Mark Leishman: Television, dogs and longevity…

Long-time television and radio host Mark Leishman began his TV career as a continuity announcer, and then moved on to regional news show Today Tonight. Over the years Leishman has appeared on a number of hit shows including Top Town, That’s Fairly Interesting and Tux Wonder Dogs. As well as presenting, he has also directed documentaries such as A Friend For Life and Kohi: A Guide For Life.

In this ScreenTalk, Leishman talks about:

• Getting a chance to read the news and create stories on Today Tonight
• Taking over the reins on Top Town
• How budgets and health and safety regulations weren’t an issue
• A future All Black becoming ultra competitive
• Joining a youthful Phil Keoghan hosting That’s Fairly Interesting
• Missing out on some great footage when directing the Peter Blake Bi-Centennial Race Around Australia
• Making Tux Wonder Dogs a hit
• Jim Mora’s scripts and voice bringing personality to the show
• Creating a series of documentaries on guide dogs
• Pitting celebrities against a young genius on The Great NZ Spelling Bee
• Feeling fortunate to have had a good long run on TV

This video was first uploaded on 9 October 2012, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside