Marcus Lush

Marcus Lush made his first forays into television in the 1990s, but it was a 2003 episode of travel show Intrepid Journeys that set him on a new broadcasting path. Since then the longtime talkback radio host has won acclaim and awards for Off the Rails, which chronicles his journey along New Zealand's railway lines, and travelled in varying directions for shows ICE, North, and South. 

Lush was raised largely in Auckland, the fourth son of a printer and a speech therapist. He began his long career in talkback by presenting a show on student station Radio BFM (now 95bFM), where he worked alongside Eating Media Lunch co-creator Paul Casserly.  At the age of 24, he took over the graveyard talkback shift on 1ZB.

In the mid-90s Lush was seen on television sets, on late night TV2 news show Newsnight. Lush spent time as host of the show's less serious half, presenting stories on guinea-pig shows and lawnmower collectors. He followed it soon after with a brief stint on the programme Bizarro, alongside Belinda Todd.

Lush also reported for many episodes of arts magazine show Mercury Lane, and later spent time as part of the panel on lit-lovers show The Book Show.

But it was travel that signaled a new path for Lush's television career. It showcased his informal, musing, ad hoc style to best advantage. In the first series of Intrepid Journeys in 2003, he spent time amongst the pyramids and camels of Egypt. The show was directed and co-produced by Melanie Rakena, from Auckland production company Jam TV. After working on it, Lush refused to make television with anyone else.

Rakena and Lush went on to make Off the Rails, which was one of the highest-rating Kiwi shows of 2004. The programme follows the trainspotting Lush as he ventures from his transplanted home town of Bluff to Opua in the North, meeting locals and utilising a range of railways - including coal, freight and steam. Lush argued that the show was about more than trains: "That's why we subtitled it ‘A Love Story'. It was really a love story about New Zealand."

Lush took away the award for best presenter at the 2006 NZ Screen Awards; Off the Rails also won awards for best director and best information/ lifestyle programme at the 2005 Qantas Screen Awards.

Lush and the Jam TV crew followed Off the Rails with Ice, a five-part series about the history, environment and wildlife of Antarctica.

In December 2008 Lush began work on television series South, in which he explored Southland and Otago. After the show went to air the following August, it won him another Qantas award for best presenter, plus a best director gong for Melanie Rakena. February 2011 saw the debut of a follow-up show from the same team: North. This time Lush headed north from Auckland, visiting a number of nearby islands along the way.

Lush continues to present a breakfast talkback show on RadioLive.