Raising a TV personality

raising a tv personality

We talk to Gail Heslop about raising TV3’s weatherman, producer and reporter, Josh Heslop.

1) WHAT WAS JOSH LIKE AS A CHILD? 

Josh was a happy, good-natured child who was always kind and considerate. He was also a very placid baby which made life that much cruisier.

2) DOES JOSH COME FROM A LARGE OR A SMALL FAMILY?

We are a small family of four but he has always enjoyed the company of his cousins where they all used to play at Gran’s house. He is always keen to have family gatherings and birthdays. He was very close to his late Gran and the two of them loved preparing for Christmas when he was young, making Christmas crackers for all the family. He keeps up the tradition even now.

3) WHAT WAS JOSH GOOD AT IN SCHOOL?

He was good at art in primary school and enjoyed reading. At intermediate school, he won the North Shore Public Speaking Competition which gave him a taste for it. At college, he excelled in art, English, Japanese and drama. He particularly enjoyed a school trip to Japan.

4) WHAT WERE HIS HOBBIES AS A KID?

Josh’s hobbies were drawing, drama and dance. He was in a drama group at primary school and in the Torbay Dramatic Society’s production of Alladin while at intermediate school. Josh was involved in performances with the Northcote College Drama Group, and was also involved with and took part in Wearable Arts. He was also a keen dancer and he continued onto intermediate school with American Jazz.

5) WHAT THINGS DID YOU ENJOY DOING AS A FAMILY?

We enjoyed the simple things as a family: mystery walks, mystery drives, picnics and swimming at our local beach. Attending all their sporting or drama shows. We even had home-made drama shows, complete with half-time snacks.

6) DID JOSH PLAY SPORTS AT SCHOOL?

He played soccer and cricket while at primary school, and softball at intermediate school. He did running and swimming
in his college years.

7) DID JOSH ALWAYS WANT TO WORK IN TV?

Josh originally wanted to be a Newsreader from the age of about 10. When he was at AUT studying Communication, he applied for a part-time job at TVNZ working overnight on the Assignments Desk. He then moved on to the Breakfast show once he’d graduated with his degree in both Communication and PR. He was then invited to join TV3 as the weatherman on the now-finished morning show Sunrise. He is currently doing weekend weather, reporting and foreign producing for TV3.

8) IF JOSH WASN’T WORKING IN TV, WHAT DO YOU THINK HE’D BE DOING?

He would either be into journalism or acting. He has always loved acting but realised he couldn’t make a living out of it. He used to write stories and then turn them into plays for us. He has also danced in several shows and a music video, and still dances in his spare time at Candy Lane Dance Studio.

9) WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES YOU THINK ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO INSTILL IN YOUR CHILDREN?

The qualities that I felt were important to me were manners and respect; also responsibility and to be accountable for your own actions. I also encouraged my two children to follow their own career path as it is very important to like what you are doing. Both my children worked while studying. Josh was a waiter before he started at TVNZ. He also worked at Snowshoe, a ski resort in West Virginia USA in the school holidays of his final year at AUT. I feel that working while studying gave my children a good work ethic and attitude, plus taught them about teamwork.

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