It’s exactly nine months since she tied the knot to fellow comedian Joseph Moore in a fun-filled ceremony on Nadia Lim’s farm, but Laura Daniel has a clear message for any loved ones asking about whether they’ll soon be starting a family.
“No plans on babies yet!” the former Funny Girls and Seven Sharp star exclaims, before taking another sip of the margarita she’s drinking in the Los Angeles sunshine while chatting to Woman’s Day.
Instead, since filming on Celebrity Treasure Island finished, Laura, 32, and her new-ish hubby, 34, have been making travel plans and they’re now on the last leg of somewhat of a second honeymoon, which has included the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.
“Actually, we crashed our best friends’ honeymoon,” says Laura, who was in England for her good mate Nic Sampson’s wedding, then joined the Starstruck actor and his new wife on a post-nuptial trip to Sardinia.
Laura and Joseph were married earlier this year.
But we’re here on Zoom to talk about reality TV, of which the funnylady is fast becoming a stalwart, having won her season of Taskmaster NZ, come a close second on Dancing With The Stars, sung her heart out on The Masked Singer and cooked up a storm on Celebrity Bake Off. Now she’s battling it out to win $100,000 for her charity Shine on CTI.
Laura laughs, “I didn’t really want to do any more reality shows, but when I was asked to do this one, I said, ‘Hell yeah, let’s complete the set!’ Also, there hasn’t been a woman winner [since Hayley Holt in 2007’s Treasure Island: Pirates Of The Pacific], so I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring.”
From the start, the bubbly star made it clear she wanted to win the hearts of her fellow contestants and was in tears when she thought she’d let her team down in a challenge.
“It never feels good to let people down,” she declared, her voice cracking with emotion. Groaning, she added, “I thought I’d last till day 10 without crying!”
Completing tasks with Tāme.
But when asked if she’s capable of making it to the final episode, Laura insists, “I can do this. I’m ready for the challenge and to not completely lose my mind. Everything has been put into perspective by the pandemic.
I think if I had done it back in 2019, when they first asked me, I would have let things get to me a bit more.”
A writer and regular panellist for 7 Days, Laura jumped into filming just over a month after her star-studded wedding, where guests including Hilary Barry, Rose Matafeo, Chris Parker, Hayley Sproull and Brynley Stent gathered at Royalburn Farm near Arrowtown.
It was a glam affair compared to the CTI experience of sleeping on a bunk bed made on hessian sacks, she says. “But I’m rugged and practical – compared to Joseph anyway!” Asked if he was jealous, she chuckles, “I don’t think he’d care for staying outdoors.”
Laura admits she missed her new husband, but she jokes, “It was probably time we had a break!”
The likeable star is keeping a big secret on CTI, attempting to hide her close friendship with fellow comedian Eli Matthewson, who’s on the opposing team.
“I was trying to keep it on the lowdown, but things may get interesting,” she teases. “There were a lot of people I loosely knew before coming into it, so I got good vibes from everyone.”
Laura and Joseph are currently on a second honeymoon.
Laura had hoped to form an alliance with Tāme Iti straight off the bat, but time will tell how that plays out – we’ve heard a rumour another alliance causes some serious friction between the comedians on the show.
The star admits former Treasure Island winner Chris and his co-star Brynley both gave her advice for Treasure Island, as did her flatmate Dr Joel Rindelaub, who competed on the show last year.
“It was all about letting things go when another contestant screws you over,” confesses Laura. “Chris really lifted me up, while Brynley told me to be clear about my morals and to go hard.”
Of her game plan, she says, “I was thinking I needed to hold back and not give away any of my strengths, but it’s hard. I’m a very competitive person, but I like to think I’ve got sportsmanship. If that falters throughout the show, just know that I’m very hungry and I’ve got PMS!”
