Rachel Smalley: late night correspondent

Rachel Smalley recently replaced Samantha Hayes as host of TV3's late night news show Nightline. She formerly worked in Britain as 3 News' European correspondent. Smalley chats with Gabriel Pollard. 

What attracts you to television?

The diversity of a working day. I'm a little bit studio-bound at the moment, but when I'm working in the field you never know where the day's news events will take you.

How big is your TV?

I have two - a 42 inch Pioneer Plasma HD, and a 42 inch Philips LCD.

How much TV do you watch?

The international news channels are always on in the TV3 newsroom so I probably watch quite a lot through the course of a working day. I normally flick through the news channels in the morning, too.

What do you most like to watch on TV?

Factual television. Documentaries, docu-dramas, news and international rugby.

What did you watch in Britain?

The big-budget documentary programmes: BBC's Panorama and Channel 4's Dispatches.

I also love British comedy, and the BBC sets the benchmark for wildlife programming. David Attenborough is irreplaceable.

Are TV tastes different in New Zealand? What would you watch here that you couldn't in the UK and vice-versa?

I'll miss the factual programming in Britain. The BBC has a huge budget thanks to 60 million people paying a licensing fee, and it shows in the quality of their programming.

What is your favourite TV show at the moment?

Nightline, of course! I'm also a fan of 60 Minutes and CSI.

Favourite TV shows as a child?

I remember watching The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie when I was very young, and later on I used to watch Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, CHiPs and Miami Vice. Yep, I'm THAT old!

What are your childhood memories of watching TV?

Sitting on the sofa watching After School while drinking a cup of cold Milo and eating Krispie biscuits.

What movies do you like?

I watch anything that's directed by Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie. I tend to like movies that keep me thinking such as Fight Club, Snatch, Pulp Fiction and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I also enjoy foreign films: Babel, City Of God and Tsotsi are among some of the most recent films I've seen.

What was your first computer?

I can't remember what it was but it was huge and slow.

Coronation Street or Shortland Street?

I'm busy with Nightline when the soaps go to air, but if I had to choose a soap, I'd probably say Eastenders.

How many text messages do you send in a day?

If the All Blacks are playing, then I get bombarded with texts from friends in England and South Africa, but I would probably send between five and 10 texts a day.

How often do you use other functions on your phone?

All the time. I had a Palm Treo while I was Europe correspondent in London and I couldn't have done my job without it. I used the diary function, the internet and I had my emails coming through to it, too. I'm yet to find a phone here that can match it.

- © Fairfax NZ News