Seven Sharp presenter Hilary Barry is the New Zealander who will share the stage with Oprah Winfrey when she appears live in Auckland in December on her Oprah, in Conversation tour.
“It’s a bit of a thrill,” says Barry, who is a long-time fan of Winfrey’s “real and authentic” interviewing style which, she says, was an inspiration to her as a young journalist.
‘Kia ora!’: Oprah Winfrey shares her message to Hilary Barry – Watch on TVNZ+
“Broadcasters like Oprah have taught me that that you can come to a difficult interview with kindness, and actually ask difficult questions in a different way, a softer way, and get a response that’s still worthwhile,” she says.
Barry will take the role of moderator in one of just five evenings with Oprah across Australasia, with the other events taking place in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. It’s Winfrey’s first trip to either country in a decade.
“Kia ora my Kiwi friends,” said Oprah in a promotional video. “I am so delighted to let you know that I am going to be joined on stage by the fabulous Hilary Barry for my New Zealand show. I can’t wait to connect with her after ten years… Together we’re going to share an unforgettable evening of lessons and laughter and life-changing moments from this journey we call life.”
Winfrey invited Kiwis to “bring your friends!” but it appears tickets for the event, held in Auckland’s historic Civic theatre, which seats more than 2000 people, have already sold out.
Barry’s previous experience meeting Winfrey was in LA in 2015, when she was invited to conduct a half-hour interview with her at the Oprah Winfrey Network headquarters, ahead of the media megastar’s last trip to New Zealand.
Barry recalls being racked with nerves on that occasion and says she fully expects to feel the same way when she hosts Winfrey in December. “There will be a couple of thousand people there and that adds a level of pressure that I’m not used to,” she told 1News. “I’m usually just talking to a camera.”
Jitters aside, when asked if she’d host Oprah, Barry didn’t hesitate. “Of course I immediately I said yes,” she says. “Absolutely, I would clear my schedule… I just, yeah, I was thrilled.”
