Ahead of the premiere of this season’s The Block, the show’s host Scott Cam responded to claims whether the Gatwick Hotel is really haunted.
The show kicks off with the first episode entitled Welcome to Gatwick where the contestants are introduced to the dilapidated building they are set to renovate.
The Block’s Scott Cam reveals whether the Gatwick Hotel is really haunted
As one of the most notorious buildings based in Melbourne, the property has long been associated with drug deaths and gruesome murders.
Appearing on Weekend Today on Sunday, Scott spoke about rumours the location was haunted.
“One dusky night there was an 11-year-old girl in a white dress going from one room to the next,” Scott mentioned to the show’s host Jayne Azzopardi.
Jayne and her co-host Alison Langdon looked a little shocked before they realised Scott was joking.
“He is good,” co-host Alison Langdon laughed.
All the way back in 2016, The Block’s producers were approached by The Gatwick’s owners to buy the building.
Given the building’s prime beach-front location and the love The Block crew have for a challenge, it was a no brainier for the team who jumped at the chance. Channel Nine bought the decrepit property last year for an eye-watering $10 million.
“I knew it was a fantastic, iconic building, and I knew it had so much potential, so I was very excited when I heard The Gatwick would be our next project,” Scott Cam, who is returning to host the show for its 14th season, told Nine.
“Over eleven weeks, and with a budget of $220,000, these teams will compete to totally transform five luxury apartment spaces, delivering a room a week for the judges’ assessment,” Nine explained.
“Although each apartment is configured completely differently this year, all five will feature a master suite, two guest bedrooms, second bathroom and additional WC, laundry, combined living/dining area, a deluxe kitchen, and for some, a massive outdoor space.”
The stakes are massive this year, there is, of course, the $100,000 prize money AND the teams get to keep any profits made when their apartments go under the hammer at a live public auction at the end of the series.
Between January and June 2016, The Herald Sun reported that more than 50 crimes were committed in the building – including rape, drug dealing, assault, theft and arson.
Four deaths have been linked to the notorious property, including a case in 2011 where a man was stabbed to death by an alcoholic.
Detective Sergeant Ed Logonder said: “There’s no hiding the fact that there’s been murders, violent assaults, there have been drug overdoses there.”
These hosts aren’t phased by the building’s past, instead focusing on its future.
“I love that we’ve been lucky enough to give this building a new lease on life. And if any building deserves it, it’s this one. With so much character and history, I know we are going to do it proud,” returning co-host Shelley Craft told Nine.
“It’s so exciting for me knowing that we’re not just changing the building, but perhaps the neighbourhood as well.”
The Block premieres Sunday 5th of August at 7pm, and continues Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm, on the Nine Network.
