Holmes and Ralston lunch date gets tongues wagging

So much for a quiet lunch. TVNZ news boss Bill Ralston and his former star broadcaster, Paul Holmes, created their own media frenzy when they dined for lunch at posh Auckland eatery Tri Beca.

The former colleagues-turned-foes' get-together last week was Auckland's worst-kept secret.

Within minutes, tongues were wagging and cameras snapping as the men and some associates enjoyed a catch-up. "I just wanted a quiet lunch," said Holmes, vehemently denying rumours he was the one who tipped off media.

It was almost a year ago that Holmes defected from the state broadcaster to front a 7pm current affairs show on rival network Prime, a move that sparked a media frenzy and a war of words between the two men. At the time, Ralston said he was not sorry to see the long-serving Holmes go as he was "near the end of his useful life". Holmes retorted, saying his former bosses were "headlessly bechooked" and "desperate" men who were making a "major commercial cock-up".

But Holmes told the Herald on Sunday yesterday that was all water under the bridge but emphatically dismissed suggestions he was buttering Ralston up for a job offer: "It was a catch-up with old colleagues, nothing more, nothing less. "

TVNZ spokeswoman Zara Potts said Ralston was not seeking advice nor to hire Holmes.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY