It’s no joke. TV Guide readers have voted comedian Guy Williams the sexiest man by a pretty decent margin in the annual Best on the Box awards.
A member of the cast on TV3’s Jono & Ben At Ten, Williams got just under 30 per cent of the vote. Second-placed Ben Mitchell – TK on TV2’s Shortland Street – received just over 21 per cent, and Sam Wallace, the weatherman on TV1’s Breakfast, received 15.5 per cent.
According to the poll, the sexiest woman was Pippa Wetzell of TV1’s Fair Go. She received 23.2 per cent of votes, just squeaking in ahead of Rachel Hunter, who attracted 22 per cent of the vote for her efforts on New Zealand’s Got Talent on TV1. Just a fraction lower, at 21.4 per cent, was Hayley Holt from The Crowd Goes Wild on Prime, and fourth with 18 per cent was Toni Street, who hosted Breakfast last year.
TV3’s Campbell Live dominated in the current affairs segment, with 31.1 per cent of the vote. Competitor TV1’s Seven Sharp was down in fifth place with just 10.6 per cent of the vote, while 20/20 on TV2 came in second with 19.4 per cent.
It was Campbell Live’s fifth win in a row and eighth overall. For executive producer Pip Keane a particular highlight of 2013 was raising $750,000 for Philippines cyclone victims. “I never thought a little programme like ours would raise that much money,” she said.
When it came to best current affairs presenter, Campbell was even more dominant, with 47.3 per cent of the vote, followed by Miriama Kamo from Sunday on TV1, who had 24.2 per cent of the vote. Greg Boyed, who left Seven Sharp last year, had 10.4 per cent.
“Man, that’s extraordinary,” Campbell said of the size of his support.
Best news presenter was Hilary Barry, who picked up 25.3 per cent. It was her third win in a row. “It’s so touching that people take the time to actually vote,” she said.
TV1’s Peter Williams came in second with 20.2 per cent. Last month he was in some strife after reading out a fake abuse message in a segment about online bullying. The mistake was attributed to a misunderstanding.
Best general presenter was Mark Richardson, with 19 per cent, for his work on TV3’s The Block NZ, followed by Tamati Coffey who received 18.5 per cent of the vote for New Zealand’s Got Talent.
“Hopefully I will always be a sports presenter and a cricket commentator,” Richardson said. “But it’s nice to branch out to do other stuff.”
Best weather presenter was TV1’s Jim Hickey with a sizeable 44.8 per cent of the vote.
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Robyn Malcolm got the nod for best actress, with 23.7 per cent of the vote for her role as Anna on TV1’s Agent Anna. “I am delighted. This was a wee low-budget comedy that we scrabbled together guerrilla-style,” Malcolm said.
Nicole Whippy, who played Michelle in Nothing Trivial on TV1, was second with 18.4 per cent, just ahead of Antonia Prebble on 18.3 per cent for Jane in TV3’s The Blue Rose.
The winning margin for best actor was more clear cut, with Shane Cortese winning with 31.5 per cent for his roles as Mac in Nothing Trivial, and as Colin in TV3’s The Almighty Johnsons.
Sam Neill came in second on 18.7 per cent for playing Detective Senior Sergeant Jim Stockton in Harry, while third place with 18.5 per cent went to Michael Galvin, Chris in TV2’s Shortland Street.
Sexiest man Williams was also picked as funniest person on television with 29.8 per cent, followed by Dai Henwood with 25.6 per cent for TV3’s 7 Days.
“I tried really hard – as you probably noticed. So I’m stoked that hard work pays off,” Williams said. “The lesson we learnt is that hard work overrides talent or ability.”
Best sport presenter was Hamish McKay from TV3 with 25.4 per cent, followed by Jenny-May Coffin from TV1 and Maori TV with 20.4 per cent, just a sliver ahead of Mark Richardson from The Crowd Goes Wild who pulled in 20.3 per cent.
Well out in front in the rising star category were two members of the Jono and Ben At Ten crew – Little Jono played by Frankie O’Halloran and Little Ben played by Nathan Bevan.
“I think we won because my mum told everyone she knew that they had to vote for us. (I’ve never seen my mum berserk like that before),” Bevan said.
The best special event award went to TV1’s America’s Cup coverage with 44.2 per cent of the vote.
Best documentary series was TV1’s First Crossings with 27.1 per cent, followed on 21.8 per cent by NZ Story, also on TV1. In First Crossings presenters
