{"id":451688,"date":"2026-05-29T20:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/451688\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T20:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:56:10","slug":"celebrity-tipping-point-nz-drops-into-primetime-with-christchurch-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/451688\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrity Tipping Point NZ drops into primetime with Christchurch special"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebrity Tipping Point NZ launches Monday with a star-studded lineup and a machine that its own host Daniel Faitaua<\/a> describes as moody.<\/p>\n

It stands 3.1m high, was custom-built in New Zealand, and loaded with 160 counters shipped in from Spain. And according to Faitaua, it has a personality problem.<\/p>\n

“Are you going to be nice?” Faitaua asked the machine before filming. <\/p>\n

“I need you to be nice. We’re giving away ten thousand, possibly twenty thousand dollars. Please.”<\/p>\n

Based on the long-running British format, Celebrity Tipping Point NZ combines general knowledge and physics. Contestants answer trivia questions to earn counters, then feed those counters into the signature coin-pusher machine \u2014 choosing a drop zone and hoping to nudge the pile over the edge. <\/p>\n

Faitaua talks charity stakes, celebrity game faces, and keeping Jason Gunn under control ahead of Monday’s premiere. (Source: Breakfast)<\/p>\n

Get the question wrong and you’re out of luck. Choose the incorrect drop zone and watch your chances disappear.<\/p>\n

Here, every celebrity is playing for charity, with up to $20,000 on the line per episode.<\/p>\n

“You can see everyone walk in with their game face on,” Faitaua told Breakfast this week. <\/p>\n

“They want to win that money for their charity.”<\/p>\n

\"Monday's<\/p>\n

Monday’s episode, the first to air, features an all-Cantabrian line-up \u2014 Jason Gunn, Chris Parker and TVNZ’s Ali Pugh. (Source: TVNZ)<\/p>\n

The season features a mix of well-known New Zealand faces \u2014 comedian Chris Parker, TV veteran Jason Gunn, Shortland Street stars Claire Chitham and Michael Galvin, actress Matilda Green, league player Luke Metcalf, and comedian-actor Tammy Davis, among others.<\/p>\n

There are also several special episodes \u2014 a Christchurch edition, a Shortland Street special, and a World Cup episode featuring familiar football players.<\/p>\n

Monday’s episode, the first to air, features an all-Cantabrian line-up \u2014 Jason Gunn, Chris Parker and TVNZ’s Ali Pugh.<\/p>\n

“Everyone on set is from Christchurch, including myself,” Faitaua said.<\/p>\n

Demand among celebrities to appear has been high enough that the producers have assembled a reserve list for future episodes.<\/p>\n

Nine cameras, 160 counters, and a custom-built machine: how a small Auckland crew is pulling off New Zealand’s biggest new game show. (Source: Seven Sharp)<\/p>\n

For viewers who know Faitaua primarily from the news desk, the show offers something different. He said the shift was natural.<\/p>\n

“News readers seem so straight, because you’re just reading that autocue. But this allows us to have a bit of personality, a bit of humour.”<\/p>\n

TVNZ’s chief news and content officer Nadia Tolich said the format had proven popular internationally and was well suited to a local version.<\/p>\n

“Tipping Point is a hugely successful format around the world, and we know Kiwi audiences love seeing their favourite international hits brought to life locally,” she said.<\/p>\n

“A New Zealand celebrity edition lets us take everything audiences love about the show and give it a distinctly Kiwi flavour.<\/p>\n

“Daniel is a fantastic presenter, and with him at the helm \u2013 alongside a raft of well-known faces playing for charity \u2013 Celebrity Tipping Point NZ will be a fun, entertaining and competitive new addition to our primetime lineup.”<\/p>\n

Celebrity Tipping Point NZ premieres Monday at 7pm on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+<\/a>, with episodes continuing on subsequent Mondays at 7.30pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Celebrity Tipping Point NZ launches Monday with a star-studded lineup and a machine that its own host Daniel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69,417,6445],"class_list":["post-451688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-television","tag-tvnz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451688","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=451688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}