Wendy Petrie shows off dance moves on Breakfast in throwback to her cheerleading days

Wendy Petrie at the 2018 New Zealand Television Awards. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

TVNZ newsreader Wendy Petrie got to relive her dancing days on Breakfast this week.

The news presenter, 52, shared a clip on Instagram of herself joining in with a group of ballroom dancers demonstrating their moves during a TV interview.

“Just interview the dancers next time! Can’t help myself,” she joked in the caption.

Amid an appearance from a group of dancers from Ballroom Blitz, who are touring New Zealand this month, Petrie couldn’t resist busting a few moves of her own.

Her followers were delighted to see it, with one commenting, “Somebody get that woman some sequins immediately!”

Another suggested, “We know who they need to sign up for DWTS [Dancing with the Stars] next time they do it!”

The dance floor is familiar ground to Petrie, who was a cheerleader in the 1980s and early 1990s before she became a journalist.

She previously joined TVNZ presenter Renee Wright for an impressive dance routine to Mariah Carey’s Fantasy, sharing the clip on Instagram and TikTok.

“Sometimes you need to have a laugh right? The 6pm Red team trying to replicate our Breakfast gang’s dance moves,” Petrie captioned it at the time.

Petrie and Wright were even joined by sports presenter Andrew Saville for a brief cameo near the end of their routine.

Wendy Petrie and Renee Wright dance to Mariah Carey. Photo / Wendy Petrie via Instagram

“Good to see Sav getting involved even though he was reluctant to start,” another commenter said.

TVNZ presenters took part in various dance challenges throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns to entertain viewers stuck at home, jokingly calling themselves “Breakfast’s Child”.

Petrie co-anchored TVNZ’s 1News with Simon Dallow for 14 years, until the broadcaster restructured in 2020.

Wendy Petrie used to be a cheerleader before she started her career in journalism. Photo / Photosport

Since then she has regularly returned to screens as a presenter across TVNZ’s shows, including stints presenting the 6 o’clock bulletin solo.

These days, she’s keeping busy with emceeing events throughout New Zealand and interviewing athletes on her podcast The Word with Wendy Petrie, as well as filling in at TVNZ every now and then.

She told the New Zealand Women’s Weekly in September last year, “I adopted the saying, ‘Change didn’t happen to me, it happened for me’. It’s a different mindset and reminds you that you can turn a challenge into an opportunity.”