Reality TV

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Cam reveals why he called an influencer couple “un-Australian” for quitting The Block

''It just was a lot of angst on our part when they parted the way they did.''
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The Block host Scott Cam has broken his silence after copping backlash for saying a couple who quit the show were “un-Australian”.

Model Elle Ferguson and her former footballer partner Joel Patfull walked away from the show after just 48 hours of filming when Joel’s mother suffered a fall at her home in Adelaide.

Their sudden departure from the show prompted long-time host Scott to call the couple “p— poor” at a Logies brunch.

During a recent media day on the set of The Block, Scott said he wanted to “address the elephant in the room”.

(Image: Nine)

But during a recent media day on the set of The Block, which is currently being filmed in Gisborne, Scott said he wanted to “address the elephant in the room”.

“I want to say that that’s just me being me. Obviously I wish Joel and Elle, you know, success in the future. It’s just that that created a fair bit of chaos for us here in the first 48 hours of the show,” he said.

“We put a lot of time and money into the start of our show, then we had to rejig the whole thing. The whole promos had to be reshot, it just was a lot of angst on our part when they parted the way they did.

Scott revealed that after Elle and Joel quit, Channel Nine quickly brought in another couple to replace them.

Elle and Joel quit due to a family emergency.

(Image: Getty)

“They’re a great young couple with young kids, and that’s what The Block‘s about,” he continued.

“Someone leaves, someone comes but of course, Joel and Elle, I hope they go well and have great success in the future but sometimes The Block‘s not for everybody and when I say those words, that’s just Scott Cam speaking from the heart.”

Scott’s clarification about his comments came after he copped criticism for saying Elle and Joel were “un-Australian”.

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“It’s something that’s never happened before. 45,000 people applied to be on The Block and win life-changing money. These guys got on and they just couldn’t handle the pace after 48 hours,” he said last week.

“Which to me is a bit un-Australian! Have a go! It’s p— poor.”

After leaving the show, Elle shared a photo from Melbourne Airport with the caption: “Wherever you are in the world, whatever you are doing, family always comes first.”

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