Bayley Blockstars
Like all good room reveals on, we have been sitting on this surprise for a little while now. In 2020 we began discussions with Julian Cress, producer of award winning TV series, The Block. The idea at the time was to be involved in their Brighton series which was being filmed a few streets away from Bayley House. Then COVID-19 struck and all plans for our involvement were sadly scrapped.
Fast forward to 2021 and The Block Hampton was announced. We kept our fingers crossed that Julian hadn’t forgotten about us. He hadn’t! Impressed by our focus on all abilities art, Julian contacted us to see if we would like to join in this new season. Filming was scheduled during a safe break in lockdowns. In early March the tv crews arrived at Bayley House. What followed was an incredible day.
As seen on the Block
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The day began before the sun came up. Our Bayley Blockstars; Robbie, Hayley, Katherine, Bronwyn, Charlie, James, Georgina, Daniel and Bri were thrust into the world of television production. Hair and make-up stations were set up, mics were clipped on and then faster than you could say ‘action’ Scotty, Shelly and the contestants had arrived and the filming was underway!
As you saw, we were part of a challenge episode, where the contestants compete in order to win prizes or to top up their budgets. The challenge set was this; we had two outdoor areas that were in need of a makeover – so who could create the winning space? After consultation with the Bayley Blockstars, the competition began.
A winning team was chosen by judge, Shayna Blaze, but we know that we were the real winners with two outdoor spaces transformed into areas that not only met our needs but fulfilled our wishes as well. Catch.com.au were amazing and donated much of the fit out, including our very own outdoor bar!
We can’t thank The Block team enough, not only was it fun to be part of such a well-known Australian production but we also got to show our skills as artists which is incredibly important to so many at Bayley House.
During the day, Scotty and Shelly also took to the time to sit down and be asked all of the hard questions by the Bayley Babble crew which you can listen to at the link below.
We first met Natarsha and the wonderful clients of Bayley House in early 2020 and immediately started planning to make a challenge for our Brighton series. And then lockdown forced us to postpone, which was heartbreaking for all. But we really didn’t want to let them down and as soon as we began production on this year’s show we got straight back to planning. The day we all got to spend with everyone was truly memorable for our entire crew and we were delighted to be able to give something special to all of the residents and staff, as they most certainly gave something special to all of us.
– Julian, The Block producer