SONIA'S LIFE LESSONS 'I FELT ASHAMED I DIDN'T KNOW'

Working on new documentary series Passengers was one of the most emotional experiences of the actress' life

- Cloe Willetts

When Lotto star Sonia Gray agreed to host the new TV show Passengers, a docu-series about inspiring and harrowing immigration stories, the mum-of-two figured it’d be fun since she’s fascinated by cultural history.

But the actress didn’t expect it to turn into one of the most emotional experiences of her life. Not only did the four-part series make Sonia reflect on her own father’s journey to Aotearoa as an immigrant, but the topic of cultural diversity mirrored her family’s daily battle with neurodiversity.

“Making the show was quite phenomenal and I grew a lot from the whole process,” says Sonia, whose father emigrated from Zimbabwe by himself as a 16-year-old. “I learned about the hardships the ancestors of other New Zealanders faced and the sacrifices they made to better their children’s lives.

“It really reinforced how important diversity is. It’s a human thing to kind of shun people who are different to us, but if we cross the bridge and see how others live, we realise we are really all the same.”

The series unravels tales of Pacific, Asian and European immigration to New Zealand between the 1860s and 1940s as Sonia – who is a mother to 13-year-old twin daughters Thandie and Inez – takes descendants of these migrants through their family’s often fascinating histories.