Dr Chris Brown has swapped his vet scrubs for steel-capped boots – and, if new show My Reno Rules is anything to go by, the renovation game is about to get a serious shake-up.
“I love to be challenged,” Chris, 47, tells TV WEEK. “I love this mixed-up life that I have, where one week I’m working on an amazing renovation show with all its twists and turns, and then the next week I’m working as a vet, doing what I love.”
In this first season, My Reno Rules throws four everyday couples into the high-pressure transformation of two tired 1970s Melbourne homes. Once the homes are complete, the team with the most points for their room designs wins $100,000 cash. The fully furnished and freshly renovated luxury homes will be up for grabs in the country’s biggest-ever viewer give-away.
“This give-away has come along at the perfect time, when life has arguably never been harder,” says the Dancing with the Stars host. “With fuel costs, interest rates and the cost of living, everyone just wants to catch up. This is a chance to get off that treadmill.”
Although comparisons with The Block are inevitable, the celebrity vet is quick to point out that, while this isn’t just another copy-and-paste renovation show, there’s a reason the format works so well.
“The Block works for the same reasons all renovation shows always work,” he explains. “You get these incredible transformations, things go wrong, and you get drama at every turn. You can’t look away.”
But where this series stands apart is what happens at the end.
“We’ve seen it in other renovation shows – where people walk away a bit disappointed,” Chris says. “I don’t feel like that’s going to be the case this time.”
That’s largely thanks to billionaire entrepreneur Adrian Portelli, who is not only fronting the show but also helping fund the life-changing outcomes for contestants.
Adrian, who made headlines on The Block for his deep pockets and headline-grabbing auction bids, arrives on this new show with just as much intrigue and unpredictability.
“It’s hard to avoid seeing his media presence. His footprint is enormous – a lot of people talk about him and are intrigued by him,” Chris admits. “But I really enjoyed working with him because he’s completely unpredictable in a very entertaining way. You just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Aside from Adrian fronting the show, there are three judges joining the project to give marks for the rooms: influential design guru Neale Whitaker; buyer’s agent and Luxe Listings Sydney star Simon Cohen; and interior stylist and author Julia Green.
Most notably, Neale has also made the jump from The Block on the Nine Network to Channel Seven. And, according to Chris, his presence is impossible to ignore.
“When he talks, you just stop and listen,” he says. “There are times I realise I’m meant to be talking… but I’m just listening to him.” (And, yes, apparently, each room still needs a lamp.)
But, beyond the big names and big builds, it’s the contestants who bring the real chaos.
“The moment I walked down that street, I thought, ‘We’re on here,’” laughs Chris. “There’s a bit of spice, a bit of fire in the belly… and they’re definitely not bland.”
From clashing personalities to wildly different design instincts, the pressure-cooker environment delivers exactly what viewers want: heart, humour and just enough drama to keep things interesting.
The homes themselves are undeniably stunning, but Chris admits that it’s often the small details that get him hooked –even if his own design credentials are slightly questionable.
“I always need help with colour: I’m colour blind,” he smiles. “Everyone finds that endlessly entertaining. But I’ve learnt your cold neutrals are out and your warm neutrals are in!”
He’s also learnt a few other hard lessons on site – quite literally.
“I’m always banging my head on beams,” he laughs. “The ceiling height and door heights were a big challenge for me on set. I’m 6 foot 5 – it’s an occupational hazard.”
And it’s that mix of humour and the excitement of the unknown that makes this project feel like a natural fit for the vet-turned-TV-host, who continues to juggle an impressively varied career from I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! to his upcoming passion project, Once in a Lifetime, where he takes untrained Australian celebrities into extreme global locations for high-stakes wildlife rescues.
“You don’t know it’s going to work when you’re out in the middle of nowhere with your celebrity assistant, confronted by an incredibly dangerous animal,” Chris explains. “But, when they can’t retreat and run away, there are moments… Seeing these much-loved Australian celebrities completely out of their depth, while witnessing some of the most amazing animals in the world, that’s when you realise, ‘Oh, this show works.’”
“It’s entertaining, it’s enlightening, it’s heartwarming and it’s funny.”
And will Dr Chris’ previous renovation series Dream Home, in which six pairs of contestants renovated each other’s run-down suburban houses, return?
“I don’t know, we’ll see,” he says simply.
For now, though, all eyes are on My Reno Rules – a show that blends high-stakes building with real-life impact, at a time when a fresh start has never felt more out of reach for so many ordinary people.
My Reno Rules starts Tuesday 21 April at 7.30pm on Channel Seven and 7Plus.
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