{"id":386335,"date":"2026-04-18T20:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/386335\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T20:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:54:11","slug":"polly-gillespie-joins-celebrity-treasure-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/386335\/","title":{"rendered":"Polly Gillespie joins Celebrity Treasure Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

A familiar voice to generations of New Zealanders is swapping the airwaves for the beach waves, with broadcaster Polly Gillespie joining this year\u2019s cast<\/a> of Celebrity Treasure Island but admitting to a good dose of nerves.<\/p>\n

Gillespie, who has built a decades-long career across radio and television, says the decision to take part came down to pushing herself following a quieter stretch in her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent the last few years not being as adventurous as I used to be,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought, ‘It\u2019s time to not do that. I don\u2019t want to be afraid of life.'”<\/p>\n

Gillespie first rose to prominence as part of The Hits\u2019 ZM breakfast show, which she co-hosted alongside her former husband Greg Kiriama for more than 20 years. <\/p>\n

Since then, she has worked across multiple radio networks, including stints on Today FM, and has appeared on a range of television programmes particularly in music and entertainment. <\/p>\n

Beyond broadcasting, she has also written columns and developed a strong presence on social media.<\/p>\n

Despite that experience, Gillespie admits that signing up for Celebrity Treasure Island came with plenty of nerves and a conscious decision not to over-prepare.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly [I’m] quite anxious,\u201d she said of her feelings prior to filming. <\/p>\n

‘I didn\u2019t do any homework because I didn\u2019t want to frighten myself. I thought if I see what other people do, I\u2019m going to run. So, I’m just going in blind.” <\/p>\n

\"Part<\/p>\n

Part of the Celebrity Treasure Island 2026 cast (Source: TVNZ)<\/p>\n

Early impressions of her castmates<\/a> were positive, with Gillespie describing them as “really, really good people”, though she was under no illusions about what her personal strengths were. <\/p>\n

\u201cClearly mine will not be lifting boulders or kayaking,\u201d the 62-year-old laughs.<\/p>\n

‘I don\u2019t need to be the boss’<\/p>\n

Instead, Gillespie says her people skills and temperament will be key to navigating the social side of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a good listener and a team player. I don\u2019t need to be the boss, but I\u2019ll support whoever is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gillespie is competing for Kidney Health New Zealand, a cause she says is deeply personal with several members of her family having been involved in kidney donations, including her former partner and relatives. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s touched our family in a big way,\u201d she said. “There\u2019s a lot of people on the waiting list, so I wanted to do my bit to raise money and raise awareness.” <\/p>\n

\"Polly<\/p>\n

Polly Gillespie on the new season of Celebrity Treasure Island (Source: TVNZ)<\/p>\n

Life on the island in Northland also strips back competitors’ everyday comforts, something Gillespie says will take some adjustment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll miss having a pen and paper to write,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s how I process things.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she admits she hasn’t always been a regular viewer of reality television \u2014 sometimes finding it \u201ca bit embarrassing\u201d \u2014 she believes that distance might work in her favour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m quite observant. I think I\u2019ll just be watching and seeing how things play out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The overarching goal, Gillespie says, is simple: embrace the experience and see where it leads.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned not to have expectations,\u201d she says. \u201cWhatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrity Treasure Island starts April 27 and airs 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday on TVNZ2 and TVNZ+.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A familiar voice to generations of New Zealanders is swapping the airwaves for the beach waves, with broadcaster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69,417],"class_list":{"0":"post-386335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-television"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386335","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=386335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}