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The Brits started it, the Aussies got it and now Kiwis have finally grabbed it too - the chance to win $1 million not by the luck of the Lotto draw but by the depth and breadth of their knowledge, sometimes in very obscure fields. Yep, the New
Zealand version of globally-popular quiz show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? debuts on TV One on Tuesday.
You probably know the drill: sitting in the hot seat you play for the million by answering successive multiple-choice questions. As you progress up a 15-step prize tree, the money doubles and the questions get trickier - though you can use your one-off happy helpers of going 50/50 (the computer eliminates two incorrect answers), phoning a friend, or asking the audience.
While 24,000 Kiwis applied, only a handful got through and were flown to filming at the Melbourne Millionaire set - where broadcaster Mike Hosking got to play host in the big swivelly chair.
As notorious for his shaggy mop of hair (now trimmed) as he is for being media-shy, Hosking doesn't seem an obvious choice for quizmaster. After all his stripes are in news and current affairs. (While the ex-Breakfast presenter recently filled in as Close Up host, his first love is not TV but radio; next year he graduates from Newstalk ZB's Saturday breakfast show to its top-rating weekday breakfast slot.)
While Hosking was surprised to be offered the Millionaire hat, it's simply a brief and very enjoyable blip in his current-affairs career.
"It's a challenge, to see if I can do something different and to try to enjoy that, and so far so good. With Millionaire there's genuine sheer joy about the ability to change someone's life."
Gosh. So it's not a matter of getting your hair and makeup done, reading cue cards and beaming at the camera? Nope, says Hosking. "It's a balancing act. So many things are going on: you've got the live audience, a contestant under tremendous pressure, a lot of technical stuff, people in your ear. So it's a very challenging thing to do while looking all cool, calm and collected."
He's firm about his role: to be not a friend but a guide to contestants, who reminds them where they're at without helping or hindering them. And because he doesn't see the correct answer before reading out the four options - "though of course there may well be a question I happen to know" - there's no need to worry about inadvertently altering his tone.
"You could do your head in trying to read into my delivery, thinking 'Is he trying to help me?' But if I say 'Are you sure you want to do that' it's not because you're about to make a mistake. All I'm saying is 'This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so just take all the time to do whatever you need to be comfortable'."
And while Hosking's not trying to emulate Brit host Chris Tarrant (who once an answer's been locked in seems to prolong the agony by making quips and repeating the options), he admits he's "trying to create an element of drama while we watch how they work through their possible answers".
Would he back himself as a contestant? "Having watched it unfold yesterday I can confirm beyond any shadow of a doubt that I would die in there. Once it becomes real, once the lights and cameras are on, the pressure is just extraordinary. It's incredible what the opportunity to win a large amount of money will do to people. Some are pretty cool, others are very emotional."
Like the contestant who used the ask-the-audience option then locked in the right answer. "She almost leapt out of her seat and ran into the audience to thank them - you've never seen more gratefulness on a face!"
And yes, the host gets excited too when a contestant does well. "I want everyone to win."
* Who Wants To Be a Millionaire debuts on TV One, Tuesday at 8.30pm.