FOREIGN FIELDS
LONDON CALLING! THE NEWSHUB STAR REPORTER IS BUZZING ABOUT HIS NEW POST
London’s calling for Lloyd Burr
Huddled together on a picnic blanket covering autumn leaves, new Newshub Europe correspondent Lloyd Burr and his mother Wendy clink teacups and giggle, joking about the indecency of having scones without jam and cream.
Like two peas in a pod, they bounce cheeky remarks off each other and soak in their last hours together in New Zealand before Lloyd flies to the UK to begin his new role, which is starting off with one of the biggest news events of 2018 – the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
“I might watch the wedding,” his mother confirms as Lloyd
(30) discusses his excitement at reporting on the May 19 event at Windsor Castle.
“I don’t know if I can watch
TV for that long, but I’ll see her walk down the aisle.”
Laughing infectiously, the former political reporter responds, “Oh, you might watch it,
Mum?”
Together, the duo talk about Lloyd’s early years growing up on a lifestyle block in Tauranga, where he helped to move the cows between running old dirt bikes into the ground, living off home-kill meat and freshly grown vegetables.
“My parents were pretty perfect,” Lloyd says, brushing off humble sighs from Wendy (59).
“Being a journalist now,
I see all these horror stories about people who have these really unfortunate lives and it makes you
realise how lucky you had it.”
With his farm upbringing, Wendy has no doubt her son will master his move to London, where he’ll cover news events for Newshub for two years.
“He’s always been independent,” she says. “He could’ve lived on his own at 12! He’s very down-to-earth and loving, and I’m so proud when we see him on TV – it’s quite surreal. At home, he’s just Lloyd who wears singlets and shorts, with shoes and funny socks.”
The Wellingtonian may not be brimming with fashion knowledge when he hits the streets of London to collect quirky, royal-related stories this month, but he’s confident his coverage of Meghan Markle’s dress will provide entertainment.
“It’ll be hilarious. I know nothing about fashion – they’ll probably ban me from providing commentary on the topic.”
Royal wedding festivities will be a fresh change from the chaos of politics, nods Lloyd. “And I’m really looking forward to it because it’s going to have a lot more colour and fun.”
Wendy agrees, “The political job is really harsh and you live in this cage where people aren’t really normal, so it’ll be good for him to have a break from it.”
Although the pair are in accord on most things, when it comes to their favourite royal brunette bride, Wendy opts for gentle royal rose Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, while Lloyd is all for “hard-core feminist” Meghan.
“Kate’s doing really well – she came from life as a university student with no experience in front of the camera and she’s going great,” Wendy tells. “You can’t help but like her, can you?”
For Lloyd, former Suits actress Meghan is proof that the royal family has changed with the times. “Meghan’s American, she’s an actress, a divorcée, mixed race and her former husband is still alive,” he explains. “You rewind to King Edward and he abdicated because he loved his American, divorced partner Wallis Simpson too much. They weren’t allowed to get married because of the Church of England. Meghan’s what the royal family and society needs. Also, she’s adding some good genes into the gene pool!”
The producer-journalist understands the importance of acceptance. In 2015, he took to Twitter and announced he’s gay, hoping to “kill two birds with one stone” and deflect media hype around leaked private photos of a RadioLIVE colleague and good friend.
Lloyd explains, “She didn’t deserve it so I tweeted – ‘In other personal news about RadioLIVE staffers you don’t need to know – I’m gay.’ I got it off my chest after churning myself up inside with all these scenarios but when I finally did it, everyone just said ‘Aww, cool’ and got on with their lives.”
Lloyd also got on with his and this year secured the coveted Europe correspondent role.
“I just love telling people stories. In Europe, it’ll be incredible because there are so many Kiwis there with their own stories, changing the world.”
Wendy, who will visit London with husband Frank (59), in August, says, “I’m really excited for Lloyd. I’ll miss him but I have to send him on his way.”
Smiling, she turns to her son,“And I’ll watch the royal coverage, Lloyd.”