Spy: Hilary Barry gives us a clue about her Xmas plans

TV presenter Hilary Barry has shared her Christmas plans with Spy.

Christmas fairies and grinches will all appear when Hilary Barry and Tom Sainsbury host special guests on their Santa couches to play charades in the Give Us A Clue Christmas Special on TVNZ 1 next Sunday.

Hosted by former Deputy PM Paula Bennett, the show promises stockings packed full of entertainment and Yuletide clues, with the winning contestants earning a donation to their team's chosen charity.

Sainsbury has Breakfast's Matty McLean, foodie Ganesh Raj and comedian Joe Daymond on his team and says the fairy of the show was McLean.

"The way Matty turns around the stage is stunning. The grinch was definitely Paula, she continually told me off for mouthing the words."

However, Bennett insists Raj was the grinch of the show for telling everyone to save money on food but turning up in a jaunty Christmas hat. Her fairy was Coast FM's Toni Street, who was on Barry's team along with familiar TV faces Bree Tomasel and Te Rauhiringa Brown.

Hilary Barry attempts to deduce Matty McLean's charade in the Give Us a Clue Christmas Special.

Barry says she absolutely loved filming the Christmas Special as it put her in the festive spirit ahead of time.

"Wait till you see the set," she said. "Our design team did an absolutely phenomenal job decking the stage out with every Christmas decoration you could imagine. It's absolutely magical,"

She also revealed that one clue left her stumped; "Figgy Pudding":

"I couldn't for the life of me work out how to sign. I mean, what rhymes with 'figgy'?"

Barry's Christmas this year will be spent with family and she says she's looking forward to enforcing a no-Covid chat rule at the dinner table.

"Charades, as always, will be compulsory on New Year's Eve. I'm seldom the winner in our family but I'm hoping all the practice I got on Give us a Clue will stand me in good stead for victory this year."

Bennett says the most spectacular charade for her was seeing Barry trying to act out a Christmas ham. But her own Christmas day will be quiet as daughter Anna is overseas and can't get back.

"But then we are off on a trip around the South Island with friends. I will try to get a few games of charades in but my bloke thinks I'm too competitive and gets stroppy if he doesn't get my clues," she says.

Sainsbury will be channelling charades at every opportunity over his holiday break and intends to do lots and lots of socialising. He is heading home to Matamata for Christmas and then Mt Maunganui for New Year.