''Wheel of Fortune'' was a long-running

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

television

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

that was last hosted by

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Jason Gunn Jason Gunn (born 26 December 1968) is a New Zealand television and radio personality. He is known for '' The Son of a Gunn Show, What Now, Dancing with the Stars, Wheel of Fortune'', and ''The Rich List'', and also afternoon shows on radio sta ...

and co-host Sonia Gray. It was broadcast on

TV2 Channel 2 or TV 2 may refer to: Television networks, channels and stations *Channel 2 (Iran), operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting *Channel 2 (Israel), a commercial television station *, entertainment and music television in Latvia * ...

from 1991 to 1996 and on TV ONE from 2008 to 2009.

History

1991–1996 original

The original New Zealand version of the popular American game show

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

was first broadcast in February 1991, on TVNZ channel

, at 5:30pm. The show, which was heavily modeled after Australia's version, was originally hosted by

Phillip Leishman Phillip John Leishman (9 April 1951 – 25 February 2013) was a New Zealand television broadcaster. Biography Born in Timaru in 1951, Leishman was educated at St Patrick's High School (now Roncalli College). He began his broadcasting care ...

with co-host

Lana Coc-Kroft Lana Coc-Kroft (born 1967) is a New Zealand television and radio personality, and was Miss Universe New Zealand in 1988. Coc-Kroft began her television career appearing in ''Sale of the Century'', and in 1991 on the New Zealand version of ''Wheel ...

, along with Grant Walker (also doing New Zealand's version of ''

Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...

'' at the time) as announcer. The show was later hosted by

Simon Barnett Simon Barnett (born 23 March 1967) is a radio and television host and presenter in New Zealand. Barnett co-hosted the morning show on Christchurch radio station 92 More FM with Gary McCormick until 2018, and previously with Phil Gifford. He has ...

. During its time the show aired on various time slots and switched between TV ONE and TV2; at the show's peak it aired in prime time on TV ONE at 7:00pm, a time slot previously used to screen

, but moved off this slot in 1995 when TV ONE extended their news to a one-hour show followed by

Holmes Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the ...

. After moving to TV2 in a 6:00pm time slot the show was ultimately axed in 1996 as the show could not compete with the 6pm news shows on TV ONE and TV3. NewZealandWheel2008

2008–2009 return

On 14 April 2008 the New Zealand version of Wheel of Fortune returned again to TVNZ channel TV ONE. The show returned with new hosts

and Sonia Gray. The show now airs at 5:30pm local time. At the conclusion of filming of the 2008 season TVNZ announced the show will return in 2009 bigger and better. Additionally Jason Gunn officially announced that his co-host Sonia Gray was pregnant with twins and that she would return to co-host the show after her pregnancy.

Greer Robson Greer Robson (born 16 October 1971) is a New Zealand television actress well known for her role in the television drama ''Shortland Street''. Biography Greer first came to prominence in the 1981 New Zealand film ''Smash Palace'' starring as Geo ...

temporarily took Sonia's role on the show until she returned in May, 2009. It was announced on 2 May 2009 that the series was being cancelled after only one year on air. The reasons given by TVNZ for the cancellation were lower ratings than the previous season, decreased advertising revenue and the high cost of producing the show. Lower ratings may have resulted after reformatting of the show interrupted its flow due to an increased emphasis on 'Speed Digits'. The last show was screened in June 2009.

David Tua incident

One notable episode which appears from time to time in blooper specials was boxer

David Tua Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua (born 21 November 1972), best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was kno ...

's game on October 10, 1992: at one point, he asked for P when buying a vowel; at another, he tried to buy a "consonant". He was also believed to have tried to call "O for awesome" which went on to become a famous quotable saying in New Zealand, although the main problem was that he was supposed to call a consonant.

References

{{Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune (franchise) New Zealand game shows TVNZ 1 original programming TVNZ 2 original programming 1991 New Zealand television series debuts 1996 New Zealand television series endings 2008 New Zealand television series debuts 2009 New Zealand television series endings 1990s New Zealand television series 2000s New Zealand television series Roulette and wheel games New Zealand television series based on American television series