Scott Cam revealed that the story of El Ferguson and Joel Patfull, who sensationally left The Block after just two days on the set of Gisborne, is far more significant.
The longtime host of the competition has been busy dumping the couple in 48 hours, calling it ‘poor as hell’ and ‘non-Australian’, amid reports that the duo flew to Adelaide to babysit Joel’s mother after a nasty fall. .
Given the circumstances, many have wondered why Scotty attacked the powerhouse and her former AFL star husband so passionately, and the conversation behind their cause has left a source of widespread speculation.
Now Scotty has shown that there were none at all.
Speaking to news.com.au ahead of the Tree Change season premiere next week, a Channel 9 personality revealed that the couple had raised sticks in the middle of the night “without explanation.”
“They didn’t give us a reason why they were leaving. They never told us about visiting their sick mother,” Scott said.
“Actually, we sent them to Adelaide before Block started for a week and put them up in a hotel so they could see (Joel’s mother) and they came back and said everything was fine.”
According to Scotty, the cast and crew were stunned by the disappearance of Joel and Elle.
“They never spoke to us, they just left in the middle of the night,” he said, adding: “I still don’t know why they left. They never mentioned their sick mother 48 hours before or after departure. The executive producer spoke to them (after they left) and then they didn’t mention their sick mother either.”
He explained that given that “family comes first” on Blockif Joel and Elle had decided to leave for personal reasons, production would have been temporarily halted for them.
“As we have done in the past, we closed all shows due to a sick family. If they had mentioned their sick mother, of course, we would have let them go home. I certainly wouldn’t stop someone from seeing a sick mother, that’s outrageous.”
In April, The Daily Telegraph reported that Joel and Elle had pulled out of the show after Joel’s mom had a bad fall.
The beauty blogger and former GWS Giants player traveled to Adelaide, where Joel’s mom Trish was being treated for a possible brain hemorrhage, a broken tailbone and a fractured wrist.
At the time, Elle even posted an Instagram story at Melbourne Airport, writing, “Wherever you are in the world. Whatever you do Family always comes first.”
In June, Scotty spoke out against the pair during an interview withTV tonight
“45,000 people applied to participate Block and win big money. These guys made it and just couldn’t keep up with the pace after 48 hours… Which is a bit out of Aussie to me! Try! It’s fucking bad,” he said.
A few days later, he responded to the harsh comments. Block website, telling reporters, “Obviously, I wish Joel and Elle well for the future. It’s just that they gave us a fair amount of chaos here in the first 48 hours.
“The show… we invested a lot of time and money in the beginning of our show and then we had to redo everything… all the promos had to be re-shot.
“It was very worrying on our part when they just left.
“When I say these words, Scott Cam speaks from the bottom of his heart.”
The sudden departure of Joel and Elle isn’t the only drama to sweep the season before it even aired.
It was revealed last month that the program was facing a critical supply shortage as widespread instability continues to plague the construction industry.
In response, construction company Nine in Six posted an urgent request on social media for more hands.
“We desperately need help bringing the current The Block, Tree Change series to a close. Carpenters, cladding teams, skilled workers, sales assistants,” the company’s official account says.
“Salary, casual, subsidies, we will not discriminate. Immediate start, 5 weeks left Location Gisborne Victoria. Send us a message if you’re interested.”
Speaking to news.com.au, Scotty said the challenge saved the show.
“We always knew there would be problems with supply chains and trade,” he acknowledged.
“But towards the end, we got really desperate, so we announced it and hired a couple of young teams of carpenters. Great guys.”
Adding that he “really enjoyed” being photographed with the latest trends, he added, “They were so excited to be there because they came from Geelong and just worked so hard.”
Block Tree Change will premiere on Sunday, August 7 at 7:00 pm on Channel 9.