What do two reality TV judges get when they stop critiquing other people’s renovations and take on their own €1 house in Sicily? For Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer, the answer is hard work and a test of their friendship.
“This project is not for the faint of heart,” Darren, 51, tells TV WEEK. “There were so many challenges.”
In 1 Euro House Shaynna has bought a crumbling terraced house in Castronovo, with Darren coming along to help, but the romantic promise of the Italian dream quickly falls to pieces on their arrival.
“Everything looks so enchanting online,” says Shaynna, 63. “Then, you open those creaky doors and it’s dirt, it’s dust, everything’s falling apart. Straightaway I’m going: ‘I have such a limited budget. Can we even finish it?’ It was a real fear.”
Although the pair are used to spending months together on The Block, this project pushes their friendship into new territory.
“We’d have lunch together, dinner together, we’d be driving back to our accommodation and then, by the time we got to our rooms, it was like: ‘I can’t talk to you anymore, I need to get away!’” Shaynna laughs.
“We have been there through thick and thin with each other,” Darren adds. “Through divorces, challenges, our kids growing up. We’ve been in each other’s lives a long time.”
“We know each other’s secrets,” Shaynna adds. “We know each other’s strengths… We also know each other’s weaknesses.”
1 Euro House airs at 8.40pm on Tuesday after The Block on 9Now and te Nine Network.
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