The Block makes major casting change for 2025 season as applications open

The current season of The Block has only just hit the halfway mark, but production is already underway for the upcoming twenty-first season. The show’s official Instagram account announced last week that applications are now officially open for 2025, with host Scott Cam teasing that it’s “gonna be big”.

While this year’s contestants have received mixed reviews on social media - with some fans describing them as “iconic” and “hilarious” and others labelling them “extremely unlikeable” - Yahoo Lifestyle can reveal that the casting process for season 21 has been completely revamped. An insider tells us that longtime casting director Lucky Price won’t be returning to the program next year after working on the past 18 seasons.

“This was a real shock to The Block family when the news broke this week, with contestants and producers all sharing their stories over the years. It’s the end of an era for sure,” they share.

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“Lucky has certainly been a huge part of The Block’s success. He has been responsible for so many of the most iconic Block contestants and without him, you wouldn’t have had people like Mitch and Mark, Ronnie and Georgia, and Kristy and Brett on your TV screen.

“From fan favourites to PG ‘villains’, it's a real skill set to find personalities that audiences will either ‘love’ or ‘love to hate’. He has unearthed talent from around Australia and it will be a noticeable departure from what we have been seeing on The Block.”

The insider adds that Lucky’s departure would be great news for previous applicants who haven’t made it very far in the casting process as they can now apply again and be viewed by a different set of eyes.

What's the location for The Block 2025?

The Block’s executive producer Julian Cress announced in July that season 21 will be filmed in Daylesford, Victoria.

The 2024 season was originally set to take place in the country town but was forced to relocate in September - just five months before production was scheduled to begin - due to permit issues and complaints from locals. The show was then filmed in Phillip Island, however, plans have finally been approved for a tree change.

“After a lot of wrangling back and forth, the plans that we submitted to the council in Daylesford were finally approved a couple of months ago, so we’ve decided we’re going to go there,” Julian Cress told TV Tonight.

“We’re going to do the show that we wanted to do [last] year and we’re really excited about [it] because, we think off the back of this kind of ‘seachange’ series that we’re doing in Phillip Island, Daylesford is just a beautiful country town. It’s the number one weekend destination in Australia. So again, I think it’s a town that will resonate with a lot of viewers and as a backdrop for The Block, it’s absolutely stunning and the community there is wonderful.”

Who is in the cast for The Block 2025?

Applications only just opened for next year’s season of The Block, however, a production insider tells Yahoo Lifestyle that there’s a chance the cast could be filled with returning faces.

According to our source, the return of fan favourite Blockheads throughout the current season is being used as a “test” and Nine has been gauging the audience’s reaction to see if they should do a full All Stars season next year.

2024 contestant Courtney, who is currently competing alongside her husband Grant, has already put her hand up to return next year. The furniture designer jokingly tagged her co-star Mimi in the comments on last week’s casting announcement on Instagram and said “Round 2?”, to which Mimi replied: “Styled rooms with no walls? Sure!”

Paige and Jesse tease return

Meanwhile, Paige and Jesse recently told Yahoo Lifestyle that they would be open to giving the experience another try after quitting this season midway through filming.

“I think now that I understand behind the scenes a lot more, I would do it again,” he said. “I’d go back, but I’d definitely do things a lot differently. I'd want to do it with Paige again, but they'd have to know that there are some rules in place from our side. Some boundaries.”

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Paige, on the other hand, says she’s unsure whether she’d ever want to put herself back in that situation. “Jury’s still out for me,” she remarked. “We’d have some conversations”.

“If they came and asked us back, we’d definitely take it into consideration,” Jesse said, before adding, “But I don’t think that’ll happen”.

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