Clarkson\u2019s departure from Breakfast was only announced last Thursday<\/a>, with TVNZ confirming they would refresh the show in 2026 and begin the search for a new presenter. The following morning on Breakfast, Chang had asked Clarkson<\/a> if she had any news to share. \u201cNah, nope, nothing at this time, we\u2019ve got a show to get on with,\u201d Clarkson had joked, adding that it had been an \u201cabsolute honour and privilege\u201d to be invited into viewers\u2019 homes for the past six years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Today, Clarkson leaves TVNZ as one of their longest-serving presenters, having joined the network in 2005 as a netball commentator. After a variety of presenting roles, including sports presenter for 1News at Six, Clarkson joined Breakfast in 2020 and was the first wahine M\u0101ori to be appointed as a co-host. Over the following years, she danced through Covid-19 lockdown chaos<\/a>, released kiwi into the wild<\/a>, shared the powerful experience of getting a moko kauae<\/a> and delivered powerful footage from Te Karaka on the East Coast<\/a> in the days after Cyclone Gabrielle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But this morning, Clarkson wanted the focus to be on anything else but her departure. She promised viewers she wouldn\u2019t cry, but Chang reckoned they had two and a half hours to break her. Viewer feedback began to flow in, with Maureen emailing about her favourite Elvis movies and Clarkson\u2019s old teacher from Piopio College sending a message of support. Colleen wrote that she usually turned the TV off when Clarkson wasn\u2019t on it, a notion that horrified Chang. \u201cDo we have time for one more email?\u201d he asked. \u201cNo,\u201d Clarkson replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n Luckily, it was a busy morning on the couch. Clarkson interviewed Jan from Keeping Katz cattery about hosting 100 felines over the summer holidays, and ended by wishing her a merry Christmas. \u201cIt\u2019s November, can I say that?\u201d Clarkson wondered, but Jan replied with a cheery \u201cMeowy Christmas\u201d. Journalist Suzanne McFadden stopped by to give a sports update and ended by paying tribute to Clarkson. \u201cI have always been so inspired by the way you have reinvented yourself,\u201d McFadden said, a message that made Clarkson clearly emotional. \u201cI nearly broke her,\u201d McFadden laughed. \u201cWe\u2019ll get there,\u201d Chang said.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was windy and raining in Wellington and mainly fine in Christchurch, with nor-westerlies developing in the afternoon. After the 7 o\u2019clock news, TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman crossed live to the studio and began by honouring Clarkson, who she described as \u201ca pillar of strength for us as M\u0101ori and Pacifica journalists\u201d. \u201cYou have been a M\u0101ori matriarch,\u201d Sherman told her, while Clarkson\u2019s voice wobbled as she suggested they get onto politics. \u201cThank you for your kind words,\u201d Clarkson replied at the interview\u2019s end. \u201cI have been the lucky one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Emotional farewells<\/a> on Breakfast are nothing new<\/a>, but at 8.28am, a special message from one Chris Chang in Auckland brought Clarkson to tears. Chang started reading as if it was an email from an anonymous viewer at home, until his voice began to wobble. He finished by saying it had been a pleasure to be part of Clarkson\u2019s latest chapter<\/a>, \u201ceven if that chapter was about perimenopause\u201d. Clarkson wiped tears away before Chang broke the emotional tension. \u201cI need to go to the news position now,\u201d he said, gathering up his papers and leaving the couch. \u201cThis is awkward,\u201d laughed Clarkson.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Throughout the morning, the show looked back on some of Clarkson\u2019s most memorable Breakfast moments (lots of dancing, lots of hugs), with supportive messages from former co-hosts Jack Tame, Matty McLean and John Campbell. Just before 8am, a weird Ikea-sponsored segment saw Seven Sharp\u2019s Jeremy Wells fondle some plants in a Christchurch hothouse, while Chris Schulz from Consumer NZ (and before that, The Spinoff) warned us about Black Friday sales, and award-winning hip-hop dancers performed live from Christchurch.<\/p>\n
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