Jenny-May Clarkson (née Coffin)
Jenny-May Clarkson did her first sports commentary in 2001, the same year she became vice-captain of the Silver Ferns netball team. Clarkson has gone on to work in various roles for TVNZ as a sports commentator, reporter and presenter. She also spent a decade as a presenter on Māori Television sports show Code, and did a stint as a newsreader on news channel TVNZ 7. In 2003 she competed on Celebrity Treasure Island. Clarkson mentors young athletes through organisation High Performance Sport NZ. She has also worked as a police officer and been an assistant coach for netball's Northern Mystics.
John Campbell
English literature graduate and former share trader John Campbell joined TV3 as a reporter in 1989. In 1997 he began fronting his own current affairs segment on 3 News. John Hawkesby's resignation in 1998 saw Campbell drafted in to read the 6pm news with Carol Hirschfeld. In 2005 he moved to 7pm for Campbell Live, and hosted it for a decade. After returning to Radio New Zealand, he joined TVNZ in 2018.
Roger Donaldson
Roger Donaldson is notable for spearheading the New Zealand film renaissance with Sleeping Dogs (1977). He has been busy directing in Hollywood for much of the period since. Donaldson's first Kiwi story since acclaimed drama Smash Palace (1981) was Burt Munro biopic The World’s Fastest Indian (2005) — the most successful New Zealand film on home soil until the arrival of Taika Waititi's Boy in 2010.
Oscar Kightley
PI Kiwi Oscar Kightley is a writer, actor, presenter and director. After co-creating The Naked Samoans, he worked with the comedy troupe on five seasons of hit series bro’Town, NZ's first animated show to play in prime-time. Kightley has also worked with the Samoans as an actor and writer in hit feature Sione’s Wedding and its 2012 sequel. In 2013 he took on a serious role, starring as the detective in TV series Harry.
Tainui Stephens
Tainui Stephens is a Kiwi screen taonga. Since joining Koha as a reporter in 1984, he has brought many Māori stories to television, and worked on everything from Marae to Māori Television's version of It's in the Bag. Among the notable documentaries he has directed are Māori Battalion doco March to Victory and award-winning show The New Zealand Wars. He was a producer on Vincent Ward film Rain of the Children.
Paora Maxwell
Paora Maxwell spent three years as Chief Executive of Māori Television. He began in the job in May 2014 after time heading TVNZ’s Māori and Pacific Programmes Department, and 15 years making shows for his company Te Aratai Productions. Maxwell was set to step down from Māori Television in August 2017.
Jack Body
Jack Body, OMNZ, composed for everything from gamelan orchestras to the Kronos Quartet, and was a leading figure in awakening local interest in Asian and Pacific music. His soundtrack work ranged across children’s tales, te reo dramas and nature films. His collaborations with director Vincent Ward include classic film Vigil, and (with John Gibson), 2008’s Rain of the Children. Body passed away on 10 May 2015.
Dean O'Gorman
Dean O’Gorman starred in his first movie (Bonjour Timothy) at the age of only 17. Since then he has had leading roles in another four, including a 2017 remake of classic road movie Goodbye Pork Pie. En route O'Gorman has played dwarves (The Hobbit), jealous brothers (The Bad Seed), American movie legends (Trumbo) and Norse gods (The Almighty Johnsons).
Bill McCarthy
Bill McCarthy’s wide-ranging television career spans 50 years and counting. McCarthy won a keen following when he anchored coverage of the 1974 Commonwealth Games. After five years presenting Television One’s network news (alternating with Dougal Stevenson), he became a producer and director, and did time as TVNZ’s head of sports. McCarthy set up his own company in 1990, and continues to make shows for cable television.
Maurice Gee
Maurice Gee, who was named an Arts Foundation icon in 2003, is one of New Zealand's most acclaimed writers. His work for the screen includes creating 80s kidult series The Fire-Raiser and The Champion. Gee's novels have also inspired a number of adaptations, notably classic sci-fi series Under the Mountain and movie In My Father's Den.