The Chase is on! THE GOVERNESS HITS AOTEAROA

Quiz queen Anne says she knows about Lorde, but not Trumpet ice creams!

- Donna Fleming

Anne Hegerty has a confession to make. She’s talking to the Weekly a couple of days before filming The Chase New Zealand - the Kiwi version of the hit TV show that made her a household name — and she admits she hasn’t yet had the chance to swot up on knowledge about Aotearoa.

Anne, who’s appearing on the four special episodes alongside The Chase Australia star Issa Schultz, worries she could be caught out if she doesn’t get on with some intensive research.

“It’s just dawned on Issa and me that we're going to be expected to know things like Māori names,” says Anne, 67, chatting from across the Tasman, where she visits regularly to work on the Aussie version of the show. “We're going to have to do some hasty homework over the next few days!”

When The Governess was asked if she would extend her stay in Australia to film the New Zealand episodes, hosted by Paul Henry, she didn’t have to think twice.

“I said, ‘Absolutely. Try and stop me!’” she exclaims.

But she’s been rather busy, so her Kiwi research has been left to the last minute. One topic she’ll be studying is our pop culture.