Heartbreaking moment The Block's Kirsty learns her beloved Nan has passed

It's easy for Blockheads to get swept up in the "Block bubble", where life is all about construction and styling. But Blockhead Kirsty was dragged from life on site back into the real world, when she got a phone call that delivered shocking news.

Answering with a casual "hi", viewers watched the heartbreaking moment Kirsty was told via a call from her mum that her beloved grandmother Ellen had passed away.

She instantly broke down, unable to even convey the news at first to her alarmed partner Jesse. Thankfully, he had been standing next to her and she instantly turned to him, burying her face into his chest.

"You alright darling? What's wrong? What's happened darling?" he asked helplessly.

"Nan died," she told him.

It was a raw and confronting moment to watch.

"I got the phone call from my mum to say that my nan had passed away," Kirsty shared later. "It's just really hard to hear that she's finally gone.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to her," she lamented, explaining she had recently spoken to her nan on the phone, and she had reassured her not to return home. "She said she was going to hang in there and wait for me to come back."

"It was just out of the blue this morning," added a clearly devastated Jesse.

"I just wanted to be able to see her," Kirsty wept.

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The crew behind the scenes swiftly secured flights home for the devastated pair, who were quickly reassured by their builders not to worry about anything on The Block, giving Jesse a solid hug.

"We're with you mate, we're here for you," they assured him. "We'll do whatever we have to do. Family first.

"We've got this covered."

Close friend and fellow Blockhead Georgia rushed to comfort Kirsty, wrapping her in a hug and reminding her, "We will help you in whatever way you need help. You look after yourself."

Neighbour and All Star Mark went to check how the remaining Blockheads could support them practically, as well as emotionally.

"Kirsty and Jesse are such good people and they're working so hard," he said, clearly upset.

He immediately visited their site, checking for himself how he could help clean or paint with their builder Paulie. Ronnie also dropped tools, checking in with the team before shifting plaster sheeting and checking out what was required.

"If it happened to us… Jesse would probably be doing the same thing," Ronnie said.

Later that evening, the teams gathered for their traditional Winners Are Grinners dinner, where Scott Cam broached the sad news. The teams were all eager to further support the pair, who were already struggling to keep up with the huge task on hand to complete their large home.

"We're going to organise maybe everyone from The Block tomorrow just to give them a few hours … It's the least we can do," Ronnie explained, as the teams firmed up a plan.

"All we can do is rally together and support them through this," said Georgia.

Scott said it best: "The Block family, in tough times, we stick together."

With Kirsty and Jesse reunited with their family, she had a chance to reflect on the wonderful spirit her grandmother was.

"My nan and I are very similar," she said. "She's a very feisty little woman, so I get a lot of my smart mouth from her, that's for sure — and she always told it like it was.

"She was just a real character that everyone loved."

It is particularly shattering to the much-loved team that Nan Ellen wasn't able to see them on the show, with Kirsty admitting she would have enjoyed watching the action and drama.

"She would have been yelling at Keithy," smiled Kirsty sadly. "Telling him to get stuffed! Just devastated she didn't get to see us — she was just looking forward to it so much."

The entire Block team sends Kirsty and her family our sincere condolences for their loss.

The Block continues Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm on Nine. Catch up on all the latest episodes on 9Now.