TOVA’S TRIUMPH!
She may have lost the court battle with her former employers, but Tova O’Brien came out on top at the New Zealand Television Awards last week, taking home the Best News & Current Affairs Presenter title for her work on
Newshub Nation.
Soon to start her gig as the breakfast host on Today FM, the winner tells Woman’s Day,
“I’m utterly floored and still in shock. To be nominated alongside such powerhouses of journalism and some of my close friends meant so much to me. It was a huge call to leave
Newshub – my colleagues there are still wha-nau – but this feels like a really positive way to punctuate that chapter.”
Also at the awards, held via Zoom, Hayley Sproull was “delighted” to win Best Comedy Presenter for her role as the hilarious host of Have You Been Paying Attention?. “Every week is such a pleasure,” she insists. “Honestly, my job is just to wrangle joyful, naughty comedians and make sure they don’t swear too much!”
Best Actress went to The Tender Trap talent Rima Te Wiata, who was “shocked” to beat out fellow nominees Antonia Prebble and Grace Palmer, saying, “You both rock as actors.” She tells us, “Awards are funny things. They’re lovely to win, but also strange because there’s a competition involved that nobody thought about being in when they acted in their particular project.”
Meanwhile, after winning Best Actor for his role as Robin Bain in the drama Black Hands,
an “incredibly humbled and grateful” Joel Tobeck dedicated his award to the tragic victims of the Bain family murder.
Best Drama was won by Creamerie, while Best Comedy went to Wellington Paranormal, both shows having gone on to win international acclaim.
Paranormal funnyman Mike Minogue says, “New Zealand comedy has raised the bar to such a height that, if it were a fence, Officer O’Leary would likely struggle to scale it and, if it were an exam, Officer Minogue would undoubtedly fail.”
The biggest surprise of the event was Ma-ori Television star Nix Adams taking out the Television Personality of the Year trophy amid stiff competition from the likes of Sharyn Casey, Chris Parker and Jenny-May Clarkson. “My mind is absolutely shook,” the Terei Tonight co-host says. “To even be nominated has just f**king blown my mind – sorry about the swearing!”