5 years of Mike & Sam YOU CAN'T FAKE THIS CHEMISTRY!

As they celebrate a milestone for their “arranged marriage”, the newsreaders share the highs and lows of their onscreen relationship

- Nicky Pellegrino

Newshub presenter Mike McRoberts always suspected that Samantha Hayes would end up fronting the 6pm news bulletin some day. “I just didn’t really expect that it would be with me,” he admits.

Mike had spotted Sam’s talent early on at TV3, as Three was then known. But he was very settled in his onscreen partnership with former presenter Hilary Barry and it came as a shock when, after over a decade hosting the evening news together, she left the network in 2016.

“I thought Hilary and I would be going forever,” tells Mike, 55. “I was disappointed, obviously.”

But a new on-camera “marriage” with flame-haired Sam, now 37, was soon arranged for Mike – and it breathed fresh life into him, he reveals. “When Sam came in, it was a different relationship. I’d been doing the job for 11 years and actually felt revitalised by having Sam read with me. She’s great to work with.

“We’re quite different in many ways – Sam is a real details person, while I’m more about the vibe. Together it’s been really good. I feel like I’m reading better than I’ve ever done because she’s beside me. And we’ve had some pretty tough shows to do.”

Lately, the big breaking stories just keep coming. The Christchurch mosque attacks, the eruption at Whakaari/ White Island and, of course, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And in the midst of it all, Mike and Sam are celebrating a milestone five years as an on-air pair!