{"id":117778,"date":"2025-11-04T17:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T17:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/117778\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T17:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T17:34:10","slug":"tvnz-reveals-new-6pm-news-presenter-as-simon-dallow-steps-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/117778\/","title":{"rendered":"TVNZ reveals new 6pm news presenter as Simon Dallow steps down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melissa Stokes has been revealed as the new 1News at Six presenter, with Simon Dallow confirming plans to step down at the end of the month.<\/p>\n

Dallow has spent nearly two decades as TVNZ\u2019s news anchor, presenting significant events including the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes, the city\u2019s mosque attacks, the Covid pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle.<\/p>\n

TVNZ Chief Executive Jodi O\u2019Donnell said Dallow had been an \u201cexceptional journalist and presenter\u201d, known for bringing professionalism, integrity and dedication to the role.<\/p>\n

Watch: Simon Dallow’s message as he announces 1News at Six departure – watch on TVNZ+<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s part of why 1News at Six continues to reach 1 million New Zealanders on broadcast TV as well as being TVNZ+\u2019s most streamed show,\u201d she said today.<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Simon Dallow and Melissa Stokes. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

\u201cHis departure marks the end of an era for 1News at Six, and we are deeply grateful for his years of service.”<\/p>\n

Dallow, who previously worked as a barrister, first joined TVNZ in 1993. He appeared on Newsnight, other 1News bulletins and hosted Agenda and Q+A before presenting the 6pm bulletin, initially with co-host Wendy Petrie.<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Simon Dallow has presented a number of programmes for TVNZ. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell said Dallow\u2019s calm stewardship has gained the trust of New Zealand audiences. His commitment to delivering the stories of the day with accuracy and impartiality had earned him the respect and appreciation of viewers and colleagues alike.<\/p>\n

Dallow, 61, will step down on November 28.<\/p>\n

Melissa Stokes<\/p>\n

Stokes will move from her weekend presenting role to anchor the bulletin on weekdays.<\/p>\n

Her TVNZ career spans more than two decades, including a variety of reporting roles and time as the 1News Europe Correspondent.<\/p>\n

\"Melissa<\/p>\n

Melissa Stokes has been presenting 1News at Six on weekends since 2019. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell said Stokes was respected and trusted by viewers, having presented across TVNZ\u2019s news programmes and worked as the weekends presenter for the flagship evening news programme since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Melissa\u2019s calibre appointed as our lead presenter for 1News at Six.<\/p>\n

‘End of an era’ – looking back Simon Dallow’s career as Melissa Stokes takes over – watch on TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s done an exceptional job fronting weekends and this experience, alongside the strong leadership role she plays in our newsroom, makes her a natural successor,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer enduring relationship with our audience will help guide them through this transition for our biggest show.\u201d<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a stabbing attack in the UK is not a terror incident, Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua speaks for the first time since her stand down, and the King takes one more thing from his disgraced brother (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melissa Stokes has been revealed as the new 1News at Six presenter, with Simon Dallow confirming plans to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,417,437,6445],"class_list":{"0":"post-117778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-television","13":"tag-tv","14":"tag-tvnz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}