Friendship under fire

The Block stars Britt and Steph working together on a challenge for the Daylesford movie theatre.

Britt’s new bond with Steph leads to accusations of betrayal.
CH9

When Block royalty Steph and Gian, the biggest ever winners in the show’s history, make
an appearance as part of a challenge, they strike up a fast friendship with Britt and Taz. And this closeness sparks fury from Britt’s previous Block bestie, Alicia.

“Alicia was a little bit jealous,” Pilbara police officer Britt, 30, tells TV WEEK. “I think she was jealous of not having the opportunity to speak to them on such a personal level, because they are The Block GOATS [Greatest of All Time].”
Britt on site in The Block looking tense.Has Britt left her bestie out in the cold? (Credit: CH9)
Britt’s hubby, Taz, says the tension caught them off guard during Kitchen Week, one of the busiest weeks on site.

“Obviously, we had to work with Steph and Gian as part of the challenge,” he says. “So Britt had to
go away for days at a time with Steph. You’d be silly not to just absolutely chew her ear off and get every bit of help and advice that you could.”
Taz and Britt on site of The Block. Taz holds a roller paint brush.Taz and Britt, both WA police officers are working well but having a tough time away from their kids. (Credit: CH9)
When Alicia is left out of a shopping trip that she and Britt had previously planned together, things go from bad to worse.

“I sat around waiting for her for a whole day,” dental practice manager Alicia, 42, tells TV WEEK. “It meant that, when I found out she’d gone without me, I’d lost a whole day that I could have been helping Sonny. She just left me sitting around looking like a fool.”
Alicia and Britt both in hooded tradie clothes confronting each other outside The Block.(Credit: CH9)
“I didn’t think something as minuscule as not sending a text message to say, ‘I’m going shopping,’ would make her feel this way,” Britt says of her erstwhile best mate.

“Taz and I are probably a little bit more resilient because of what we do for work; however, we were having the hardest week on The Block so the last thing on my mind was sending a text.”
Sonny and Alicia looking tense on The Block.Alicia feels like her friend has left her behind. (Credit: CH9)
Taz agrees that they were dealing with much bigger things personally – and that superseded their need to communicate their schedules with their neighbours.

“We were really starting to miss the kids,” says the dad of two. “Our young fella, Carter, really articulated that
he missed us, and it was getting a bit emotional for him. Compound that with doing the kitchen, the heart of the home, and it was tough.”
Alicia shops solo on The Block. Alicia is happy to go it alone from now on. (Credit: CH9)
With Alicia fuming that she was left out, and Britt stunned by the backlash, a question hangs in the wood smoke over Daylesford – is this the end of one of The Block’s closest friendships?

“I’d been told by the producers that maybe I just cared more about the friendship than she did,” Alicia admits. “And then she’s spending all this time with Steph… it’s an unfair advantage the other houses didn’t get. It’s at that moment that everything changed.”