Sara Wiseman
Former stuntwoman Sara Wiseman went directly from performing arts school to acting in crime series Street Legal. She went on to star as Dr Nicky Somerville in 60 episodes of the popular Mercy Peak. On the big screen, Wiseman has starred in 2005 psychological thriller Luella Miller, taken the title role in Jinx Sister, and won awards for her parts in movie Matariki and TV's What Really Happened - Votes for Women.
Carolyn Robinson
Carolyn Robinson has presented TV news for roughly two decades. For seven years she hosted Nightline, and was a weekend anchor for 3 News (alongside Simon Shepherd). She also filled in as a weekday back-up to Hilary Barry, and fronted foreign affairs with Mike McRoberts. Robinson also hosted consumer investigation show What’s Really In Our Food. In 2016 she took over presenting 20/20 for TV One.
Craig Little
Craig Little was one of the first local television stars created by the highly successful regional news shows in the 70s and 80s. In 1970, he took over the presenter’s role on Auckland’s This Day but resigned three years later, tired of constant public attention. He also presented Top Town and New Faces, and worked in radio. Little ran his own PR company, and held positions in Auckland local government.
Clive Cockburn
Clive Cockburn has composed music for a host of Kiwi television shows, and the occasional movie. Since devoting himself to soundtrack work in the early 80s, Cockburn has provided sounds for iconic programmes from Wild South and Country Calendar, to the theme for the TV One news.
Linda Clark
The screen career of award-winning broadcaster Linda Clark spans seven years as TVNZ’s political editor in the 90s, nine elections, and hosting several current affairs shows (Crossfire, Face the Nation, The Vote). She has also fronted RNZ’s Nine to Noon, and edited Grace magazine. In 2006 Clark retrained as a lawyer. Clark continues to be a political commentator, while working for law firm Kensington Swan.
Paul Maunder
An iconoclast with a bent for experimentation, director Paul Maunder brought the mixed flavours of social realism and the arthouse to New Zealand screens in the 1960s and 70s, before shifting stages and leaving the government's National Film Unit, to concentrate on theatre. His second feature Sons for the Return Home (1979) as the first film to dramatise the experience of Pacific Islanders living in contemporary New Zealand.
David Halls
David Halls was the blonde-haired half of Hudson and Halls, whose banter-filled cookery show won high ratings and a 1981 public vote for entertainer of the year. Halls also hosted games show Blankety Blank. Later Halls and his partner Peter Hudson relocated to London, and made popular cooking shows for the BBC.
Jackie van Beek
The multi-talented Jackie van Beek emerged from Wellington’s 90s theatre scene. After directing a run of award-winning shorts, her first feature The Inland Road was invited to the 2017 Berlin Film Festival. She went on to co-direct, co-write and co-star in comedy The Breaker Upperers, with Madeleine Sami. As an actor, van Beek is probably best known for her role in What We Do in the Shadows, as a vampire groupie.
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.
Keith Bracey
The late Keith Bracey's impeccable diction, dashing goatee and impish sense of humour made him a household name as presenter of Town and Around in Auckland. His interview with musician Acker Bilk (where he dressed identically) left a lasting impression on viewers. Bracey fronted the crime fighting show Police 5 from 1976 until 1986, when his familiar face and voice disappeared from television screens.