Why former Block contestants sold their house to fund a ‘ridgey didge’ renovation show

Don’t bother applying to Nine’s no-fuss renovation show Budget Battlers in the hope that former Block contestants Jess Eva and Norm Hogan will update your kitchen in five days, with a band of volunteers and just $10,000 in the kitty. The people most deserving of such a makeover aren’t the sort to ask.

Like retired nurse and widow Sandra, in the Melbourne suburb of Maidstone, and Luana and Paul, who are carrying on the work of their mum, Aunty Velda, in caring for their Indigenous community in Milton, Brisbane, who are all featured this second season.

“We don’t do a casting call because we find the people that need the most help think that there are people that are worse off,” Eva explains. “When we go find new places, we just sit at the pub and keep our ears open to see who people are talking about. We get told of a friend of a friend, and people say, ‘There’s no way they’ll accept it, though.’ Sometimes, we have to just insist.”

That sense of humility and selflessness is what defines the “Aussie battler” that the pair champion. In the series, Eva speaks directly to that demographic: “G’day Battlers! We see you out there doing everything you can for your family and friends!” She reminds us that “times are tough right now for too many hardworking Aussies”.

“This is a great show for the period that we’re going through, with the rising cost of everything,” says Hogan.

The former couple, who sold their house to fund the series - which has expanded from four to six episodes and moved forward an hour into prime time - are upfront about their 2021 split. They share two children, maintain rooms in each other’s houses (Eva in Sydney and Hogan in his Mallee hometown of Birchip) and agree they’re better off as friends.

“I’ve been trying to get Norm on Tinder,” jokes Eva. “Family is a group of people that love each other, that have laughter and fun and beauty surrounding them. And we have that … If Normie got a girlfriend, I’d be the first to pour her a wine and we could all laugh hysterically and swap stories.”

This season sees Melissa Tkautz join the crew. The E Street actress has been a mate of Eva’s since they met at a bar in Cairns.

“Mel is one of the kindest-hearted people you will ever meet,” says Eva. “And she, too, is donating her time. She’s never been an interior designer before. I said, ‘Do you want to come help me fluff some pillows, darl?’ And you should see what she pulls off.”

Along with donations from sponsors, each project attracts an army of local helpers to ensure the tight deadline is met.

“It pains me to say that we do it in five days because it’s ridiculous,” concedes Hogan. “All those people turn up just to give a hand for nothing. It’s ridgey didge.”

The big reveals are a long way from the display-home chic of The Block. Care is taken to preserve sentimental objects – an old fireplace, a children’s growth chart scribbled on the wall, a cherished chandelier.

“If you’ve lived a whole life in your house and it’s littered with memories, then it’s not our job to erase them just to have a beautiful picture afterwards,” says Eva. “It’s a people show as much as a renovation show.”

Hogan says there are real-life Budget Battlers all over the country.

“It’s a matter of just one mate giving you a hand to move some furniture around. That’s how it starts. And then, that mate will go around and give his mate a hand and they might be building a bar in his man’s shed … That’s what I hope comes out of the show. I think sometimes we need to get off our arses and stop looking at our phones and start reconnecting with people.”

Budget Battlers with Jess And Norm returns at 7.30pm on Wednesday, October 22, on Nine.

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