Five years ago, gossip columnist Annette Sharp posed the question of how much responsibility Channel Nine has for its fallen star Suzi Taylor.
It was a question worth asking given that Taylor, a former contestant from renovation series The Block, had just faced a Brisbane court over a bizarre ‘honey trap’ kidnapping, the details of which had the whole television industry aghast.
Taylor and her co-accused Ali Ebrahimi were eventually cleared on all charges, including extortion, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault, and we do not suggest either of them committed a crime.
Five years after her rise to fame on The Block, it was revealed Suzi Taylor was working as a prostitute. To say her downfall has been cataclysmic would be an understatement
But the accusations were alarming, to say the least, drawing attention to the fact Taylor, just five years after her sudden rise to fame, was clearly a troubled woman earning a living as a prostitute.
That was 2020. Now it’s 2025 and she continues to face legal troubles.
In March, she pleaded guilty to charges of trespassing, stealing and common assault but escaped jail and only had to pay a fine.
She had forced entry into a home the previous October demanding property from someone who was no longer living there. She pushed a woman then fled on an e-scooter with a shopping bag full of stolen goods.
At the time, Taylor had just been released from prison where she’d served 50 days for evading police.
She is currently on bail facing drug-trafficking charges and only recently had another conviction for meth possession added to her rap sheet.
In granting bail earlier this month, a magistrate noted Taylor had mental health issues.
To say her downfall has been cataclysmic would be an understatement.
This week, a single photo underscored just how far she has fallen: a selfie of Taylor seemingly in the throes of ecstasy with three young men – her ‘toyboys’ as she called them – along with a delusional caption about being ‘young, wild and free’.
Bear in mind this is a 53-year-old woman on bail.
Taylor, who is on bail for drug-trafficking charges, posted this photo of herself flanked by a trio of male friends she called ‘toyboys’. It is not suggested the men are involved in anything illegal
It’s no secret Nine indulged Taylor during her chaotic tenure on The Block. She even dated a producer, Tim Wise (right). Ten years later and her life has completely fallen apart
So, should ‘s largest media company do something to help the woman who was arguably the biggest drawcard of its most-watched reality show a decade ago? A woman who collapsed on set – officially due to ‘exhaustion’ but allegedly due to her wild partying – and who also dated a Nine producer, Tim Wise, for several months?
Some would say yes; some would argue she is no longer the network’s responsibility.
We asked Nine if there had been any intervention by them or Block team, or whether she still falls under the scope of their duty of care for former reality TV participants, but did not receive a response.
The last time Nine addressed these questions was half a decade ago, when a spokesperson was quoted as saying: ‘Suzi was on The Block five years ago and has always indicated it was an experience she enjoyed.
‘We gave her all the support she needed during and after the show.’
The last time Taylor had lucidly opened up about her personal life was in her final social media post for 2024 in which she revealed she was estranged from her three children, aged in their teens and twenties.
She said her downfall had forced her to redefine what family is, and expressed hope for a more positive 2025. Fate had different plans for her.
- This is an excerpt from this week’s edition of Inside Mail, the must-read media and politics column for Mail+ subscribers, which is published every Thursday