Of course I remember growing up watching Felicity in The Good Life, but there\u2019s this also obscure murder-mystery TV series she did called Rosemary and Thyme. I thought, \u201cWell, Small Town Scandal is a murder mystery \u2013 let\u2019s reach out to her.\u201d She was keen! We had an online meeting to chat through the script \u2013 it was just so chill. Then we flew over to London and filmed with her for one week. She\u2019s such a pro, I love her! And she does remind me a little bit of my mother Vicky too \u2013 they\u2019re both very petite women with a wicked sense of humour. The BBC has now bought the series for international sales, so it will be screened in the UK.<\/p>\n
Felicity Kendal, Tom Sainsbury and Rose Matafeo in Small Town Scanda. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n
Who else have you fangirled over? <\/p>\n
Comedian Dawn French when she performed in New Zealand in 2024. I met with her after the show. I loved her and I think she loved me. But I\u2019ve also fangirled over Magda Szubanski [from Kath and Kim] and we didn\u2019t hit it off. I was such a bumbling mess and she was like, \u201cWho is this strange person?\u201d I had so much expectation, but then the whole thing fizzled out. It was a really good reminder to me that you\u2019re not going to have an instant connection with everyone or that meeting your heroes is going to live up to what you hope for. But the great thing about Dawn and Felicity is they\u2019re very relaxed, casual and happy to have a bit of a gossip, so it was perfect.<\/p>\n
Sainsbury meeting Dawn French. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve previously asked Kiwis to anonymously email you with real-life small-town scandals. What\u2019s a memorable one? <\/p>\n
There was one from Te Awamutu about a husband having it off with his wife\u2019s sister for a long time. Then the sister-in-law got pregnant and they kept the whole ruse up with the poor old wife. Lots of people from Gore have come up to me after my shows in Invercargill and Dunedin, and said, \u201cIf you want small-town scandals, you\u2019ve got to come to Gore.\u201d So I\u2019m heading down there in May for the Tussock Country Music Festival and I\u2019m going to seek out as much content for my podcast as I can!<\/p>\n
Which politicians will you be satirising in the lead-up to the election? <\/p>\n
Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins, of course. I did a good David Seymour a couple of years ago, so I just need to put the tie back on, get the face going and perfect the voice again. I loved imitating former politicians Paula Bennett, Simon Bridges and Dame Jacinda Ardern, but they\u2019re all gone now. So I have to bring in a whole new group of personalities.<\/p>\n
Tom Sainsbury as politician Judith Collins. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n
Who are your most successful characters on social media? <\/p>\n
Well, \u201980s Mum strikes a chord with people, as does Boomer Dad and I do wine reviewer Fiona \u2013 she always pours up to the meniscus \u2013 only on Facebook, where she has a loyal following. But the funny thing is, it\u2019s the obscure skits that do really well. Whenever I do an interpretative dance, like when I played a hair that you couldn\u2019t pick up, people reacted so well. The skit where I portrayed the on-ramp traffic lights has got millions of views. I keep the New Zealand personalities on Facebook, separate to playing generic characters on Instagram, which has a growing number of international followers.<\/p>\n
Is \u201980s Mum based on your own mother? <\/p>\n
No, my mum, bless her, isn\u2019t as sassy as \u201980s Mum or as up to play with the era\u2019s pop culture. She didn\u2019t understand the movies that we watched and was unaware that my sister was reading Flowers in the Attic like other girls at the time. But the structure Mum put around us when we misbehaved would have been similar to \u201980s Mum. My dad was either falling asleep on the couch at that point or outside helping a cow give birth.<\/p>\n
Was your decision to become vegan due to growing up on a dairy farm in Matamata? <\/p>\n
It really was. Becoming friends with the animals, then the way they\u2019re dispatched, I couldn\u2019t live with it. I was brought up with books that personalised animals and made them the main characters like humans. I tried to become a vegetarian as a teen. I tried to put my foot down and my parents were kind of supportive. But I couldn\u2019t become a full vegetarian until I left home.<\/p>\n
Sainsbury feeding his lamb as a child. Growing up on a farm led to his decision to become a vegetarian. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n
It also seemed like young Tom was obsessed with the farm incinerator…<\/p>\n
That is true! When I was 10, I bought my Matamata primary school teacher a ceramic vase with two doves on it as a wedding present. But when she gave me detention, I secretly smashed it in the classroom, hid it in my bag and took it home to burn it. Did I apologise for that? Never. My family didn\u2019t know about it until I was on stage sharing it to the world. We just don\u2019t burn things any more because of pollution, but back in the \u201980s, if you didn\u2019t want anything, you burnt it.<\/p>\n
Your sister Becky is a nurse, and brother James is a rural councillor and scientist \u2013 did you feel pressure to have a \u201cserious\u201d career? <\/p>\n
The good thing about being the youngest child is that the pressure is kind of off you. When I went to university to study the arts, Mum was like, \u201cLet\u2019s do biology as well because you love that,\u201d but it just fell by the wayside. When I started getting a few paid comedy jobs and didn\u2019t have to ring my parents up every two months asking them to help me pay my rent, they calmed down. These days, stand-up is my biggest earner. The daily Instagram videos @thomassainsbury<\/a> don\u2019t make me any money. But because I post those, people come to my shows.<\/p>\n Do you have any rituals before going on stage? <\/p>\n I need an hour of no interaction with people. I\u2019m not one of those comedians who can be laughing away in the green room before going on stage. I\u2019m squirrelled away, with my earphones on, listening to hype music. I need to pace. I didn\u2019t think I was a nervous person but I am.<\/p>\n In real-life, you play an uncle-style role to an 8-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy who you were a sperm donor for. Do you want children of your own? <\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t ever the plan. I never thought I would have children, but I\u2019m so glad I threw caution to the wind and was a donor because the kids are fantastic and I\u2019m so lucky they exist. I had this fear about what children were and what they\u2019d behave like. But these kids are so engaging and we have fun together. It\u2019s less scary than what I thought it was going to be. I go to their birthday parties and have emceed their school fundraiser.<\/p>\n Are they funny too? <\/p>\n Oh, they appreciate a good gag and I see promise in their comedic talents. The girl is a performer, so the last time I went and hung out with them, she had a whole circus set up. She was the ringmaster and we went through all the circus acts. Her brother is a performer too, but more into dancing.<\/p>\n Are you and your partner Jacob similar? <\/p>\n We are opposites, so we balance each other out. He moves through things quickly and I\u2019m a hidden fretter.<\/p>\n How has being a Buddhist for more than 20 years shaped you? <\/p>\n It\u2019s improved my life. The best thing about Buddhism is that it\u2019s always a reminder to aim for your best self. If I haven\u2019t been meditating or chanting for a while, I can get into a spiral of jealousy. But if I sit down and chant for a bit, it gives you a better perspective and it\u2019s harder to let the negative voices in.<\/p>\n Finally, what would the title of your autobiography be? <\/p>\n Probably the same as my stand-up show: Lessons Not Learnt. Because just like with Buddhism, you have to keep learning these lessons, until hopefully by the end of my life, I\u2019ve dealt with them and got some real wisdom that I can share.<\/p>\n Small Town Scandal screens Mondays on Neon and Sky Comedy.<\/p>\nNZ Woman’s Weekly Masthead<\/p>\n