Judge on Masterchef Australia, Matt Preston.
Signs of impending summer: suddenly free-to-air early evening primetime is awash with Aussie reality shows which finished weeks or months ago across the Tasman.
The Block: Glasshouse is the ninth series of the Australian format which has proved a ratings hit in its local incarnation.
The Nine Network show was
a 12-week affair from mid-winter finishing mid last month. Which might sound like a long time for four teams to renovate a place to grow tomatoes - but no, the "Glasshouse" of the title is an 80s commercial building in Melbourne's fashionable Prahran area where its five competing couples - four married or engaged, plus one pair of brothers - took on the project of turning this block into 3-bedroom luxury apartments. Among the occupations of the 10 contestants are: project manager, cabinet maker, painter and plumber and a former professional AFL player studying to be a builder.
Meanwhile the sixth series of MasterChef Australia comes to us having finished across the Tasman in late July with chefs Gary Mehigan, and George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston returning to judge the amateur cooks. Upcoming episodes will feature appearances from celebrity chefs Kylie Kwong as a guest mentor and big-name Brits Heston Blumenthal and Marco Pierre White joining the show for challenge episodes.
Also: Lifeguard reality show Piha Rescue is back for summer (One, Monday, 8pm), once again doing its best to convince us to swim between the flags, not only at Piha but at Coromandel's Hot Water Beach and at Raglan too.
