The Block 2023: Meet the contestants for season 19

• This article was first published in July 2023

Twenty years after The Block made its debut in fledgling reality TV land, filming is well under way on the show’s 19th season, set in bayside Melbourne.

This year, hopeful duos have taken to Hampton East, with five mid-century fixer-uppers in Charming Street undergoing modern makeovers.  

As the show kicks off with the full flair – and hair – of the 1950s, Domain met the contestants set to battle it out on the five adjacent building sites. 

Kristy and Brett Beams, South Australia: House 3

Project manager and safety adviser, both 34.

Some liquid courage after a night out was the catalyst for married couple Kristy and Brett Beams to send in their application video for The Block. After a decade together and time spent in successful careers, they had been hankering for a life shake-up. 

“We were ready for a challenge, the next step,” Kristy says. “The unknown was really exciting for us.” 

As an experienced project manager, Kristy brings expertise in scheduling, planning and budgeting to the task, while Brett completed a tiling apprenticeship after high school, something he plans to keep secret from their rivals. 

“The ability to stay up late grouting or corking to finish off a bathroom, which is one of the harder weeks, that’s a real advantage,” he reckons. 

What will be their biggest challenge? Well, renovating, they joke. While the couple own a house in Adelaide, which they plan to revamp, a bathroom glow-up is about all they have tackled to date. 

“Before going on the show, I was that harsh critic who sat there on the couch and thought, ‘Surely, they don’t do much?’” Brett says. “But it got very real, very quick.” 

Despite the intensity, the couple say they have enjoyed the renovation experience so far, and the ensuing drama. 

“We’re both straight shooters, so expect the truth from us,” Brett says. “I think you need a bit of entertainment factor in a show like this. I like to see the pot get stirred, so I’ll do my best to get the spoon out.”

Steph and Gian Ottavio, NSW: House 4

Architect and tech start-up worker, both 27.

Steph and Gian Ottavio recently bought and renovated their first home in the suburb of Bexley, in Sydney’s south, and enjoyed the experience so much they were inspired to apply for The Block. They may be the youngest contestants this season, but as childhood sweethearts who met 14 years ago on the school bus, they are well-versed in communication and teamwork, provided they stay in their own lanes. 

“The Block has exemplified that we are really good at working on the same project,” Steph says. “But we do need to be working on our own strong points for a common goal.”

As the first registered architect to appear as a contestant on the program, Steph says being able to see the house as a whole package from day one is where her skills have proved most valuable. 

“It’s about understanding an architectural style and continuing that style inside and out,” she explains. “Then, having that foresight to tie in every single room to the rest of the house.”

The couple describe their Block aesthetic as “Japandi” – where Japanese minimalism meets Scandinavian design – and say getting the balance between high-end and budget is where they excel.

“The way The Block is designed is to make you use funds efficiently while maximising the output that you have,” says Gian, the master budgeter. “We want everyone to see you can pull off high-end, sophisticated looks with minimal budget.” 

Leah and Ash Milton, Queensland: House 2

First-aid trainer, 31, and builder, 38.

With three children, their youngest having just turned two, a new business to run and an extensive home renovation underway, Leah Milton decided it was high time she and husband Ash gave The Block another try, after the couple missed out after applying in 2017. 

“I think Leah’s exact comment was, ‘There’s no better time than now,’ and I was like, ‘This is probably the actual worst possible time for it,’” Ash says, with a laugh. 

Despite their vast personal and professional renovating experience, the pace of The Block has demanded an adjustment. 

“It’s such a different beast,” says Ash, who worked in sales before starting his building business. “It’s not a normal way to build. You could sit down and plan your day and then scrunch up that piece of paper and throw it out the window.”

Still, they expect their knowledge will facilitate easy communication with trades and enable them to adapt quickly when original plans don’t pan out as intended. 

Leah says one of her goals on the show is to “push the boundaries with design”, which the couple feel they can do while working successfully as a team – for the most part.

“We butt heads a little bit, but at the end of the day we always come back together,” Ash says. “And when I say ‘butt heads’, Leah will have some quite extravagant design ideas she wants done in a certain amount of time and I’m like, ‘There’s no way we can get that done,’ and then I get it done.”

Kyle and Leslie Cottone, Western Australia: House 1

Firefighter, 36 and education assistant, 34.

“The first time we tried out for The Block was in 2015, and I was working at Freedom Furniture,” says Leslie Cottone, who spent much of her childhood in Zimbabwe before moving to Australia with her parents and sister two decades ago. 

“I was like, ‘Oh God, I could do this,’ because you’re watching the show and people are coming in and buying homewares they’ve seen the contestants buy.” 

Leslie and husband Kyle continued to apply sporadically before they finally made it through on their fifth attempt, or what their 11-year-old son Luca had nominated as their last.

Given their minimal renovation experience, The Block will be a huge challenge, they concede – particularly in regard to budgeting, Leslie jokes. But having created a life together since meeting in a Perth nightclub 12 years ago, and navigating their younger son Archer’s autism, the couple say they are not easily rattled. 

“Our dynamic over the years has changed from being very young parents to where we are now,” Leslie says. “Building that whole life together, there’s nothing on The Block that can really test us as a couple; we always know that that person is there for us.” 

Kyle says being away from their children has been the hardest part of the experience. 

“But we know we are doing it for them,” he says. “And knowing that you’ll be able to watch it with them and show them how hard we worked, it motivates you.”

Eliza and Liberty Paschke, Victoria: House 5

Personal assistant, 37 and integration producer, 34.

Sisters Eliza and Liberty Paschke grew up in Adelaide but have called Melbourne home for the better part of 15 years and live together in an apartment in Cremorne. As lifelong renters, with no renovation experience, they’re almost as surprised as their friends and family that they have ended up on The Block. 

“It’s our parents’ worst nightmare for us to go on reality TV,” Liberty says, with a laugh. “If it was a Married at First Sight or something like that, they would be more shocked, but they were certainly shocked.”

The duo applied for last year’s show but feel lucky to have missed out given the scope of season 18’s renovations in Gisborne. Nevertheless, keen to push themselves out of their comfort zone, they tried again.

“We talk about this experience being like rehab for our lives,” says Eliza, a personal assistant in the entertainment industry. “We love our lives and thrive in our careers, but we had both become pretty regimented and a bit stuck in our routines.” 

For her, pre-Block life meant sleep-ins and staying in to cook or watch movies, while Liberty, who works in advertising, is an early riser, rigid in her daily workouts and meal planning. 

“We wanted a challenge and that is definitely what we got,” Eliza says. 

“I’m very self-conscious. I had these grand plans to get spray tans once a week [on the show] and I’ve quickly found out that that would never be possible,” she adds, with a laugh. “The entire thing is overwhelming to us, but we back ourselves to have enough street smarts. We are really organised.

“We have done as much research as we can, and we just know that we will never give up.”