Reality TV

The host of Grand Designs Australia slams The Block: “It should be banned”

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It appears that the host of Grand Designs Australia is not a fan of The Block Australia… in the slightest.

Architect and TV personality Peter Maddison was not holding back on his views of the renovation reality show in a recent interview with The Binge Guide, even going as far as to state that the show “should be banned.”

Maddison has hosted Grand Designs Australia since 2010, whilst The Block Australia debuted in 2003, before taking a six year break after the first two seasons and returning in 2010 with the third season.

“It should be banned from television because it leaves people with the false aspirations that they can become – in inverted commas – a project manager or a builder or a designer,” he said in the interview.

“It’s a joke,” says the architect about The Block.

(Image: Foxtel)

“It’s a joke. It’s a very bad example of the reality of building, the responsibilities around that and the difficulty of it all. They make it look very easy.”

Whilst Grand Designs and The Block both follow house builds and renovations, the similarities between the two end there, as Maddison went on to question the integrity of The Block, saying: “I have welded myself to a show that has integrity, where we show the real trials and tribulations [of building].”

The Block Australia host Scotty Cam will surely have some things to say in response to Maddison’s hedging.

(Image: Channel Nine)

The comments come as Grand Designs prepares for an eleventh and final season this year, which will be available to stream on Binge from January 25th.

Time might also be running out for The Block as the 2022 season was particularly tumultuous year, with the much anticipated auction day proving to be a disaster across the board, with only two of the five properties selling on the day, one making a profit of just $20,000, with winners Omar and Oz taking home a record profit of $1.6 million.

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