The Block 2026 Episode 28 recap: Tayla accuses the girls’ of cheating after Rick records secret video evidence

The Block’s tightest friendship has officially developed a major plastering crack, as accusations of cheating, sabotage, and late-night espionage tear through the site.

After Rick and Tayla discovered they were being severely overcharged by their plasterers, best mates Courtney and Sev offered a lifeline, giving the father-daughter duo the green light to borrow their trade team. But what the girls thought was a temporary favour quickly morphed into Rick and Tayla’s permanent solution.

Two days in, Rick found himself left high and dry — watching four plasterers crack on with Courtney and Sev’s place while his own kitchen was left without a ceiling.

“That’s the gamble when you approach another house’s trade,” an unsympathetic Sev shrugged. “They’re going to take precedence. Their house is going to get finished and you’re going to come second.”

Fed up with waiting, Rick took matters into his own hands, scaling a ladder to hang the sheets himself. The rogue move backfired immediately when he was called out for skipping his insulation inspection, forcing him to rip it all down and start from scratch.

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Rick’s secret video footage of a British Paints rep painting in Courtney and Sev’s house.

To make matters worse, Rick later spotted Tim from British Paints working on the girls’ walls late at night, quickly capturing the moment on camera. Since the cardinal rule of The Block dictates that only contestants are allowed to paint, the footage sent shockwaves through the site.

“That is cheating,” an enraged Tayla declared, before embarking on a late-night covert mission across the site to hunt for more foul play.

Tayla’s snooping under the cover of darkness infuriated Jolene, Sev, and Courtney, who were unwinding over after-work drinks with the trades. But she wasn’t the only one creeping around. Earlier, Adam became the literal poster boy for site espionage.

Notorious for indiscreetly snooping and pillaging materials, the farmer was met with a

literal barricade and “Keep Out” warning posters erected by Courtney.

“We need to stop him coming in and looking at our design, and we need to stop him stealing,” she explained.

Lisa sneaking into Chantel and Wyatt’s house under the cover of darkness.

Even Lisa got in on the action. Taking advantage of Wyatt downing tools early to head to the gym (microwave meal in hand), she snuck in for a peak at House One’s kitchen. She didn’t find much to worry about, though, noting it was “all a little on the beige side” while marvelling that the pair could walk off site with so much work left to do.

Indeed, Chantel is holding firm on her signature “old luxury” vision — code for an avalanche of beige and gold — despite repeated critiques from Shaynna Blaze for being too bland or too Gold Coast. Leaning into the Gold Coast aesthetic, the single mum spent the week threading crystals on to a glitzy brass “Chantel-ier” for her stairwell that looked like it belonged in a 1980s soap opera.

“She’s going to hate it,” Chantel laughed. Wyatt even likened his girlfriend to Yoda, fighting to pull Sith Lord Shaynna over to the light side (allowing for another AI animation).

The Goldie girl’s style did hit a snag, however, when Chantel accidentally ordered copper kitchen handles that clashed with both the champagne tones throughout the house and her kitchen tapware.

Wyatt as Shelley Craft points out that his kitchen handles don’t match his tapware.

Back in the shared living quarters, Tayla turned up the heat on household tensions — literally. Being naturally cold-blooded, she cranked the thermostat overnight, leaving a sweating Sev to endure a sleepless night.

“I’m convinced it was sabotage,” Sev complained to a sympathetic Wyatt. Tayla initially denied playing with the controls, before later coming clean to accidentally roasting her housemates.

Still smarting from the judges’ brutal feedback last week, Tayla was sent off for a styling intervention with Shelley Craft. Shelley almost immediately regretted letting the personal trainer drive them to lunch, observing that Tayla was hitting the road on an empty tank with a predictably ad-hoc approach to road safety. Against all odds, they arrived safely, where Shelley walked her through the basics of room decoration over coffee.

The stakes couldn’t be higher, with Scotty Cam and Shelley revealing this is a massive $100,000 week. On top of the standard $10,000 cash prize, the winning team will pocket $30,000 in gold bullion (to be auctioned with the house) and $60,000 worth of Dekton for their landscaping.

During room walk-throughs, the hosts gave their seal of approval to Lisa and Rosco’s controversial dark timber cabinetry, piled the pressure on to frontrunners Courtney and Sev, and questioned Chantel’s mismatched copper handles.

With gold bullion on the line and accusations of cheating hanging in the air, the stage is set for an explosive room reveal.

MISSED AN EPISODE? HERE’S ALL OUR RECAPS SO FAR

Episode 1: First tears shed on season 22 of The Block

Episode 2: ‘I will shut you down’

Episode 3: ‘I won’t help them again’

Episode 4: ‘You will only last five weeks’

Episode 5: Block couple ready to quit after scandal

Episode 6: ‘Everyone is in on it’: Chantel and Wyatt cry foul

Episode 7: Gloves are off as Courtney accuses Rosco of treachery

Episode 8: Dan fuming as Tayla barely lifts a finger

Episode 9: A huge prize causes bitterness in one contestant

Episode 10: Jolene and Tayla fume over controversial bathroom win
Episode 11: Lisa and Rosco fall behind again