Moses Is Treasure Island Gold Voice Of Reason

The Opera Star Explains Why He Was Banned From Singing

- Donna Fleming

When Moses Mackay was asked if he’d appear on Celebrity Treasure Island, he didn’t have to think twice about his answer.

“I said, ‘No way’,” reveals Moses, who is one-third of popular opera-singing trio Sol3 Mio. “When my agent said the words ‘reality TV’, my response was, ‘Anything but that.’ It just wasn’t my thing. I was worried about how they portray you – it can be risky.”

But something obviously made him change his mind – he’s one of 16 well-known Kiwis who headed to Fiji to film the show, which is currently screening on TVNZ 2. Moses (29) can reveal it wasn’t his family and friends – including Sol3 Mio members Pene and Amitai Pati – who persuaded him to take part, although they did all tell him he should do it. “That was because they just wanted to laugh at me,” he chuckles.

He remained unconvinced Celebrity Treasure Island was a good idea until he heard the contestants would be able to raise money for charity.

“That was the game changer for me,” says Moses. “That gave me a really good reason for doing it – it wasn’t like Love Island where you go on and sell your soul.”

He immediately had a charity in mind. For the last four years, Sol3 Mio have been involved with an organisation called Dream Chaser Foundation, which supports children with cancer and their families.

“They do incredible things, and they don’t get a lot of publicity, so I wanted to help them out if I could,” tells Moses.

Once he’d agreed to do the show, Moses says he panicked when he realised he had very little time to try to get fit.