Though Celebrity Treasure Island viewers might not realise it, host Bree Tomasel and one of this season’s castaways, fellow ZM host Cam Mansel, have history.
“I first met Bree four and a half years ago,” recalls Cam, 30. “I thought, ‘I want to be best friends with her, but she’s so cool, it’s never going to happen!'”
What Cam didn’t know then was that during the following years, he and Bree would form a friendship so close that it feels like family. And as two people whose careers centre on their gift of the gab, it’s no surprise that the broadcasting BFFs love to get together and chat!
“It comes very naturally to both of us,” laughs Cam. “We walk and talk, brunch and talk, have sleepovers… I have a bedroom in the house.”
“The dogs call him Brother Cam!” chuckles Bree, 33, who lives in Auckland’s Mt Albert with her partner Sophia, and their two pups Meryl Streep and Whitney Houston.
From spontaneous ski trips to failed skinny dips, Bree and Cam balance the good times with being there for each other when the going gets rough.
“Bree is so supportive,” Cam shares. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on for her, she always makes time for you.”
“Cam’s the same way,” continues Bree, who originally hails from Queensland. “Plus, he’s very handy to have around! He can wrangle a boat, he knows how to check a radiator… He’s quietly amazing at everything. He’d be my first phone call in an apocalypse situation.”
The radio stars had instant chemistry.
Cam’s hidden talents have come in handy on Celebrity Treasure Island, where the Tauranga-born lad is vying with the other celebrity castaways to win $100,000 for his charity, Music Helps. But despite her knowledge of his many skills, Bree found it tricky to see her best friend battling tough challenges and suffering from the elements, as well as food and sleep deprivation.
Bree explains, “It was a really weird experience for me. I grow quite close with all the contestants during shooting – I’m always there to give them a hug or support them. But because Cam and I are such great friends, I didn’t want anyone to think I was giving him special treatment, so I actually tried to stay away from him.
“It got to the point that one day Dame Susan Devoy came up to me and said, ‘I think you need to give your friend a hug – he’s having a bit of a rough day! I just walked right up to him and gave him a massive hug and told him he was doing amazing, which he was! The whole experience brought us closer.”
Bree with co-host Matt Chisholm.
The dynamic duo’s firm bond was cemented long before their Island adventure. As LGBTQIA+ radio personalities, one of the things that has deepened their connection is being there for each other through the highs and lows of being rainbow role models.
“Being queer, you have this instant connection with certain people who have been on a similar journey to yours,” tells Bree, who came out on air in 2019. “Cam and I instantly had that. Over the years, we’ve talked on a level that’s so much deeper than a friendship. It’s really special.”
Cam – who received a death threat from a ZM listener who was outraged the station had a gay DJ – agrees, “Bree has been a massively positive influence in my life in that sense. We quite often have conversations about representation. When we were both younger, there wasn’t really any rainbow representation in media. Now there’s so many incredible queer people doing such amazing things and being able to be open about it.
“What keeps me going is knowing there’s probably a kid out there listening, who may be queer themselves but doesn’t really know how to talk about it. Hopefully, Bree and I being open and honest about that part of our lives gives them a little bit of confidence and reassurance.”
When he’s out and about, Cam often gets peppered with questions about his bestie.
“So many people come up to ask, ‘Oh, my God, you know Bree, what’s she actually like?’ And I reply, ‘A queen.'”
And after the nation sees Cam in action on Treasure Island, Bree can’t wait to start fielding questions about him. “People are gonna be like, ‘Is he single?'” chuckles Bree.
Cam competing alongside Dame Susan.
“I’m always single!” laughs Cam. “I feel like it never works out if you’re looking, but I would like to have a special person in my life.” Although the Aucklander insists he has a firm rule that any potential beau needs Bree’s stamp of approval.
“My biggest ick is if you don’t get along with my friends,” he states. “That’s a deal-breaker.”
“There’s a whole Spice Girls song about it – they’re philosophers,” jokes Bree.
