KEY POINTS:
So you're adding a Tuesday night show to your daily news gig and 60 Minutes. TV3's working you a bit hard, eh?
[Laughs] That's right. Maybe I should move a bed in there.
Are you a bit of a workaholic or was there something else that made
you want to be a part of this?
Look, I think it's a really good series. We've only completed the first two but they're really good stories. It's not too far removed from 60 Minutes, it's a bit more commercially accessible. I've had personal experience too with situations like the stories Missing Pieces is covering. We're a funny old nation, in that family is really important to us, but there have been lots of secrets and discussions in hushed tones over the years. Half-brothers and sisters and step-fathers ... I think if the series can get families sitting around the breakfast table talking about some of these issues then that's great. They're really heart-rending, emotional stories.
Right, so is it an antidote to all those gritty 60 Minutes stories? Will it top up the warm fuzzy reserves?
There's still quite a gritty edge to the show. I don't think if it was all light and fluffy that I would be part of it. It has to be a little gritty and rough-around-the-edges because that's what these stories are like. When you have someone trying to track down their father, when he didn't actually know he was a father and he's already got another life ... These things aren't always well received. They're quite courageous stories too. The people that are involved in them are putting themselves out there. So often in the real world, of course, it ends in disappointment. And that's not to say it doesn't in Missing Pieces but it's really interesting and quite compelling to see how they go about it.
And I guess there must be people who don't want to be found and reunited. Were there moments where the story came unstuck because someone didn't want to be a part of it?
I don't know that that's happened yet. We've just gone back and worked on them. We've certainly had people who've just refused to admit they were the father or the mother, and then they've changed their minds. It must be a hell of a shock to have someone knocking on your front
door, not just the daughter you never knew you had, but a TV crew as well. My grandmother would call these stories "airing your dirty laundry in public". But I think as a country we're growing up a bit and these connections and missing pieces are really important to people. Not just because they have an emotional quest or a need to know where they come from, but sometimes, as in the case of one of the episodes, it's a matter of life and death. It's to do with a bone marrow transplant. They're questions that thankfully are being asked a lot more often these days.
And it's not just family reunions is it? I know there's an Australian show called Family Reunion which is quite similar, but you guys have gone a bit beyond that, haven't you?
Yeah, and I think that's important too. Sometimes it's not just about finding the step-brother or the father, it's also acknowledging that people have the desire to find various people for all sorts of reasons. My sister is adopted, so from a personal point of
view, I remember her journey and struggle to find her natural mother. It was quite an upheaval for our family, which is pretty tight. And so many other families go through the same thing. Some good friends of our family adopted out a child because they were very young, 16 or 17, but they ended up getting married and having three more children. When that eldest child found them, he found out he had three full brothers
and sisters. It's just incredible. As a country, I think we all know someone in that situation so I think it will have quite a lot of appeal.
And finally - just while I've got you on the line - we've noticed the new TV3 billboards around town for the Monday night line-up and they seem to have you clocking in at 6'3. Just how tall are you, Mr McRoberts, because we're not convinced about this?
[Laughs] Good question. I wasn't sure about that either! I'm just over 6', I'm not quite 6'1. Maybe it was the heels.
Pieces premieres next Tuesday at 8pm on TV3.