Three months after leaving the Breakfast sofa, former host Rawdon Christie has broken his silence. In his first interview since the controversial axing, where he and co-host Nadine Chalmers-Ross were replaced by Jack Tame and Hilary Barry, Rawdon, 49, reveals his relief over his new life.
“It’s been great,” he tells Woman’s Day. “It’s been exactly what I needed, which was a bit of a rest and time to re-gauge who I am and what I want to do.”
The TVNZ reshuffle was widely criticised as being poorly handled, with Rawdon’s co-host Nadine revealing recently in Woman’s Day that she learned about her fate via the media.
But English-born Rawdon tells us he made a conscious decision not to be bitter about the way his 13 years at the network ended. He also insists he feels better than he has in years now that his 4am starts are behind him.
“I’m happier, healthier, but I still can’t understand why I need so much sleep. I think I’m catching up from years of not enough,” he laughs.
“When I got the job I knew the biggest challenge would be making sure I got out of bed when the alarm when off. Twice in five years I got a phone call from the production people saying ‘um, where are you?!’
He’s now looking forward to a summer of fun with wife Jo and their children Oliver, 13, Georgie, 12, and Charlie, nine, before focussing on the next stage of his career.
For the full story on Rawdon’s next steps, grab your copy of Woman’s Day magazine, on sale now
