Stacy and Adam are possibly The Block NZ’s unluckiest couple – they won the most room reveals of any team in their season and were tipped to win the entire competition, only to finish as one of three teams who didn’t make a single cent in a live auction that was officially out the gate.

No wonder the pair are returning for another chance at the grand prize. Since they left the Firehouse, the newlyweds have renovated two homes in Wellington and Stacy launched her own interior design business. They’re looking like the team to beat, so let’s hope the second time around brings them more joy than a feature wall of hands.

The Block NZ: Redemption starts on Three on Monday at 7.30pm, and streams on ThreeNow.

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