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Matty McLean’s job had been to present the TV Personality of the Year trophy.
There were 10 nominees, with hosts like Kimberly Crossman, journalists like Patrick Gower, and actors like Jayden Daniels. However, the hotly contested popular choice competition was expected to feature Health Director General Ashley Bloomfield as the lead in “COVID-19 Daily Updates ”, but withdrew.
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
The TV Personality of the Year is Seven Sharp host Hilary Barry.
The award seemed like anyone’s game, but McLean thought he knew who would win as he walked the red carpet at the New Zealand Television Awards on Wednesday night. Her favorite for TV Personality of the Year was Hilary Barry.
“I love Hilary, obviously. I have worked with her Breakfast in Seven sharp, and she is amazing. I think that in New Zealand people want television personalities to be genuine. She’s everything you see on TV, she’s so genuine, ”McLean said as they entered.
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His assumption that Barry would win the award turned out to be correct. He used his minute behind the podium to dedicate it to Bloomfield.
Backstage and around the New Zealand Television Awards on Wednesday night, the word genuine kept popping up when people talked about Barry.
THINGS
Hilary Barry wore a tux, Kimberley Crossman looked very sparkly, while Jayden Daniels only donned a shirt and pants.
This is not the first time Personality of the Year has won. She also earned it in 2006, while working as a co-host of 3 News.
Barry started out as a broadcaster in Wairarapa, working for and alongside Paul Henry as a newsreader and later for state-owned Radio New Zealand.
She started as a co-presenter from Monday to Friday of 3 News in 2005 when John Campbell and Carol Hirschfield moved in to start Campbell Live, and stayed on the news for a little over a decade before leaving for TVNZ.
His departure from TV3, where he had worked since the 1990s, was big news at the time. His co-host, Mike McRoberts, described Barry as “the most genuine person I know” after he announced his resignation in 2016.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells, presenters of Seven Sharp, on the red carpet at the NZ TV Awards.
Backstage after the awards Wednesday night, McLean tried to explain why everyone kept calling Barry “genuine.” But while talking to ThingsMcLean began to cry. Barry stepped in to give her a hug.
“I mean she’s phenomenal,” he said.
“She is an amazing woman, an amazing mentor, but also so genuinely kind, funny and thoughtful, and everything you see on TV is everything she is in real life. So I assumed she would win tonight because people feel like they know her.
“Kindness is very useful, especially in this business, which can be fierce, brutal and severe.”
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
Matty McLean presented Television Personality of the Year at the New Zealand Television Awards in Auckland.
Barry herself was not so willing to talk about the prize in her hand.
He kept talking about Bloomfield, or McLean, or someone else.
At Bloomfeld, he said that he was “the real MVP.”
At McLean, he said they would become great friends thanks to the horror of starting work at 4 a.m. every day of the week while they were at Breakfast.
“You form incredible bonds with the people you work with because you wake up in the middle of the night and they see you at your worst. You have an amazing bond. I treasure it, I really do, ”he said.
But what about the award itself? Barry gave Bloomfield another nod as she held up the trophy and joked about the contest.
“People who didn’t vote for Ashley Bloomfield voted for Hilary! I’m delighted to be runner-up, but look at this, it’s got my name on it! It’s official and this will go down in the history books as a victory. “
“People took the time to vote it means a lot, it’s really lovely, it means a lot,” he said.
