The Block 2019 episode 31 recap: Cheating scandal rocks the ...

It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally arrived at the traditional “someone calling someone else a cheat” phase of The Block.

Tonight Triple M devote a day of programming on their digital channel to Block content, and while the teams complete a challenge to negotiate a bunch of items for Ronald McDonald House, they’re also popping into the studio to be interviewed by broadcaster and former Block contestant Jess.

It’s when Mitch and Mark are on the air that the claws — or “bitchy Mitch” as Mark calls him — comes out.

Mark and Mitch tell Jess that Jesse and Mel have copied their apartment from the St Moritz

When told Jesse and Mel are negotiating with their real estate contacts to try and secure a one-bedroom apartment in St Kilda’s St Moritz development for the charity challenge, Mitch says “Oh that must be the St Moritz that he’s copied his apartment from.”

Other contestants, listening in their cars, are shocked (except for Luke, who, as always, looks amused), but Jesse and Mel don’t hear it because they’re picking up a sound system they’ve secured as part of the challenge.

Naturally, all this plays out right at the end of the episode, with the promise of more to come tomorrow.

The rest of tonight’s ep is about Matt and El’ise fighting — she’s pissed off that he said in an interview with producers that he doesn’t think their house is the best.

“You are putting our family in jeopardy,” she says, obviously misunderstanding what the word jeopardy means.

El’ise and Matt spend this episode shooting daggers at each other.

Jesse is still crowing about Keith not knowing he’s a tiler.

“Keith has seen me do literally every trade and he still thinks I’m going on YouTube,” he says.

And Tess has become so frustrated with Luke’s lack of action she appoints one of the builders as site manager.

Mitch and Mark remove their “tacky” fake windows, and Luke removes tiling glue that’s been laid and left so long it’s dried in the 30 degree heat.

But really, like most of these challenge episodes, not a great deal happens, other than some welcome exposure for Ronald McDonald House, and the cliffhanger set up for some cheating-related fireworks on tomorrow’s episode.