Fair gone! WHY HADYN CHANGED HIS LIFE

The presenter and his family had a good time losing themselves in Europe, but now he's back in good sort mode

- Wendyl Nissen

When broadcaster Hadyn Jones resigned from Fair Go last year, he had no idea that within months, the TV version of the show would move to a digital-first treatment. 

“I decided to leave because my contract was up and I was tired after seven years of travelling around the country,” says Hadyn, 48. 

“I spent about three months of the year travelling for stories, staying in hotels and motels, and my eldest child Marley was 14. I just didn’t want to spend three more years doing that.

“I had lots of talks with TVNZ about doing other things, but by the end of it, I realised travelling would have been inevitable and I wanted to be at home more.”

Now, as he deals with the fact that some of his friends at the show have lost their jobs after the closure of the TV version of the longrunning and much-loved Fair Go, he still misses it. 

“I still love the people on the show and the people you interview,” he says. “Helping people really fills your cup, but I was pretty tired with the long hours and stuff. So I was done.”

He also had a planned trip overseas with his family for four months beginning in October last year. He and wife Zanta had spent years putting away savings and working hard so that one day they could take their children – Marley, Archer, 12, and Perry, 10, to Europe. 

Standing next to his friend and co-host Pippa Wetzell on his last show, he said, “Now, that’s it for me, I’m offon a wee adventure overseas with my family, but I’m leaving you in this woman’s capable hands. She’s amazing... 54 percent of the time!”

He recalls, “It was a funny and emotional time. I was sad to be leaving, but really excited about the once-in-a-lifetime adventure that lay ahead.”