'We Want To Host Our Own Show!'

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Fact – Elyse Knowles may look amazing in a bikini, but she can also rock a tool belt just as well as her carpenter boyfriend Josh Barker.

And this season’s It-girl on The Block is certainly no stranger to the spotlight – a Melbourne model who’s worked with big brands like Guess and Billabong, Elyse boasts more than 600,000 Insty followers. But don’t let the glitz and glam fool you... “I find it all really funny,” says

Josh, 28. “She comes across a certain way, and she’ll be doing all these super-serious campaigns, but she’s just a bogan at heart.”

If anything, self-confessed tomboy Elyse, 24, isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty. With previous experience renovating their Melbourne home, she and Josh – this season’s youngest couple – are shaping up to be serious competition for their fellow Blockheads.

“I build it, she styles it,” he says. And it’s Elyse’s eye for detail that saw the duo’s bathroom nab the first win of the competition.

NW sat down with Elyse and Josh to chat about friends and foes on the show, and their dreams of TV stardom...

What made you and Josh want to do the show?

Elyse We actually applied about three years ago when we bought our first home and it was a dump. Like, you couldn’t sleep in there – it was disgusting. But we couldn’t really showcase what we could do, so we cracked it and went, “Nah, another year.” Once we finished our home, we got back from a big summer holiday and decided we were ready for another renovation and another challenge – and we picked the biggest challenge in the world.

You can say that again! Did you guys have any expectations going into The Block?