Broadcaster Duncan Garner is known as a tough and sometimes difficult journalist, but nothing could have prepared him for the first time he met the other 17 castaways on Celebrity Treasure Island.
“They all booed me,” says Duncan, 50. “We all met for the first time in a hotel and I was late as usual, so they were all there and they just groaned and booed.
“I immediately thought it was [MP] Carmel Sepuloni because we know each other. We’ve partied together, she’s good company and down to earth. I didn’t know any of the others, so that’s how it started!”
Which was fine by Duncan. He admits that his plan when the show began was to be seen as the useless one.
“I just started off really slowly and my aim was to build through the game,” he reveals. “Because you actually are getting fit, losing weight, and my mind was getting very fit.”
Duncan also decided to be a provider. Early on in the show, his team won fishing gear so he would go down to the beach three or four times a day and bring back fish for his team to eat.
“I caught a lot of fish and [former Warrior] Wairangi Koopu was a really good hunter-gatherer too, so he was bringing in pāua and kina and things like that,” says Duncan.
“In my first two weeks, I just decided to provide food because we were all starving and also emotional support because this is a game of mental fortitude.”
Duncan has already been through a lot in his life, both personally and professionally. He knew that when times get tough, you have to have the mental strength to get you through.
“Being on the island’s a bit like going to jail,” he admits. “They told us to get up in the morning, do this and do that. They ordered us around and you lose control of your life,” he says.
“You don’t have any communication with the outside world and you have to be strong in the head. I think being on the road as a TV journalist and going to places like Afghanistan helped me learn to do long days and get up the next day and do it all again.”
But despite Duncan’s plans, there were some moments where he surprised and delighted himself.
The first was executing a perfect pass in a game of touch rugby to Wairangi.
“I played rugby for a long time as a halfback,” says Duncan. “But to be able to do that at my age and have All Black legend Christian Cullen award me player of the day was a highlight.
“I struggle to bend over to get the ball, but once I’ve got into a position I’m good to go,” he laughs.
His other highlight was catching an enormous snapper just after he was shifted over to the Aihe team and was the new bloke on the block.
“Cully was with me, he’s a useless fisherman, but he’s half-interested,” he laughs. “I’ve got this little rod which was no match for the massive thing on the end of it, but years ago I learned you can just walk up the beach and haul it in.
“So I’m walking up the beach thinking it’s a kingfish or something huge, and old Cully’s down there with his hands in his pockets. He’s so laconic.
“I get the snapper on the sand – at that moment the hook comes out of his mouth and I nearly lost it.”
Both highlights survived the cutting room floor and to Duncan’s delight, turned up on the show.
Now that Duncan’s been away from the island and his celebrity mates, he says the experience has changed him, all for the better.
“There was one night very early on in our Wētā team when it got dark and cold pretty quickly. There was no electricity, so no lights,” he says. “We were all sitting around the cabin and no one had gone home yet. We wanted to get to know each other a bit more, so we started telling our stories. It was clear that they all knew me as an opinionated, hot head political journalist and thought I was a bit of a brute. So I talked about my life and everything I’ve gone through. Suddenly, we were all in tears, in the dark. I’m shaking at this point, telling my story and seeing the reaction from others, and it just bonded us, like nothing else would.
“There were no cameras there and their lives were so moving. Everybody had a story and right there, we became so close.”
Duncan regretted his snoring habit when it came to living in close quarters with nine other people.
“I felt so bad, they were trying to roll me over to get me to stop and then I’d start up again! I actually spent a few nights making myself stay awake so that I wouldn’t disturb them.”
There are still several episodes of Celebrity Treasure Island to go, but the fact Duncan’s doing this interview means he must be there at the end – if not close to the end.
“I can’t talk about that because I don’t want to spoil it for everyone. But, I will say that there’s some high drama to come. I still feel very upset about what happened,” he teases.
It’s clear Duncan’s a changed man since heading off on his adventure.
“I found it really difficult leaving,” he says. “I came out of the bush and got into the car to drive home from the Coromandel and hit a cafe which had about 100 people in it.
“Remember, I’ve been locked away in this little area for a long time, and everyone, and everything, was too much.”
Duncan ran into an old friend who was there to go fishing and insisted that he join them.
“I couldn’t tell them why I wasn’t up for it. I think they thought something was really wrong with me!”
When he got back to Auckland he found it strange having to talk to people. When he got back to the apartment he shares with his rocks – his mother Sue and his youngest son Buster, everything was too flash.
“I found everything sort of polished, and we have far too much stuff,” he admits. “There’s far too much food in the fridge. I had been sleeping on a sack. Now I sleep on top of my bed rather than in it, I’ve done that ever since I left.”
The first thing he did when the producers released him and gave him back his phone was call Buster.
“This is a guy that’s in my life 24/7 and suddenly the phone was turned off,” he reveals. “I worry about him. He worries about me. He thinks I’m going to fall off a cliff. I think he’s going to walk into a car.
“I call him and he answers ‘Dad! What’s the date?’ I told him I did okay, I’m coming home.”
Duncan tears up at this, remembering hearing his son’s voice after so long.
“In life, you have very few people that you’re close to, at the end of the day. You boil it all down, you’ve got your family, the people that care about you and love you, and the people that will remember you. We have one shot at this.”
Duncan came home fitter and trimmer and immediately joined a gym to reward his new body and maintain it. He’s also off to do Outward Bound in November for a week.
“I learned a couple of things on that island,” he reveals. “First, don’t judge people before you get to know them. Second, put down your phone. It’s amazing what you’ll find in life and what you’ll hear and see. I’m campaigning against social media, because it is just absolutely screwing with our heads.”
Life off the island for Duncan is now filled with his podcast Editor-In-Chief and he’s in high demand for MCing various events around the country.
He still keeps in touch with friends he made on the island like Christian Cullen and comedian Millen Baird. He also says he has a special place in his heart for Boy actor James Rolleston.
“I’ve thought about James every day since I left the island,” he reveals. “He’s such a good kid and I wanted to make sure he felt supported. I’m 50 and he’s 27, so he could be my son. I know that he’s capable of doing so much.”
And now, Duncan feels determined to do more things that challenge him in daily life.
“Celebrity Treasure Island taught me to get out there while I can,” he says. “I want to grab every opportunity. The show reminded me of that – just get out there and do it because you’re a long time stiff and cold.”
After his inauspicious start on the show with the other contestants booing him, he’s confident that he eventually managed to get them to change their minds about what they thought of him.
“I think I’ve convinced everyone that I’m okay – I’m not a monster!” he laughs.
Celebrity Treasure Island screens from Mondays to Wednesdays at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.