I'm not sure if it's because I'm a 90s kid myself, or if kids television presenters really peaked then, but the show hosts I grew up with seem to be the best. Maybe it's because in the 90s it was weird if you didn't have a TV (we all had that one friend) or because Weta Workshop wasn't around to create digital masterpieces for kiwi kids. Either way, there are some NZ presenters who definitely shaped my generation.
What Now was the must-watch of my childhood. Despite airing long before my conception (1981 in fact) it was still what you 'did' on Saturday morning. I belonged to the What Now Club and watched patiently for my friend's birthday shoutouts and remember doing a school trip to Avalon Studios to be the kids in the background (coolest camp ever). I was envious of those who got 'gunged', I laughed at Props Boy (oh how I yearned for his beanie) and coveted anything with Shakespeare (the monkey) on it. What Now shaped me. It determined which cartoons I thought were awesome (even though I didn't like cartoons), what the cool thing to make or do was and what was funny.
Over the years the presenters of What Now have changed frequently, and now that I'm older I've realised that a lot of kiwi talent got their first taste of the lime light on the What Now stage. We're talking names like Michele A'Court (1985-1987), Simon Barnett (1988-1992), Jason Gunn (1991-1993), Jason Fa'afoi (1995-2004), Shavaughn Ruakere (1997-2001), Antonia Prebble (2002-2003) and Tamati Coffey (2005-2007). Who have gone on to be the comedic, acting and news presenter greats of New Zealand.
Before What Now was trending, I used to watch You and Me (1993-1998) presented by Suzy Cato religiously. I can still sing the ending song by memory, as can most of my generation; "See you, see you later, it's time to say goodbye..". Suzy Cato taught me that science was cool, that if I tried I could do anything and that I wished I had glasses and a scrunchie like hers. She was the NZ presenter I most wanted to be. I can still remember seeing her at an airport when I was little. My parents weren't convinced it was her but I ran over and got her autograph (ah, simpler days, before everyone had a camera in their pocket). She shaped my youth by being a stand up citizen and teaching me right from wrong both onscreen and off. There are many a child presenter who are delightful on screen, but don't give a toss about their fans once the cameras have stopped rolling.
Jason Gunn was involved with What Now, as was his little pal Thingie. But that isn't where I remember him from. He was the presenter of New Zealand's Funniest Home Videos (1993-1995) and McDonald's Young Entertainers (1997-1999). I can still remember begging my mother to let me go on the show, because [insert talent here] was amazing, and no one else could do it as good as me. They could. Almost definitely, and that's why I was not, in fact, a young entertainer. I had cassette tapes of Jason Gunn and Thingie that I'd listen to as I went to in bed and Dad says he remembers hear me giggling instead of sleeping.
The NZ presenters Suzy Cato, Jason Gunn and the show What Now are all names that draw smiles, fond memories and almost always a good story from the lives they touched. They made my generation who we are.
(NZ Presenters - agency representation)