Paul Henry’s never been afraid of being a little cheeky – but his latest news is shocking, even for him.
The polarising broadcaster, who fronts TV3 and Radio Live’s morning show, has revealed exclusively to New Zealand Woman’s Weekly a long-held dream that’s finally come true – he’s got a tattoo!
The design, a grape vine which features prominently on his behind, was inked on two months ago, and Paul says he’s ecstatic with the results.
“I love it so much,” he told the Weekly. “I got to the point where I thought it would be highly unreasonable for me to die without having a tattoo. This body went 55 years without having one. Certainly, there are a lot of people who ask ‘why’, but really, why wouldn’t you? You probably only live once.”
While many of his loyal viewers wanted to see a New Zealand flag, Hilary Barry’s face or even a less-than-complimentary descriptive word on his forehead, Paul went with a design close to his heart- his love of wine, of course, being very well-known indeed.
In fact, it was announced only last week that Kiwi winery Invivo have given him the opportunity to make his own Pinot Noir, following in their wildly successful partnership with Irish talk show host Graham Norton.
It was a big week for Paul last week- he also celebrated his 56th birthday, and his new inking was a perfect early birthday present.
“I mean, what was the worst that could have happened? I look at it this way. People always ask me if I get nervous when I’m on TV. No! No one’s going to die. If I make a complete a**e of myself, it wouldn’t be the first time. Same with a tattoo. I don’t like it that much? It wouldn’t have been the end of the world. It’s not on my face!”
Story continues after the video
Check out this week’s edition of New Zealand Woman’s Weekly to find out the inspiration behind the tattoo, who’s idea it actually was, how much it hurt- and whether or not this is the start of a new obsession for Paul.
