TOM & SARAH JANE WON'T DO THEIR BLOCK OVER YOUR COMMENTS!

It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week they right welcome back guys to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and on this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. Each episode you will get a front row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and casting agents, plus the talent that we see on

Today.

On the podcast, I have two of this year's biggest personalities on Australian screens. It is Tom and Sarah Jane from Channel nine's The Block. This year, The Block has had a tree change and taken on a challenge that would and should normally send anyone a little crazy. With five houses situated on ten acres of land each and weather conditions harsher than any season before, it's no wonder the ratings for The Block have smashed expectations of TV

However, let's get started with today's guest.

I'd like to welcome Tom and Sarah Jane from the Block to TV reload.

For me personally, when I was there, I never thought about the whole TV side of it.

Meet Tom and Sarah Jane. They come to us from Melbourne, Gladston Park.

To be exact, we're normal people, we argue and we're going on a TV show, so I hide it.

Tom as a plumber with over seventeen years worth of experience.

That's just how we palk to each other in high pressure situations, which you know can be confronting for some people.

Sarah Jane is a social worker. They're married and have an eleven month old daughter.

I kind of looked back and I thought, hmmm, I care bitch, I'll see what you did.

Then.

These two are huge fans of the Block and have watched every season.

We have no idea what's going to play out on auction. We have no idea who's going to wear.

Hey, Tom and Sarah Jane, how are you both? Hello?

We're very well, thank you.

How long had you both been trying to get onto this show?

Oh?

Whether we only tried the once. This is our first time applying. And I think they just saw the crazy and was like, yeah, cool on.

I heard a story that maybe you guys had been wanting to do like a tree change, and so the fact that you guys had been wanting to do a tree change that sort of fitted with what the theme of the show was going to be.

Is there any truth in that?

Yeah?

I mean, we love the country, got a little place up in the country and it's always been a dream for us to have some land and move up to the country. And prior to COVID, we Dinard and really started looking into moving up to Gisburn a fel my mate have made the change up there, but it was afforded.

It was an affordable it was.

So much more affordable. I mean, you know, thanks to COVID. It's just fuck the whole world. So when the block popped up, we just thought.

Well, as soon as we heard that was I'm a Sunbury girl, so it's only ten minutes down the road from where I grew up. When we had it, was engivesmen like, that's it, we're doing it. Well, I was like, I'm applying and you're coming.

You know, that's a common thing with couples who want to do the block. There's usually one that really wants to do it, and so it's it's not that usually get two people just as passionate, but watching the show seems like you're both pretty cool to be there, right.

I don't know, I never really that.

I've always watched the block, but watching it on TV, I just thought, oh, there's no way I'd go there and have fun working in those conditions.

But so you ended up loving it more than I only.

I loved it more than everybody there. It was awesome.

I love watching when you go and go and talk to everyone else that you're like, all right, I'm just going to go chat to every other people and enjoy myself from being there on the day when I met you.

Both.

You are exactly who you are in real life as you are on television.

There's no blurred lines.

Nah, We've been getting told that a lot, and it's the only right way to go on TV. I reckon, You've got nothing hard and nothing to be disappointed about with the edit.

So yeah, yourself, and you can't look like an idiot exactly. Well, you still can look like an idio you're.

Still, but only be yourself.

And even our family were like, you guys are exactly the same, and I'm like.

Yeah, like, well wouldn't you be?

You know, it is what it is like. We can't change our personalities.

People try to, though, you know, with reality television you see it all the time. People try, but these shows a films so long that they come undone. You know, you can't pretend to be someone you're not for a very long time. You might as well, just gone in there and be Watson all yourself.

Right, Yeah under high precious situations are going to let you see some people in their worse and your true colors are going to shine sooner or later, so you best be yourself.

Yeah, totally.

And Sarah Jane, I need to ask you this, Do you need a strong relationship to be able to survive a show like this?

I think so definitely. I think you need to have a strong relationship. I think you need to understand each other on all levels. I think you need to have been in testing situations before, because if you haven't, and then you're going to go on the block twelve weeks in those conditions and the stress, I mean, you will come out and you'll want a divorce. I mean we renovated our our own home together and he's been living

You know. Start, I just can't be bother packing.

Yeah, it's really lazy, It's great.

A lot of shit to pack.

How have you both been coping watching the show? I mean, have you been enjoying what you get back? Do you sit back and have a laugh, or do you cringe? I mean, what are the emotions.

We sit back, we watch it religiously every night, and it's actually really fun to watch because I mean, look for me personally, when I was there, I never thought about the whole TV side of it.

I just for me.

I just felt like I was on a work side every day. So you carrying on as you normally do, but the camera gets to capture all that and seeing it all come to get it on TV, you get to reminded of little snippets, Yeah that happened, and you're like.

Oh, that's that's funny actually, and it's been good, good to watch.

Haven't had any cringe.

I cringed slightly when I told Tom I was kind of punching in the face the other night. But I mean Tom knows that I'm actually going to punch him in the face, and he knows that.

You know, that's just how we pork to each.

Other in high pressure situations, which you know, can become hunting for some.

People, because you know, not everyone likes to have their fights out there.

Who put that there?

I'm done, Tom, I will literally punch you in the face.

Get out of my.

Way, Tome, watch you don't trip again.

Besides that, I'm like, oh, well shit, that's just me, Like I mean, take it or leave it, And you know, if you want to leave it, just change the channel come back in an hour and a half.

You kind of talked about the bickering between the two of you as a bit of a love language.

Is that what it is?

Yeah? I guess so.

Yeah, we bicker and it's us sort of taking the piss out of each other having a laugh.

But we don't. I don't know. Some people look at it and go, oh my god, they're just toxic. They're blah blah blah.

But I don't think it's anything but toxic. We're just real normal people. I mean, how many couples have been on the show, you know, husband and wives that have been on the show over the last eighteen seasons and they just try to hide it like we're normal people. We argue and we're going on a TV show, so I hide it. I thought we signed up for yourself.

Our fights are just like that, Like we don't ever fight with love and respect.

Like unfortunately the fight mate, Like how do you if you're not having a proper fight, your makeup sets like it's been nice to me.

Love the bickering, I really do, because it makes you, guys real. Do you think that bickering is a normal part of a functioning relationship.

Yeah, totally.

And you know what, we pick up for five minutes and then we're done. We're over it, Like we just let our feeling out right there and then and.

Then we go again five minutes later.

You got to keep it exciting.

Did you discuss limitations between the two of you or did you just agree to be what's in all, just exactly who you are.

I mean, I don't know.

I sometimes feel like you might have needed a safe word between the two of you.

We've got we're potty mouse, and I'm pretty sure we got it.

We did.

We got awarded the biggest body mouse in block history, So I mean, we do swear a lot, and we did get asked to sort of try and curve out a bit. But we didn't discuss limitations with each other. But I reckon a couple of funny things might have got cut out because it was probably just going to be too much beeping in him. But we probably should have spoke about swearing his limitations because we do swear a lot.

We're just we've probably come across the world.

I love that.

And the safe work would be a swear word, right, the safe work would be fuck or if you.

All shut the fuck up.

There, Jane.

I can't stop laughing at the way in which you over dramatize things where you say I'm dying when you're not dying or dead dead and that phone call where you're just like on the phone and all you're saying is dead, I'm dead.

I'm dead, Sarah Jane calls Rachel to me. The pain job, the.

Downlight's not one up, the weird the ceiling rows, I'm dead. Yeah, Yeah, I'm dead. I'm sure that's that's that's a last place. That's the last place for what I've been. I just can't even kind of a comprehension.

Yeah, absolutely definite, hundred bad love you, lady.

Bye.

And you know what it's like, I mean, I know that my voice is already killing people, Like that's one thing that I've heard a lot of, like, oh my.

God, her voice.

But get used to that because it's like I've got to speak, and all I say is you'll hear it dead, dead, dying, hungy you like, And then and you'll hear a lot of love that for you.

Love that for you.

Sometimes when you're talking and I'm a fast talk or when I'm doing a podcast to slow it all down, so I speak fast and I hear fast. But there's been a couple of times where I have to rewind it back to listen to what you've said again. And it's very well put together, like you're you know exactly what you're saying. It's just moving so fast that the normal human brain can't compute it.

Yeah.

I just that's because I was brought up on Gilmore Girls, and Gilmore Girls was my sole TV show, and they talked so quickly to each other, So I just conversed with Gilmogl's my whole life, and that's why I speak really quickly.

Yeah, that's just put so many pieces together for me. You are the lourel I, but you're like both laurel Ees together.

Yeah, I'm Lorelei and Rory.

Yeah.

If I could have called my daughter Sarah Jane after myself, I would.

Have as well.

But I don't even know who that is.

Oh, it pains me when you say that. Please don't talk about Gem Girls with such disrespect.

Best that you don't the best, that you don't know who that is. I don't think it's your cup of tea, Tom, But talking to you about things that are happening online, what do you think of all the audience making the Shannon Nole references?

Do you have you been told you look like before?

Yeah?

I've been told I look like Shannon for years.

I don't see it. Maybe I need like a little Godie funny.

He's been told Shannon, Noel and God. He's got in both of it.

I don't know how you get both.

So he's like a little Australian or hybrid.

Probably when I had he probably could have said Anthony Khalia too.

Yes, and they ever want the same surname.

No, it's similar.

I just think it's hilarious because people keep talking about it, and then on another channel at the same time, people are trying to guess who these masks are on the mask singer and I think Channon is the blowfly, and so there's all these tweets and then people are getting confused and they're calling you a blowfly, and I'm like.

Guys, you know, stick to the stick to the one network.

It's just it's actually Tom under there.

Nah, mate, I've been told for years I look like Shannon. No, I don't see it all.

I'm a lot sh a well.

A big question in this series of the block is what is country? Which appears to be interpreted very differently with each house. But what does country mean to you? If you have to put it into words.

I don't know.

You walk into an old country home, like say from the fifties, what do you see? I think you see paneling, you see heritage corners, You'll see stealing roses. Wherever there's a pendent light. You'll see big skirting boards, big architravees.

Hugs you like like I have a warmth yeah.

Like deep colors, cottage hugs you I think like farmhousey.

Warm colors, nothing sterile. You don't go into country homes they're all white. You go into old So you go into an old mansion, they're all like bold colors. You know, marone walls, purple. I'm not purple maron carpet.

A lot of inspiration from like old pubs too, like country pubs with those deep greens and reds, and so I have a lot of deep colors. And that's I took that from, like Country pubs, And what about.

The kingsman robe and the window position, which was a major pain in both of your bums.

Did we work out who was to blame for that?

Yeah?

It was I don't see a problem.

The only thing that I stuffed up was the ward at the Kings and wardrobes there probably which.

Something. But you're admitting that you're actually wrong.

The windows in the right spot.

Dish modifucker? Can I just can't, Mama.

Tonight, I was chatting a Darren Palma and because he posted something about our room and the nice colors, and you walk in and blah blah blah, and you turn around and you look to the right and you look at the window, and I'm like, yet, I see what you're saying. And then I sent him a photo which here had already. He already knows what the facade of our house. And it looks like I sent him a photo. I said, Now, do you see why I didn't move that window to the side.

It just it was.

Right out the front. It would have looked so stupid having that window crammed against the side. If it was down the side of a house, well, the viewers don't get to see.

This until week twelve.

But yeah, I should have Originally we should have just had shelving in that far cup and instead of a cupboard door.

Yes, agreed, But that will be the resolution to the issue. Yeah, is the door will come off and they will just be shelfing. That's it, open shelving.

Yeah, but yeah, that's that's my doing and I take responsibility for it.

And we know the windows will stay.

Jane, take a photo of this.

Actually, I've got the audio, so we've got this for on record forever.

The tom is wrong, you wouldn't send that audio to me. I would like to listen to it on my deathbed as I go.

The window is not wrong, by the way, the last cupboard door should have been shelby.

How about I rephrase it as this, if we could go back in time, would you have left the window.

There still be there?

Okay?

In my own home it would still be there.

Okay.

Up.

What is your relationship with the judges, Like, do you think some of the other contestants have taken you know, the commentary to personally.

We didn't really get to hang out with the judges that much because normally we're at Block HQ doing our master interviews whenever rooms are getting judged.

So met that once for like a whole two minutes. That's it, the whole, the whole.

Yeah, and then like a couple of small snip but never got to spend a day with them or anything. Look, I think when you've put your heart in silent your room all week, sleepless nights, and normally when we're hearing that judging on a Sunday night, that's after coming off the back of a night with no sleep. So I mean, you get told don't take it personally, but it is personal because you personally, you personally.

Did that room.

So I mean it's not personal personal, but it's constructive criticism and it's easy to get pissed off when you hear it.

But people took it personally sometimes.

And I think people did take it personally.

So you just went around that question for like five minutes when some people took too personally, I think Anyways, I.

Don't really think we did. We did.

I'm not talking about me, I'm we're talking about the others. We're talking about said do.

You think some people took Yeah, yeah they did, But I don't see a problem with that, to be honest.

Like, we get why they would have, but did some people take it too personally?

Yes? Do we see maybe why they would have.

Yes, yes, If you saw these people at the pub, would you go up to them and would you just be like hey, hey, going or would you be cross with them?

Would you have things that you'd wanted to discuss with them?

Oh?

No not no, No, I'd be like, oh my god, so glad to meet you, thank you for all the nice things you ever said. Like no, I wouldn't like absolutely not. They're just doing a job. We're just trying to out best.

It is what it is, and really it was in everybody's best interest to take their yeah, crucism, because whenever you took their criticism, you were awarded the following week.

Yeah, I feel like it always paid off.

I think also as well, it would just feel like the block experience, Like even if I did something in some they'd criticize it really badly. I'd be like, oh my god, I'm on the block, you know what I mean. Like it would be like this surreal moment. It's not like, you know, some horrible nobody has just made a comment about your walk in wardrobe, Like these people are iconic to the block, and that's what you've signed yourself up for.

Like when I'm put down by I'm like, oh my god, it's got pulled down by Shane.

How amazing is that? Like I need to calm my mom and life. That's how I took I. I was just so excited that than you my name, so I was like, yeah, you traghic girl, talk about me more. We were still waking up week ten and looking at each other in bed and we're like, we're on the block.

I never felt like we were on the block.

What happened? How did we get here?

You both deserve to be there and the best thing about this is no judgment to the rest of the contestants, but Australia is falling in love with you guys because you are the type of people we love to see on the block. You are appreciative of being there and this is a real opportunity for your lives to change.

It was never ever a day.

I mean, I don't think Australia's really got to see how much we actually work. It seems that there's a lot of interviews, a lot of flashbacks, a lot of decision making moments, but they don't show how much you actually work and a teen now, I've never worked so hard in my whole life. For twelve weeks we're doing.

Tom was doing like twenty hour days, like.

Twelve weeks straight, and it was doing bin runs through storms. Because we didn't get skips in air house. You didn't get rubbish bins. Every single bit of rubbish you had on your site you had to manually lift, put it in the back of the forward ranger and take it to the Bingo recycle. And mate will done that at two three in the morning. We did use every minute like it was their last.

I don't know.

Whatever happens on auction day happens, and it's not because of our lack of trying.

So it'd be so surprised that you talk this much, Tom.

Like, well, that's because you're not.

It is. It is a surprise that you are talking as much.

I mean, I thought we would need it, Sarah Sarah, Jay and I would need a talking stick.

Oh Le's say.

Everyone that knows me knows that I talk a lot, but now pretty much hold Australian as I talk a lot.

I love a loss and I just loved a chat.

So well, what did you think about, you know, should the boys have just come out with exactly what they wanted when they had that sort of body corporate first body corporate meeting, or do you think that there was something dodgy about the way in which they might have been wasting people's time.

I don't think that was.

The intention, and I genuinely don't think it was the intention to like call on a Saturday around the bush. I think that it just worked out that wa way. I think Dan Foreman Dan wanted to answer it happened to be in Saturday. Obviously, Saturdays are so important because it's your last twenty four hours until it tools down. But we didn't care, Like at the end of the day, we looked at Body Corps like if people wanted something.

They work, didn't care. Nah.

We were like pretty much nine numbercent always want to say yes because if we wanted something down the track, we wanted to have them on board too. It was a little bit annoying, but it wasn't It wasn't anything Triman.

No, Yeah, we didn't think it was.

No, we didn't think it was uncalled for anything.

Nah.

We were just sitting there thinking, oh gee, we don't want oh.

Mate, that's why I was just like, conqueror, now you can have you concres.

Yeah, we were like, no concrete in our country home like that.

No, thank you.

It is always wooden floors. If you want to go down that brute, you do it. We're not interested.

You know.

One of the things I love about this show is that we all get to feel so included when we're watching it. We all think, you know, we're experts at home judging everything that you guys are doing. And for an example, with you, when you mentioned the autumn leave bed sheets, I was like, yes, oh my god, that's nice. That's different, that's unusual.

I love that.

But then when we saw it, I was like, oh, I don't think I like those autumn bed sheets. Do you think that's the magic at the Block is that the audience gets to be judge and jury of what you guys are doing.

Yeah?

I think so, because I think when we used to watch the Block, like the best part was the judging and we would listen, I'm like, oh no, that's she has that all wrong. Like, you know, you think you're the experts in that.

Home, and there's no right or wrong.

Really, it's and everybody's got their own opinion, and I don't know. People even like your stuff or they hate it, and that's fine. It's I liked every single room we did more than every single other room that was done on the block because it was it was how we wanted to build our hair, so I wouldn't We had the opportunity to build however we liked, And if we were millionaires and had millions of dollars, how would we build a hat? That's how we would have built it.

Yeah.

Their visions are the same as our, so when they see something, they're going to be like, oh no, And then sometimes I probably surprise them and be like, oh gee, that looks really nice. Other times I'm going to be like that is hideous? How did she get that score?

Or whatever? It's the way it is.

It's the game. Yeah.

Has your relationship with the other contestants evolved since you first met them?

Oh?

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

We're pretty close with House too.

I speak to Rachel every day. I speak to Jenny still a lot. Shuzz and angks. The boys, you know, what We all still genuinely speak to each other, and after going through such an intense experience like you just have, even through the highs and lows, and like I talk about some of them on camera, and I'm sure they talk shit about us, but you have such an immense respect for these people because they survive the same experience that you did, and you know how hard it is.

That's just life. But we have it.

We all have a block group chat, so we're all whatsapped throughout the day pretty much every day.

And you will see the same theraphy, which helps.

Yes, we all went to the same doctor and got the five free health mental health sessions, so it's great.

What about getting to know them more as the TV show plays out? Has your relationship been impacted by watching what's happening on television?

No, not yet.

It's interesting to see what It's fun to see what happens in the other houses because we're so far apart. We didn't know what was happening down in at House three, four and five. Sometimes we went days without seeing any of them house too, though, Ryan and Rache. We were always, you know, somebody needed building materials or someone needed to close.

We saw them the most, so we developed such a close friendship with you.

Yeah, so we sort of always knew what was happening in their place.

Yeah.

I don't think any of it changes as a show progresses. Have you become closer with certain people, But I don't think like occurs with other couples, if that makes sense, as as it goes on, like, we're all still pretty chummy. I'll just have to see he talks it about me and then and then I'll talk to you later.

Maybe I don't want to know. I'm still friends with all of them at this point.

Do you guys have any bets on who's gonna who might come out on top? I mean, the Block's the only show where everyone's a winner kind of situation a situation, But who do you think is going to come out on top? Do you have any idea at this point?

I think it's I don't. I don't.

I just hope. I just have hope that we do. I don't think. I don't lean towards a certain hat.

I lean towards two certain houses. I like to think that house one will be victorious because.

Is that the right word victorious?

Yeah, I like it. It's a good word for you.

I like to think that House one is victorious because you've got to back yourself. But three is always I've always thought was a threat because of the positioning of the house. It's got spectacular views, spectacular views, and I feel like you just need one buyer to be like those those views are everything.

But that also not appeal to a lot of people as well.

So yeah, well there's those presents with all of that correctly, and then house to complete.

I was like, I kind of looked back and I thought, hmm, okay, bitch, I'll see what you did.

Then that was that was a dub Wall's all right, Like hmmm, alright, you've been playing that since week one half.

I still like Airhouse a million times over everyone else's. And I don't know, I think it all just comes down to a bar on the two buyers on the day fighting over it. So you hear it, these like favorites already on sports bet and all that stuff, and it's like that means nothing. Honestly, everything comes down.

To auction day.

Ideally we all make a shipload of cash. And that's the best thing about Block.

Like you said, it's one show, reality TV show, where ever everybody is essentially a winner, like you all walk, you all pray that you know, you walk away with something more you walked in with.

You never know.

But yeah, I think in Australia, I think that's why the show's rating so highly is because we're desperate to watch someone succeeding and it's all happening in front of our eyes. So many shows are pre recorded these days and you can have them spoiled where not even the producers, not even the executives at Channel nine, know what's going to happen.

So we're all on board with the journey.

Yeah, definitely.

And it's funny because some people they have never watched the Block, but they were just watching because they're our friends or family.

They keep on going like say, do you guys win, And I'm like, no, it doesn't look that way. Like we're not hiding this secret.

We're not sitting on half a million dollars like behind your back.

We genuinely have no idea what the reserves are. We have no idea what's going to play out on auction. We have no idea who's going to win?

Right?

That's the best thing about it. You know, everyone who joins the podcast gets asked this question, what is something from behind the scenes, something that we didn't see that we won't see from your time on the Block?

That's a and I feel like you're going to see a lot of me and Tom because.

I don't know crazy shit.

I was really impressed with, like how awesome the crew was, Like I thought, we're going to meet crew that I would hate. There wasn't one sound man or woman, camera person or producer that we didn't like. The crew that Jules was put together is it's it's amazing. It's literally you you literally feel at home from the minute you walk in there, like everyone.

There's your friend. And as wanky as it sounds.

It's just a vibe.

Isn't it that those people just become your immediate family, that they are who you hang around.

For the next three months and Australia you won't getting see any of that.

Oh you don't get to see the Block family behind And.

It does sound wanky, the Block family, but it's a thing.

And we still keep in touch with a lot of the producers and stuff, so that surprised me.

A lot of.

Showers porter showers, like you know how like there's a port of toilet, there's such thing as porter showers where there's and we had to shower in them for the first like, oh, I didn't five weeks because even though we now we did it in week one, no time showered about once week.

Not even sometimes. I think I went like ten.

Days, and I know I'm proud of that.

I had so many bites. But I brought like a ten pack of baby wipes with me. But because I just had this feeling about showers, I was just like, I don't know how this works, So I'm going to bring a million baby whips with me.

And it was the best thing I ever did.

And so that that you don't get to see people think, oh they've got a bathroom. Now they shower in that bathroom, but none of it is actually hooked up. So for the first like four weeks, you're really showering in a port shower.

I don't It was mind blaming to me.

I think so far from what I've watched, it hasn't.

Showed the horrificness of the caravan.

Oh no, not that.

I mean the weather was pretty tough, and the weather was full on. It was like that. We had days that it was like chill. Fuck, it was like past minus six and and.

It rains like thirty six days in a row.

Streight. Yeah, I don't think. I don't know.

That was buddy tough. As fun as it was, it was still very tough. I don't think people sitting at home will ever understand and never ever understand.

How to get out of a shower and take two steps to your bedroom and somehow a toe would get mud on it, a suck would get mud on.

It, like York jama pants.

It was just like, yeah, like it's all right.

Trying to build in that because at the end of your day at work, you go home, you have a sharing, you sit on the couch.

For us, we.

Were there living and breathing it, you know, days not sharing.

That was my choice. I was about to say, but you know, you're still sleeping in the cold too.

You don't have no heating, so you've got a bed.

But I think, yeah, there were For me, from what I could think of that it was those two things that I think Australia won't get to see.

I went there for one day and I had a pair of boots that were never the same that the boots had to be thrown and away, and they were good boots.

The people the.

Crew were like just looking at me, like, oh, well, everyone else has dealt with much work.

When you were there, that was a good day. Yeah, that was a very good day.

It was fucking awful about.

Somewhere you feeling warm in the house like that was a good day.

Well, as a bit of a tease, guys, your house was phenomenal and so I think Australia is going to go on a really great journey to see what happens.

So excited that I got to have this chat with you.

Normal is I'll speak for itself. I'm fabulous that laughs.

Sorry, it's so good. No, that's the iconic laugh. That's what we want