Susan Wood will be the new permanent host of TVOne's Sunday
morning political show, Q+A.
Wood will take the position previously held by the late Sir
Paul Holmes when a "refreshed" version of the show returns on
March 10.
Wood's CV includes Close Up, Breakfast, Today Live and
Newstalk ZB.
"I've spent a lot of my career following around Sir Paul, and
actually it's a great honour to be filling his place on Q+A,"
she said.
TVNZ current affairs editor Briar McCormack said Wood had
proven herself to be one of New Zealand's top interviewers.
"As well as her contacts, she has the perfect skillset to
host Q+A."
McCormack said the show would have a "refreshed format" with
bigger roles for TVNZ political editor Corin Dann and his
deputy Jessica Mutch who will continue to interview.
They will share that responsibility with Shane Taurima, who
was announced this week as the network's general manager of
Maori and Pacific Programming.
The appointment ends speculation linking Mark Sainsbury with
a return to TVNZ, three months after he left following the
axing of Close Up.
Sainsbury has confirmed discussing a role at TVNZ and said he
knew Greg Boyed - who took over from Sir Paul before
switching to Seven Sharp - had enjoyed his time at the
helm of Q+A.
TVNZ paid Sainsbury hundreds of thousands of dollars in
severance when it shut down Close Up, ending his
31-year career at the network.
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