Hilary Barry laughed so hard she cried. Photo / The Paul Henry Show, @dannewstv
Hilary Barry laughed so hard she cried. Photo / The Paul Henry Show, @dannewstv
Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed in April that Newshub is shutting down on July 5. Now, mere days away from the final broadcast, journalist Dan Lake has put together a bloopers reel from the past 35 years showcasing the moments that made Kiwis chuckle.
New Zealand is preparing to say goodbye to an era.
Mere days away from the final Newshub broadcast, a mix of bittersweet has flooded the media industry and one journalist has paid tribute in a clever way.
Dan Lake, a Sydney-based Kiwi journalist better known online as Dan News, has put together a 16-minute blooper reel, showcasing 3News and Newshub’s most memorable on-screen bloopers — including David Seymour’s French faux pas as a young politician.
Having previously worked at Newshub for over 12 years in a range of roles, including travel editor, journalist and senior producer overseeing the launch of the show’s 8pm bulletin, Lake is no stranger to the programme.
Lake’s video, captioned “When TV3 News made us laugh”, includes a range of moments — the Herald looks at some of the best ones below:
David Seymour’s French faux pas
David Seymour chuckled when realising what he had said. Photo / 3News, YouTube, @dannewstv
In 2015, Act Party leader Seymour made New Zealand headlines when he had a slight mishap while live on air.
Speaking to media outside Parliament, Seymour ― who was charged with the Red Peak flag’s inclusion in the flag referendum — was asked if he would change the silver fern pin on his blazer to something else.
“You don’t actually have to have every national logo on your flag. The French, for instance, love the cock,” he said. Once realising his words, Seymour burst into laughter.
He sheepishly added, “Let’s just start that again.”
Full moon
A Nightline live cross was rudely interrupted. Photo / Nightline, @dannewstv
A Nightline live cross included an unexpected full moon when a rogue member of the public pulled down their pants and jumped in front of the camera showing off their bare bottom.
“That was an unscheduled interruption,” reporter Ali Ikram told viewers at home.
However, the flasher wasn’t done yet and jumped in the middle of the shot adding, “My a** is famous in New Zealand,” prompting Ikram to tell him, “Can you please bugger off thanks.”
Paul Henry and the horse poo
The veteran broadcaster could barely contain himself. Photo / The Paul Henry Show, @dannewstv
It seems nothing can make veteran broadcaster Paul Henry laugh quite as much as horse poo.
During a segment on The Paul Henry Show, he sat with Pippa Wetzell and struggled to keep it together as he told viewers, “It was horse down, the horse shat on the floor in the bar, it skidded on its own s***.”
He chuckled as he added, “The woman riding it fell into a bit of s***, and there was a kerfuffle. You’ll learn after you’ve been in television as long as me there is nothing that draws an audience like a woman covered in horse s***.” He burst into laughter.
Hilary Barry’s infamous slip-up
Hilary Barry laughed so hard she cried. Photo / The Paul Henry Show, @dannewstv
The potty humour continues into the video, and includes an infamous moment from 2016, when during a segment on The Paul Henry Show, Hilary Barry erupted into a fit of giggles while reading the news.
Relaying the story of when former Malaysian Embassy worker Muhammad Rizalman admitted defecating on a young woman’s doorstep, Barry laughed so hard she cried, particularly after the reporter telling the story referred to it as an “emergency defecation situation”.
“An emergency defecation situation!?” The much-loved broadcaster said with a laughe. “I think I’m having one myself,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
Overwhelmed with laughter, Barry could not continue telling the next story about an explosion on an African plane, admitting, “Today might be the day I lose my job.”
The moment quickly went viral and earned thousands of views when posted to YouTube.
Amanda Gillies’ X-rated confessions
Amanda Gillies and Mark Richardson had a few giggles on The AM Show. Photo / The AM Show, @dannewstv
While hosting The AM Show, Gillies had her fair share of slip-ups, most of which were included in the blooper reel.
Throwback moments from her time on the show included a no-context segment where she said, “You can’t argue with a good woody, ah good Westie,” she corrected herself, prompting co-host Mark Richardson to crack up laughing.
Another moment that resulted in a chuckle from Richardson was when she said, “I’m a thrasher in bed.”
“A what?” co-host Duncan Garner exclaimed. “Gillies, ya mother’s watching.”
“Don’t be so revolting,” she sighed.
‘We’ve got some time to fill’
Hilary Barry and Simon Shepherd had a rather interesting sign-off. Photo / 3News, @dannewstv
The bloopers reel concludes with a bittersweet sign-off from Barry and her then co-presenter Simon Shepherd, after the pair were told by their director they had some time to fill.
“Well, have a good weekend, Simon; I hope everybody had a lovely weekend,” Barry said. “How much time to go Kyle?”
The pair chuckled as they asked how much longer they had to make small talk. When given the all-clear, they immediately switched into presenter mode and signed off for the evening.
“Okay,” Barry said clapping her hands. “That’s today’s news on Three.”
The closure of Newshub — including its website — and other production cuts at Three were confirmed in April, Shayne Currie reported on the Herald’s Media Insider. Owners Warner Bros. Discovery met with staff to break the news, revealing there was no planned deal “at this stage” with third parties and hundreds of jobs would be lost.
The initial announcement came on February 28, revealing Newshub, one of New Zealand’s biggest news providers, would shut down at the end of June. The announcement was made during a meeting held by the brand’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving staff “devastated”.
Despite stating it would look to co-fund local news, after a five-week consultation period, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed there would be a restructure to 75% of the New Zealand office and Newshub itself reported about 200 staff will lose their jobs.
While the move has been described as a blow for local democracy, with the final Newshub 6pm bulletin scheduled for Friday, July 5, Stuff recently announced it would step in and provide a 6pm bulletin for Three from July 6.
Patrick Gower, Samantha Hayes and Ryan Bridge are only three of the well-respected journalists affected by Newshub's closure. Photo / Warner Bros. Discovery
Lillie Rohan is a London-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things TV, film and music.
