Turia Schmidt-Peke. Photo / Supplied
Turia Schmidt-Peke (Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Hauā) is a name to watch.
She’s played gang member turned nursing student Steph on Shortland Street, Geo on the hugely popular bilingual series Ahikāroa and is a contestant vying for glory on TVNZ’s Celebrity Treasure Island. Now, the west Aucklander can add podcast host to her growing list of achievements.
As host of ZM’s Inside Celebrity Treasure Island podcast, Schmidt-Peke is joined by a different guest each week from season five’s alumni.
It’s her first time behind the mic but she’s excited to get the chance to spill the tea on the show.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my fellow contestants and to talk about everything that went down,” she says.
After the first week Schmidt-Peke has shown herself to be a strong player for her team, Tohorā. Although she couldn’t quite compete with Matilda Rice’s iron-clad pelvic floor in the first challenge, it’s clear she’s one to watch.
Before filming in Te Waipounamu/the South Island, the actress didn’t know a lot about Celebrity Treasure Island. She went in with a strategy to play an honest game but she’s tight-lipped whether this strategy paid off.
“You’ll just have to keep watching!”
Her strategy is vastly different to Tohorā teammate and Celebrity Treasure Island superfan, James Mustapic’s. Talking on the podcast, Mustapic reveals he watched every episode and picked the brains of past contestants,
“Dame Suzy D [Susan Devoy] said to me, ‘Just remember the whole thing’s luck’,” he said.
Schmidt-Peke and Mustapic developed a bond which started during the terrifying helicopter ride on the first day of filming. Despite being strangers, the pair held on to each other.
“I felt like that was a test to see everyone’s bravery and I was already failing,” Schmidt-Peke remembers.
With five more weeks to go, she’s happy to be continuing her Celebrity Treasure Island journey with the podcast.
“It was such a fun and crazy ride.”
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