Mike Hosking's family poke fun at killer pineapple

Mike Hosking was stunned to see his wife and family join in the Seven Sharp tribute.

Mike Hosking's brush with death rocked the nation yesterday, with many pondering what New Zealand life would be like if the broadcaster hadn't been saved from choking on a piece of fruit.

Even his friends and family couldn't resist teasing Hosking about the dramatic incident, filming a short video about what their lives would be like if he died.

Hosking's Seven Sharp co-host, Toni Street, surprised him with the video on last night's show.

"In the Hosking mansion, I mean compound, a dust buster weeps for its master. His wife, inconsolable," says TVNZ reporter Tim Wilson.

Mike Hosking's wife Kate Hawkesby joined in Seven Sharp's pineapple tribute.

The camera cuts to Hosking's wife, journalist Kate Hawkesby, laughing in their garage.

Street and colleague Jack Tame are shown in secret talks, disappointed their "dream" didn't come true.

"I cannot believe on the toughest day of my life you did that to me," said Hosking, crying with laughter at the video.

The would-be assassin, an inconspicuous piece of pineapple, was thwarted by Hosking's colleague Martin Devlin, who saved him with the "Heineken maneuver."

Hosking had tears in his eyes following the story.

Hosking, who hosts Newstalk ZB's Breakfast show, told listeners yesterday "my life almost ended" when the pineapple became lodged in his throat.

"There I was sitting down in the news break. Suddenly I find myself with a piece of pineapple in a place it wasn't supposed to be," Hosking said.

"I'm choking for the first time in my life."

• Watch the full video here.

- nzherald.co.nz