‘I was not consulted’

Julian Cress (left) joined the cast in their shock over The Block auction reserve prices.
Nine Network

The morning after The Block’s chaotic Daylesford auction – which saw two of five luxury homes pass in – creator Julian Cress is standing firm, insisting the shock results were beyond his control.

“I think the reserves were too high – we all felt that when we saw them,” Julian tells TV WEEK.

“Why were they so high? That would be a question for Channel Nine. I wasn’t even consulted about what I thought they should have been – these decisions are made at a much higher level.”
Despite the high reserves, Britt and Taz were able to pocket $410,000 (plus the $100,000 winning prize). (Credit: Nine Network)
The five homes on Cedar Lane in the picturesque Victorian town were listed with reserves of $2.99 million. Despite the show’s prestige, Julian admits he doubted they’d all sell.

“I don’t think five houses have ever been auctioned in one single day in Daylesford,” he explains. “That has never happened – and as it turns out it still hasn’t happened.”

While critics have questioned the move to a regional town with a limited market, Julian remains defensive of the decision.

“The results were not that bad,” he says. “We’ve got a couple of houses that we need to sell at a level that would return over $100,000 in profit to the contestants who played the game. We’ve got a couple who made over half a million dollars – we need to remain calm about this.”

Julian is already shifting focus to The Block’s next season – set in Mount Eliza on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, home to Real Housewives of Melbourne’s and Traitors contestant Gamble Breaux, and hit singer, Tones and I.

“It’s a really buoyant real estate market there,” he declares. “We’ve just started work on site, we’re looking forward to getting into that early next year.”