Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - Scott Cam, the Aussie Tradie Turned TV Star!

Episode Date: November 12, 2023

We chat to the host of The Block Aus.. Scott CamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now The Block Australia back on three this week and joining us right now Scott Cam, the host of The Block Australia for many years. Good morning, great to have you on. Hey, morning guys. Hey, nice, very nice to talk to you. Yeah, true, fantastic. Talking to New Zealand, I love it. Yeah, the whole of New Zealand right now. 19 years of The Block Australia. You've been hosting since 2010. Do you think that you'd be yelling at contestants on the block for this long?

No, I don't. My old boss, he said to me, I think we'll get 10 years out of this. I said, oh, that's terrific, mate. And then in my mind, I said, he's dreaming, the poor bugger. I don't want to break his dreams. 17 seasons later, I'm still here. And I turned 60, guys, last year. Jeez. So you've really, a huge period of your life is spent on this show.

Is there a favourite season? That isn't this one coming up. Yeah, that's right. The one you're about to watch. They're all so different. I do like them all for various reasons. More to the point, is there any that I don't like? We did one in the country last year that was really tough,

and it rained for like 60 out of the 90 days. And it was just a really tough series. So I was glad to see the back of that one. Yeah. Well, what do you think it is that Aussies and Kiwis love watching? You know, essentially amateur builders building houses and apartments and erasing its time. No, look, I think they get great ideas from it. They invest in the contestants.

They might pick a team that they like or they dislike, and they want to follow them on their journey, and they dream about doing it themselves. We get 45,000 couples apply to the block every year. Wow. Wow. That is incredible. Wow. Wow. That is incredible. It's crazy. What does it come down to with a couple?

Look, I think you've got to, it's resilience is the big one. You know, we can't have anybody that's a bit too, you know, doesn't understand that hard work is the key. Now you've just described Ben and me. So we're out. We're out of the audition. Damn it, damn it. We cut from it.

Because I was in the trade and had a business come for 40 years. Carpenter, weren't you? Yeah, yeah, and I had a team of carpenters and I had lots of apprentices, and all my apprentices are married with three kids now. So how did you get a gig on TV? I got found in the pub, boys, 25 years ago. Did you? Yes, I went to the pub the pub, boys, 25 years ago. Did you? Yes. I went to the pub every night on the way home from work.

Legend. To wash the dust away, as I told my wife. So with a bunch of folks, we all met at the pub at about 5 o'clock and I was always home for dinner at 6.30. But anyway.

Just a very powerful hour and a half, wasn't it, Scotty? Yeah. And a producer came in the pub and we were all talking and laughing in the corner and he said, mate, I'm doing a screen test for a TV show and I need a carpenter. And would you like to do a screen test? And I said, no, that's not my go.

I don't know anything about it. Thank you anyway. He got the number off my ute that was parked out the front, rang me the next day and he said, I'm in your area. Can I come and do that screen test with you? And I went, oh, all right, come on, come down. Because I told my wife and she said, you should do that. You've been doing this since you were 17.

It might be something different for a day. And so I did it. Anyway, he rang me up. He said, you've got the job, and we're going to do a pilot for a TV show called Back Out Blitz. And that was a very successful show in Sydney, in Australia, I mean, and went for about six years or something. And then I've done a heap of shows for Channel 9 over 25 years and The Block for the last 14. Wow. That's incredible.

Isn't it? I know. What a great story. And now you can say to your wife, well, it was worthwhile me going to the pub every night. Yeah. Scott Camp, we can't wait for the block to start again, 7 p.m. Sunday night. It's been really nice catching up with you. Good on you, guys.

Thanks so much.