Photography: Yianni Aspradakis.
Last year, Rebecca Gibney decided to do things differently. The Packed To The Rafters actress had recently turned 60 and wanted to tackle projects that took her out of her comfort zone. It was a year of saying yes to things she would ordinarily have baulked at.
One of those was carving up the dancefloor on the Aussie version of Dancing With The Stars. Another was treading the boards for the Sydney Theatre Company. Then she was offered the job as the first female host of Three series Millionaire Hot Seat.
The Marlborough-based star was initially reluctant to take the gig. After all, what does an actress know about hosting a game show? So Rebecca, 61, asked her mum Shirley, who was adamant everything her daughter had done in her decades-long career had led to this moment, telling her, “Darling, this is an opportunity for you to give back to all those people who have supported you over the years.”
And yet Rebecca worried she may not be up to the task.
“I had impostor syndrome,” she admits.
“This is not my wheelhouse. I’m not a game show host – I’m an actor. As much as I’m masking it and pretending that I know what I’m doing, I’ve got no idea.”
Rebecca puts her own spin on the iconic quiz show
She could have phoned a friend and asked for tips from former Millionaire host Eddie McGuire. He helmed the show from 2009 until 2023.
“I’ve got Eddie’s number, but I haven’t used it yet,” confesses Rebecca, although she has been texting Deal Or No Deal host Grant Denyer and The Chase Australia’s Larry Emdur. But ultimately, the star decided the show needed a fresh approach – she’d do it her way and “just be who I am”.
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A spin-off of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, each episode of the reboot sees six contestants putting their general knowledge to the test. Participants take their turn in the “hot seat” every time someone passes or answers a question incorrectly. By her own admission, Rebecca wears her heart on her sleeve as host.
Tears, tension and tough questions on set
“As much as I try to filter myself, I can’t really,” she concedes.
“I’m probably way more emotional than Eddie. I get way too invested.”
Viewers will see Rebecca tearing up alongside the contestants. In an early episode, she tells a nervous quizzer, “I love that you’re shaking – I’m shaking too!”
Rebecca shares, “I’ve had more than one occasion where I’ve walked off set, gone into my dressing room and burst into tears. I get really upset on behalf of the people who get so close, then they get the question wrong, so they don’t walk away with the big money. “I can see how devastating it is for them. It’s devastating for me too because I’m very empathetic. When people get upset, I’m very open to people’s energies.”
Why Rebecca refuses to be a neutral host
Conversely, when people win, she celebrates like she’s also just triumphed. It’s a roller coaster of emotions and after filming multiple episodes, Rebecca’s exhausted.
“I walk off at the end of shooting and I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus more often than not,” she says.
“As much as I would like to have a poker face and be one of those game show hosts who is very neutral, that’s not me. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed hysterically and I’ve put on silly accents.”
Whether contestants are comforted by seeing her familiar face or made nervous by her star power, Rebecca says she’s there for them.
“I’ve seen people who seem fine, then as soon as the lights come on, their eyes glaze over. I try to spend time with them prior to recording, so I can say, ‘Look, I’m the master of panic attacks. I know what it’s like to get overwhelmed.’”
Rebecca reflects on her time in Hollywood
Rebecca has been candid about her lifelong battle with mental illness and hopes that being an “open book” can show that, as humans, we all have our own struggles.
“I’ve always believed we’re all the same underneath – we just have different costumes,” she says.
“As long as you treat people kindly and respectfully, that’s all that matters. That’s come from Mum.”
After filming each block of Millionaire episodes, Rebecca returns home to New Zealand, where she’s filming season two of Kiwi musical-comedy Happiness. She also has two other shows in development.
Reflecting on the time when she tried her luck in Hollywood in the ’90s, Rebecca is glad she didn’t stay there.
“It wasn’t for me,” she says.
“I thought, ‘Why am I doing this when I have such a great career in Australia and so many people supporting me?’ It was the right decision to come back.”
