Major Milestone For Fair Go & Kevin Milne

4th March 2009

Major Milestone For Fair Go & Kevin Milne

Long running TV show, Fair Go marks another milestone tonight when its most famous face celebrates 25 years on the show.

Kevin Milne joined Fair Go in 1984 despite being advised by colleagues not to because it had been on-air for several years and they thought it would be replaced with a new show at the end of that season.

“I look back on a quarter of century of Fair Go and thank my lucky stars I fell into it, it’s the perfect mixture of usefulness and fun”, says Kevin Milne.

His first story 25 years ago was about a cheap brand of metal corkscrew that became a wedding skit where the Bride fainted and fell into the wedding cake. He followed that up with a story about double glazed windows that kept fogging up written to the tune of Old McDonald had a farm, “I still remember the first two lines: “Old McDonald had a house, EIEIEO, the view outside was really grouse, EIEIO.” It got better than that but not much better!”

Kevin has covered countless consumer breaches and worked tirelessly for kiwis who’ve been ripped off over that time but says one of the highlights was the first time he got over a hundred grand for someone, “We gave this gorgeous young woman the cheque from an insurance company, live in the studio, and she just screamed. Her life would never be the same. I felt very proud when she said she especially wanted to thank Kevin for his support. I found out afterwards, Kevin wasn’t me but her boyfriend.”

Kevin rates last year’s story at Notown on the West Coast as one of the best during his career, “the family was about to lose their house because of the builder’s shortcomings. We got the local community trades people, in fact, wonderful trades people from all over the country, to literally rebuild their house. It was maybe the most wonderful response to any story I’ve been involved in.”

Editor of Fair Go, Graeme Muir today noted his compassion, “25 years is a staggering achievement in any industry; to do it in television with its changing tastes and faces demonstrates a continuous appetite for improvement. Kevin’s still hungry, still keen to knock on the doors of rat bags and put the consumer world to rights – he really cares”.

TVNZ Head of News and Current Affairs, Anthony Flannery recognised the enormous contribution Kevin has made to consumer rights and people’s lives but also noted what a role model he is for younger journalists, “A quarter of a century with Fair Go has not tired Kevin, in fact he is more determined than ever to fight the good fight – he’s an inspiration”.

Later this month Kevin Milne celebrates another milestone – he turns 60.

Ends

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