Keeping up with the Joneses:
As consumer affairs show Fair Go prepares to come back on screen, Hadyn Jones tells Sarah Nealon how music, door handles and Breakfast got him through lockdown.
Hadyn Jones talks about coping in the time of Covid-19.
Hadyn Jones is in his New Plymouth home office talking pies, milkshakes and heartbreak.
The Fair Go presenter and reporter spoke to TV Guide towards the end of level-three restrictions about what he was missing and what he was looking forward to regarding the popular consumer affairs show.
“We have a story meeting every week and all these stories come through and it’s kind of heartbreaking because we can’t help everyone,” he says.
“So there’s that. Also I do like a good pie and a milkshake on occasion. I have a list of towns with good pies and milkshakes.”
Jones writes, films and shoots all of his stories. He is used to travelling to different parts of the country for Fair Go and also for his weekly Good Sorts segment on 1 News At 6pm on Sundays.
When the global pandemic hit New Zealand, Jones relied on people sending him home-video clips for Good Sorts.
However, Fair Go, which returns on Monday, June 8, went into hiatus even though its presenters kept working. Both
Jones and Pippa Wetzell filled in on Breakfast, albeit on different days. “While I was remaining calm on screen, I did start to worry internally about how we were going to get through this, the sense of helplessness, all the worries,” says Jones. “It was a real surreal experience but, look, I ended up dancing on live TV which I’ll probably regret. “I ended up crying when my kids did the weather, which I don’t regret at all because it was hilarious and it made me quite proud, so it was a real emotional experience.” Jones’ three children – Marley, 10, Archer, eight, and Perry, six – were roped into presenting the weather live on Breakfast. “We emailed them a script the day
before, an old one, so they had a rough idea,” he says. “My wife Zanta amended the script to take out a couple of big words for my six year old. But then they just went for it. “I’m always out with the camera anyway, so they’re not afraid of the camera. It’s no big deal. They used to think for a long time that I made TV just for them. “It took them a long time to figure out that I wasn’t just making TV for them but for other homes in New Zealand as well.” When he wasn’t working during levels three and four, Jones enjoyed hanging out with his family at home. “I panic-bought on the last day (before level-four restrictions) and I bought another ukulele and a thing called a cajon, it’s a box you can sit on that you can play drums with,” he says. “We started a family band called Kids No More.” As to whether he acquired any other new hobbies or skills, he says, “I tried a wee bit of baking. I did try making gnocchi – bit of a disaster. “I have been installing door handles in my house. Looks easy on YouTube – tricky in real life. It takes me about half a day to do one.
“We’ve got an old bungalow so every one was different. We just wanted some uniformity. My wife likes symmetry.
“I’ve got about 18 door handles to put on. My kids have been helping me though. They are very keen on the chisel. They like a drill as well. I’ve been doing a lot of the power tools and they’ve been doing the fiddly work.”
Now that his children are back at school and Fair Go is gearing up for its first post-lockdown episode, what does Jones think the consumer affairs show will tackle?
“There are plenty of things to deal with,” he says.
“We’ve been talking about the theme for the first show. The theme of change has been kicking around.
“Everyone’s lives have changed forever really. We’re facing record unemployment and, you know, recession/depression.
“There’s going to be a lot of people hurting and a lot of people needing help, so we have a ... variety of things from money management and budgeting to loan sharks.
“Our services have been more required in many ways. There are a lot of people who can make some poor decisions when they are panicked and frightened.
“We want people to breathe, calm down and hopefully make some good decisions.”
“While I was remaining calm on screen, I did start to worry internally about how we were going to get through this, the sense of helplessness.”
– Hadyn Jones