TV3 names two people to replace Hilary Barry: Samantha Hayes and Ingrid Hipkiss

Ingrid Hipkiss has been confirmed as Hilary Barry's replacement on Paul Henry - but her first day today didn't get off to a great start.

The former Newshub weather presenter joined Paul Henry, Jim Kayes and Verity Johnson on the show as news anchor for the first time this morning.

Samantha Hayes has already been named as Barry's replacement on the 6pm news, joining Mike McRoberts as the show's co-anchor.

But her first day didn't get off to the best start, when Henry accidentally greeted Hipkiss as 'Hilary' this morning,

Barry signed off from TV3 on Friday night, leaving her dual roles on Paul Henry and Newshub at 6pm after more than 23 years at the network.

Hipkiss started out 13 years ago as a political reporter in Wellington and later worked as a senior reporter for the 6pm bulletin, Nightline presenter and Sunrise anchor.

A self-proclaimed lover of de-cluttering and list-making, Hipkiss may bring some order to the madness of the show, and many are picking her as the one to keep Henry's antics in line.

Hipkiss wrote on Twitter that she was "looking forward to the LOLs".

Hello early mornings - looking forward to the LOLs and working with the amazing @PaulHenryShow team https://t.co/AVvGfungny

— Ingrid Hipkiss (@ingridhipkiss) May 29, 2016

Many fans took to social media to welcome, congratulate and encourage Hipkiss.

Many of the Facebook comments read along the lines of, "You will be a good match for Paul", and, "Keep the lad in order".

@ingridhipkiss Congratulations on joining @PaulHenryShow . Now you just need to work out how to keep Paul under control!

— John Wyatt (@johnkwyatt) May 29, 2016

Henry said he was excited to have Hipkiss join the team, calling her a "polished performer" with a wealth of journalistic experience.

"Most importantly she's really looking forward to starting work in the middle of the night proving she's just as crazy as me," he says.

Hayes begins her first stint on the 6pm news tonight, and TV3's former Head of News Mark Jennings said he approved of MediaWorks' decision.

"I think Sam Hayes will make this work," Jennings wrote for The Spinoff. "She will give it her all, but one thing she won't do is try to be Hilary Barry."