{"id":145206,"date":"2025-11-20T19:28:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T19:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/145206\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T19:28:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T19:28:06","slug":"jenny-may-clarkson-begins-final-breakfast-show-after-20-years-at-tvnz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/145206\/","title":{"rendered":"Jenny-May Clarkson begins final Breakfast show after 20 years at TVNZ"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pair hinted at a larger send-off for Clarkson towards the end of the morning show.<\/p>\n

In the first hour, Clarkson received many emails from viewers, including one from her former teacher and lots of people wishing her the best for the future. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my last day and I am definitely not going to cry,\u201d Clarkson said with a laugh. <\/p>\n

\"BreakfastBreakfast hosts Chris Chang, Jenny-May Clarkson and Daniel Faitaua.<\/p>\n

Reporter Jack Tame also gave a special message to his long-time friend, along with a clip from their early days on the Breakfast desk with Hilary Barry and Stacey Morrison, before Clarkson was a regular. <\/p>\n

The outgoing host reflected on the clip afterwards, pointing out her dramatic hair change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look like a baby!\u201d<\/p>\n

At the midway point of the show, a highlight reel was shared of her best and funniest moments from her five years as a regular on Breakfast.<\/p>\n

They included a lot of dancing videos alongside former hosts Matty Mclean and Melissa Chan-Green, and lots of laughter with guests. <\/p>\n

It also showed Clarkson\u2019s compassionate side, comforting flood victims as they spoke to her live on air. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been the greatest privilege, giving people space to share their stories\u2026 I have never taken that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

1News political editor Maiki Sherman spoke of her love and respect for Clarkson. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou have been a pillar of strength for M\u0101ori and Pasifika journos here at TVNZ.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have been a M\u0101ori matriarch\u2026 it has been a joy and never a chore.\u201d <\/p>\n

LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden, who has known Clarkson for three decades, joined her on the couch to talk women\u2019s sport and give a special farewell to her friend. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have always been so inspired by how you have always reinvented yourself into another better thing, and I will miss you, but I will see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When McFadden wished her well for whatever she did next, Clarkson admitted she hadn\u2019t figured that out yet. <\/p>\n

The presenter has been in the role since 2020, most recently alongside Chang, and is one of the network\u2019s longest-serving presenters.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also the first wahine M\u0101ori to be appointed to the Breakfast co-host role \u2013 representing her Ng\u0101ti Maniapoto and Ng\u0101ti Kahu heritage.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, when her departure was announced<\/a>, Clarkson said it had been an incredible journey over the past five years.<\/p>\n

Before she was a regular feature on our screens, Clarkson made her name on the court.<\/p>\n

She became a household name at age 23, debuting as a Silver Fern in 1997. She played 26 tests over six years for the team and also represented Aotearoa in touch rugby.<\/p>\n

After retiring from competitive sport, she applied for a job as a sports presenter with TVNZ in 2005, following a chance encounter, and has been with the network ever since. Before that, she was studying part-time to become a teacher. She also worked as a police officer in Hamilton.<\/p>\n

She moved from sports news presenting in 2019, replacing Daniel Faitaua on Breakfast, when he left to take the network\u2019s European correspondent role. She then landed a permanent spot on the couch in 2020, following the departure of Hayley Holt.<\/p>\n

In early 2024, Clarkson marked a personal milestone, turning 50, alongside her journey to reclaim her M\u0101ori heritage by getting a moko kauae.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pair hinted at a larger send-off for Clarkson towards the end of the morning show. In the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2327,74,1975,11154,10141,7054,3289,18221,36174,2245,156,75387,5904,12022,90678,809,111,139,69,41167,1305,1361,12637,437,6445,6730,1530],"class_list":["post-145206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-2327","tag-after","tag-at","tag-begins","tag-begun","tag-breakfast","tag-broadcast","tag-clarkson","tag-difficult","tag-early","tag-entertainment","tag-explaining","tag-final","tag-host","tag-jennymay","tag-keep","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-presenter","tag-show","tag-that","tag-together","tag-tv","tag-tvnz","tag-would","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145206","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=145206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}