Business as usual
Seven Sharp’s Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells are hosting Review Of The Year, a show which highlights events which made the news this year. The pair talk about the current affairs stories which – for better or worse – made an impact. Sarah Nealon reports.
Jeremy Wells’ take on the news has often been a bit left field. The Seven Sharp presenter has an interesting way of looking at things, which is why we end up chatting about a world leader’s shoes.
Along with his Seven Sharp co-host Hilary Barry, Wells is hosting Review Of The Year,a wrap-up of events which made headlines in the past 12 months.
When asked about news items which stood out for him for this year he says, “You sort of think of recent stuff like how lime scooters have been dumped on us like beautiful green UFOs.
“But if you go back a little bit further there was all that insane hullabaloo with that Thai soccer team trapped in the cave. That gripped everybody. For those kids to get out – what a remarkable recovery that was.
“(There was) the crazy meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Kim Jong-un going for a crazy walkabout at night. Those very bizarre handshaking rituals.
“Who can forget Kim Jong-un’s risers that he wore. So he’s essentially wearing heels. But you can’t really tell because his pants come right down over the back of his shoes.
“He’s running that very strange haircut, which bouffants up, which gives him an extra inch as well. So he’s got an inch down below and then he’s got an inch on top.”
Hairstyles and footwear choices
aside, it has also been a big year for local politics with Simon Bridges becoming leader of the National Party, replacing Bill English. There was also Jacinda Ardern. “I think the big story for New Zealand has probably been a new government and our third female Prime Minister being the first female Prime Minister to give birth in office,” says Wells’ Seven Sharp co-host Hilary Barry.
“I thought that was pretty huge. That had quite a huge impact in terms of news coverage around the world.”
“I think it’s been an interesting sort of year. There have been different issues that have been top and centre of everything.
“It’s been a biggish year. More so than any other year with the focus on the environment and things. A lot of consumer stories. The price of petrol and houses.”
Barry says it’s also been a big year for the royal family.
“We had a royal baby, we’ve had a royal wedding, we’ve had a royal tour,” she says. But what about the United States President Donald Trump? “It’s been business as usual for ‘The Donald’,” says Barry. “He’s been tweeting up a storm, as he always does, and saying plenty of entertaining things. I don’t think he’s been any worse or better than the previous year.”
Barry, formerly on Breakfast, and Wells, who co-hosts a weekday morning radio show, both joined Seven Sharp this year. They aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves and, occasionally, items on the show.
“Jeremy cracks me up,” says Barry. “That’s the best quality you can have in a co-host.
“He’s immensely entertaining company, on and off screen.”
On a personal level, there has been upheaval in Barry’s family life.
“The biggest change in my world was my eldest son went to university out of Auckland so we were one down in the Barry team. But we played along, we got used to the new dynamic,” she says.
“Not saying that we don’t want him coming home. It was a transition for all of us.”
Another challenge for Barry was when she broke her ankle while walking on a makeshift footpath near the TVNZ building. Her injury meant she required extra help at work and, thankfully, her Seven Sharp co-host “stepped up”.
“Basically for the two-and-a-half months that I was on crutches with a knee scooter and a broken ankle, Jeremy was a very good work care-giver,” says Barry.
“He made me cups of tea every afternoon, to the exact strength and ratio of milk and water that I really like. He was fantastic. He’d hold my crutches when I’d hobble up to the set.
“He was very patient waiting for me to hobble down hallways and making sure the door didn’t slam in my face. I really appreciated that.”
“It’s been a biggish year. More so than any other year with the focus on the environment and things.” – Hilary Barry