Judy Bailey filling in on the Paul Henry Show. Photo / Facebook
"Mother of the Nation" Judy Bailey returned to screens as a fill-in newsreader on Paul Henry yesterday morning.
Regular TV3 newsreader Hilary Barry is away.
Bailey's popularity hasn't dipped since she was last on air and viewers tweeted their excitement at seeing the familiar face on their screens.
Bailey last read the news on One News in 2005. She has been the face of Maori TV's Anzac Day coverage.
On the Paul Henry show's official Facebook page, a photo of Bailey and host Henry was captioned: "Hilary is away on holiday this week so we have a very special newsreader filling in for her. Judy Bailey - lovely to have you with us!"
Bailey told the Herald she was simply filling in for Barry and wasn't gunning for a permanent position.
"Hilary's away on leave and Paul had asked if I'd come in. I said yes - I wasn't doing anything at 4 in the morning," she said, laughing.
Bailey said she would present the news for three days this week.
It felt good to be presenting the news again and it was nice to hear that the public had reacted positively to her appearance, she said.
"It was nice. [The programme] is a very different show to what I'm used to."
Asked how it felt to turn out for the opposition, she laughed.
"It's been such a long time since I was at One News - 10 years. I've worked at other places and I ... just go wherever."
Bailey's latest project is with Prime TV - a new documentary series called Decades in Colour. A call-out is currently under way, asking Kiwi families to submit home videos which illustrate New Zealand over the past few decades.
The series is set to screen next year.
Viewers expressed their outrage, suggesting the team on the show was 'robbed'.