The Block’s first Punjabi Indian-Australian contestants Sharon Johal and Ankur Dogra are proud to be a part of the 2022 season’s diverse cast.
The lawyer-turned-actress has long advocated for diversity and equal representation on Australian TV, having previously spoken out about the racism she experienced during her four-year stint on Neighbours.
Sharon – who played Dipi Rebecchi on Neighbours – said in 2021 that she experienced “direct, indirect and casual racism” on the soap as “one of the few people of colour to be employed as a series regular”.
However, she told Sydney Morning Herald that she and Ankur didn’t experience any kind of “negative culture in relation to race” while on The Block.
In fact, the couple’s introduction on The Block showed snippets of their 550-person, five-day traditional Indian wedding in 2020, highlighting both their cultural heritage and their self-described “bogan” identities.
“He’s a little bogan born in Bendigo and I’m a little bogan born in rural South Australia,” Sharon said, later explaining her childhood growing up on an Aussie farm would help them on The Block.
Who Is Sharon Johal from The Block Australia 2022?
As well as speaking out about racism and diversity in the Australian television industry, Sharon is an RUOK spokesperson, NAIDOC ally, Action for Afghanistan supporter and an advocate for fertility treatments, having previously spoken out about freezing her eggs.
The 35-year-old experienced a miscarriage in 2020, which eventually led her to investigate freezing her eggs as a back-up plan, according to Body and Soul.
She described having fallen into a “black hole” and saw freezing her eggs as a “light at the end on the tunnel”.
“I think this is really important to talk about,” Sharon told 9now. “We are happily married, we were trying to have a baby, and it didn’t work out. So as we wanted a bit more time, I froze my eggs.”
Having previously experienced depression, Sharon – who is friends with mental health advocate and Masterchef Australia alum Khanh Ong – has been actively trying to “normalise” conversations about mental health.
“I grew up in a culture where mental health and talking about feelings was dismissed, and worse, not believed,” Sharon wrote on Facebook last RUOK day.
“So it’s more important than ever we talk, so we can educate, and bring comfort to those in need, within all communities,” she added, sharing screenshots of an emotional video-call conversation she and Ankur had with a therapist.
Who Is Ankur Dogra from The Block Australia 2022?
Ankur joked in a promotional trailer that he became an accountant because he didn’t know what else he wanted to do.
“With accounting, it’s something you fall into, and you do it because it’s a safe and stable income,” Ankur told 9now.
“But after the lockdowns [in Melbourne], I really wanted to grow and do something different and completely random, and what better way to do that than go on The Block?”
The business advisor’s late father is his greatest inspiration, having been blind for all of Ankur’s life but always “fiercely independent”.
Perhaps his family history is part of what led him to meeting Sharon, who assisted a blind man in getting home.
“Whilst running, I noticed a blind man who appeared disorientated in the middle of the road who seemed to need help,” Sharon told Vogue Australia.
“I asked him if he was okay and he told me he was lost and needed a hand getting home. I walked him home… and when I dropped him home, guess who appeared over the balcony? It was Ankur… We became… friends quickly and it escalated from there!”
Who Are Sharon Johal and Ankur Dogra as a Team on The Block Australia 2022?
Many Blockheads have expressed their fear about working alongside their significant other on The Block, but it appears as though Sharon put her lawyer hat on before touching a hard hat.
Ankur and Sharon signed a “visual contract” via a video to promise they would look after each other during the experience and not split up.
“I vow not to break up with you as a result of The Block,” Sharon said, prompting Ankur to do the same.
“That’s what the marriage certificate is,” he replied.
But they’ve so far remained a strong, united front on The Block, even after copping brutal feedback from judge Shaynna Blaze.
“This [house] is the grand dame, the jewel in the crown. Are you going to treat her like this? Because if you’re going to treat her like this, you’re going to have to deal with me,” Shaynna said during the August 14 episode.
Sharon started crying after receiving the lowest score of 20.5 points and Ankur was quick to comfort her.
“We own that we may have missed the vague brief (trust us no one’s harder on us than me as you’ll see) but that felt unnecessarily harsh and personal tbh,” Sharon wrote on Instagram.
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