‘FAMILY IS THE GREATES GIFT'
All the Great Kiwi Bake Off contestant kneads this festive season is her loved ones– and a perfect pav!
She’s just finished filming Shortland Street’s dramatic cliffhanger and will soon mark her second wedding anniversary with husband Bevan, with whom she’s building her dream family home, but it’s something else that has Rebekah Randell’s voice bubbling over with excitement as she chats to Woman’s Day – Christmas baking!
The 28-year-old actress is combining two of her greatest loves – sweet treats and the festive season – by taking on fellow celebrities, including comedy queen Laura Daniel and former National Party leader Simon Bridges, on The Great Kiwi Bake Off Christmas Special, screening on TVNZ 1 this Thursday.
And she’s got an advantage – this is not Rebekah’s first Yuletide cook-off. She reveals, “Every year, my family has a competition on Labour Weekend to see who can make the heaviest Christmas cake with the most fruit. It’s our big festive tradition.”
But this year’s holiday will be extra-special for Rebekah as she and Bevan will head to Whangamata- to see her beloved parents for the first time since June. Their COVID-mandated separation has reinforced the importance of quality time over material things.
“I love Christmas decorations and the food, but this year’s the least Christmas-y I’ve felt. I haven’t seen my family in a long time, so there’s no gifts – we’re just excited to hang out and share a meal together.”
Family time was always the most special part of the season when Rebekah was growing up with her brother and sister on a Coromandel dairy farm, where they’d each pick their own pine trees from behind the paddocks.
“We’d jump on the motorbike with Dad and go to the back of the farm to choose a Christmas tree, then put it in a bucket and decorate,” she recalls. “I loved all the trinkets and ornaments.”
The kids also penned letters to Santa, leaving beer and Christmas cake out for the jolly fellow, whose most memorable delivery was a trampoline.
“Santa had left a note saying that there was something special in the hay barn, so we all bounded down there to find the
tramp all set up and waiting. We were completely mind-blown!”
This year, Rebekah hopes her family will feel the same about her pavlova and trifle, adding that baking has always been a huge part of her life thanks to her late grandmother Anne, who was a “phenomenal baker”, famous for her sponge cake.
“I’ve finally mastered her sponge,” the actress says proudly. “I made one over lockdown. I felt like she was looking over me, handing the baton on.”
And while Bevan, 34, “can’t stand” cooking shows, he’ll no doubt be tuning in to witness his wife compete to win $50,000 for charity StarJam, which helps disabled young Kiwis unleash their full potential through music.
Rebekah smiles, “When
I was confirmed for Bake Off, StarJam was the first charity I wanted to represent. I started dancing at the age of four and it was a huge part of my life until I left home at 18.
“Dancing brings me so much joy even now and I think every single person on this Earth should experience that joy. I love what StarJam represents, but I definitely feel the pressure of baking for them as I want to make them all proud!”
Baking played a big part in Rebekah and Bevan’s 2016 courtship, with the star whipping up birthday cupcakes for her future husband just weeks after their first date. The pair tied the knot in February 2020 and as they approach their second anniversary, Rebekah says they feel closer than ever.
“Married life feels more secure – like you’ve got your teammate forever,” she gushes. “The nice thing about COVID was that it gave us so much more time together. We’re usually such hard workers and always have a million things on our plate, so I’ve loved just doing simple stuff like walking around the block.”
Once their dream home is built, Rebekah is keen to add kids to the mix. “One day, we’d definitely love a family, but one thing at a time!” she says, adding that she recently got to coo over her Shortland Street co-stars Ngahuia Piripi and Teone Kahu’s newborn son Niau. “We had a wee cuddle, which was lovely. He looks like a mini-Teone!”
Meanwhile, as the on-screen chaos ramps up ahead of next Tuesday’s Shorty Christmas special, Rebekah’s character, unlucky-in-love nurse Dawn Karim, is set to reinstate her “man ban” and is hellbent on exposing the truth of what’s really going on in her flat.
“Dawn always operates at full speed – and this Christmas in Ferndale is no different,” she laughs. “I had so much fun filming this year’s cliffhanger and, as always, Dawn is in the thick of all the drama.”