There’s no need for the photographer to tell silly jokes or ask her subjects to fake laughter when it comes to our Woman’s Day photoshoot held in Auckland’s sprawling Eden Garden. They may have only been on AM together for two weeks, but as Melissa Chan-Green and Lloyd Burr fool around in front of the camera, it’s clear the co-hosts have an easy chemistry, which comes from a friendship that spans 10 years – no media training required!
“I have no nerves about this year because I fully feel confident that we hit it off,” Melissa, 40, says of working with Lloyd, 36, who was previously a political reporter for Newshub. “But it’s not just chemistry in that he’s a great person – you also have to really trust that person.”
Sitting beside each other on AM five days a week is no hardship with a friendship like this, adds Lloyd, who has taken over from Ryan Bridge on the Three morning show.
“You can’t fake it! Like, I don’t hate Mel and she doesn’t hate me, which is a really good start because sometimes you get some pairings where you’re like, ‘Mate, why have I got you?!'”
“You can see the on-air tension,” Mel agrees.
Explaining why that’s not a problem for this pair, Lloyd continues, “As long as you’ve got a good relationship and good banter, you like each other, and you trust each other’s work ethic and your mahi, you’ve got the formula there!”
In Mel and Lloyd’s case, that comes from a decade of working together – and now they’ve broken through the final barrier, with Lloyd finally “meeting the fam”, as Mel puts it. Bringing Lloyd home to properly hang out with her husband Caspar and their two children, Busby, four, and Mabel, nine months, was a roaring success, she adds.
Of course, there was no need to worry about how the big meeting would go – Lloyd has “honorary uncle” status with many kids in his life – but now he’s officially part of the family.
“I think Busby might actually like Lloyd more than me at this stage because Lloyd played Lego with him!” Mel laughs, grinning at her new co-host.
“It’s because I’m a big kid,” Lloyd agrees. “And her kids are great. I mean, of course they’re going to be great!”
Being based in Auckland after so long overseas is wonderful for being close to his own family in Tauranga, says Lloyd, but both he and Mel look back fondly on their years working as international correspondents. It’s how the pair first met, and it was the high pressure and the long hours of the job that cemented their bond.
When asked to describe their first meeting, Lloyd says that Melissa’s reputation as “the nicest person in media” already preceded her and then launches into a description of their first encounter that is cinematic in detail.
It was 2015 and they were both at Anzac Cove to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign, with Melissa as Europe correspondent for Newshub and Lloyd working as a reporter for Radio Live. “Our eyes locked across the room,” Mel jokes.
“Well, mine did – did you not remember that?!” Lloyd laughs. “You were sitting on a little bench, you were super-relaxed and you had these big sunglasses on. I remember thinking you were the most chilled, relaxed person – and that’s not at all how I was feeling!”
It was one of Lloyd’s first big assignments, but despite his jitters, Mel says she can remember being struck by what a great broadcaster Lloyd was. “I’m not just saying this, but I was so impressed by you – I knew that you would go far in media,” she smiles. “I’m not sure if working with me on AM counts as going far, but you were super-impressive!”
The pair would go on to form the kind of fast friendship that such jobs dictate – all against the backdrop of world events. After that first meeting in Turkey, another of their most memorable working experiences was back in Aotearoa, in 2017, when Lloyd had Melissa in stitches on the night Winston Peters announced he was picking Dame Jacinda Ardern as the new prime minister.
Laughing at the memory, Mel explains how Lloyd was on location outside the Labour offices, reporting back to her and Mike McRoberts in the studio, when, flush with excitement of breaking news, he announced that Jacinda was “going to head over to the Governor-General’s office and, boom-shake-the-room, she can form a government”.
Soon afterwards, Lloyd moved to London to be Newshub’s European correspondent, taking over from Tova O’Brien, and Mel flew over to London to show him the ropes, giving them plenty of time to get
to know each other in the bustling city – and sniff out all the good pubs!
Lloyd’s first big gig in his new role was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding, where he, Mel and their camera crews ended up living together in Airbnbs.
“Those assignments are high pressure, high stress,” Mel says. “You’re working really long hours, so you’re sometimes at your worst in terms of tiredness and grumpiness. You get to see how people really operate in environments like that. I’ve seen Lloyd in that situation a number of times, so that’s where my trust and confidence for this year comes from.”
The nature of the industry means journalists are constantly put into new teams where the chemistry can be hit-or-miss and you know very quickly either way, they both agree.
“But there’s getting on with people and then there’s chemistry with someone you have to sit next to for three hours a day, five days a week, in the very early hours of the morning when people aren’t always the happiest!” smiles Mel.
“If you don’t have a relationship where you’ve got each other’s backs for that many hours, it could really impact how you feel every day – about life and about work. Trust is the big thing for me and I fully trust Lloyd. I know we’ve got each other’s backs.”
