TVNZ Breakfast and 1 News Midday presenter, Daniel Faitaua, has been appointed as TVNZ’s new Europe Correspondent.
Daniel has been part of the Breakfast team for three years and says he is “sad to leave the Breakfast family”. But the role has been “a dream job of mine since I enrolled in journalism school 11 years ago” so he is “excited and thrilled” to be taking on the new role.
Daniel will head to London with his wife and three sons in late August. He will be taking over from Joy Reid, who is returning home at the end of her tenure.
The Breakfast ‘family’ – Daniel Faitaua, Hayley Holt, John Campbell and Matty McLean
On Twitter this morning TVNZ’s Breakfast posted that there were “mixed feelings in the Breakfast team today, because @DanielFaitaua’s leaving us to be TVNZ’s Europe Correspondent.
“Don’t worry, he’ll still be with us for the next few weeks,” the post continued. “Go well, Daniel.”
In a video included with the tweet, an emotional Faitaua said, “I know it’s sad news for many of you at home, it’s sad news for me too… But every morning you’ll still be able to wake up to me and I can report about all the happenings in London and around Europe.”
Daniel also took to Twitter from his own account to thank the public for their messages of support.
“I am truly moved by all your lovely messages! Amazing, challenging but I’m bloody excited,” he said.
Daniel was a flight attendant before he retrained to become a journalist. He started as a sports reporter on Newstalk ZB and then moved to TVNZ’s Breakfast show.
Breakfast has undergone a number of changes this year. Co-host Jack Tame moved on to host Q+A and was replaced by John Campbell, who has kept Breakfast viewers entertained with his ‘troubles’ adjusting to early morning TV. Matty McLean is temporarily off the team while he slogs it out on Celebrity Treasure Island, which is being filmed in Fiji at the moment.
Hayley Holt, who took over from Hilary Barry last year, has been the only co-host to be showing no signs of going anywhere.
