New team Rachel and Ryan on their last-minute call-up to replace Joel and Elle on The Block

Rachel and Ryan had a very different weekend in mind when they got they got the late call-up to be contestants on The Block 2022.

The couple were at the pub with their kids and friends when they got the news they were cast on the show after Joel and Elle’s shock departure.

“We got a call telling us we needed to be at The Block in 30 hours – it was insane, it was madness,” Rachel told 9Entertainment in an exclusive video interview.

Rachel and Ryan had gone quite far in the casting process for Season 18, but put their hopes of being on The Block behind them when they heard the teams had been selected.

Little did they know, one of those teams suddenly quit just a few days into filming.

“We’d kind of moved on with our lives and then to get the call to say ‘We need you here ASAP’ was mind-blowing,” Rachel said.

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Ryan added, “Yeah we had to figure out a lot in 30 hours to get down here.”

The parents of three kids quickly got things at home organised, and rushed to the building site in Gisborne where they were greeted by host Scott Cam.

Scotty quickly got the pair up to speed on what they’d missed, informing them it was day one and Bathroom Week – which was good news because Ryan is a plumber.

Then he gave them the plans and keys to House 2, which is the house Joel and Elle chose after placing fourth in the House Decider challenge.

While Rachel and Ryan had no say in which house they get to renovate, they weren’t worried about the property because “it’s what you do with it” that counts.

Plus Rachel feels like they were destined to renovate that house. “I personally feel like House 2 chose us,” Rachel said.

Now that they’re ready to get started transforming the historic home, the couple admitted they’re already tired but excited to be on The Block.

“We’re exhausted and we know that that’s really funny because we’re coming in to a really exhausting situation, but at the same time this has been… surreal,” Rachel said.

“This was something Rach and I wanted to do together,” Ryan said.

“And it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Rachel added.

This article was originally published by Nine.com.au. Reproduced with permission.