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Dai Henwood told Generally Famous host Simon Bridges that Taskmaster NZ was unlike anything he’d done before.
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Comedy icon Dai Henwood says excitement about appearing on Taskmaster NZ helped him through his cancer treatment.
Henwood stars in the new series of the TV phenomenon, which began this week.
Appearing on the latest episode of Stuff’s celebrity interview podcast Generally Famous, the comic, actor and broadcaster chatted to host Simon Bridges about his long career.
The pair discussed Henwood’s famous forebears, why he pursued a career in comedy – and a tattoo-related Taskmaster shock.
They also talked about the stage 4 bowel cancer diagnosis Henwood went public with in January.
TVNZ 2
Taskmaster NZ returns for season four, Monday August 14 on TVNZ 2.
Asked if appearing on shows like Taskmaster was for distraction or enjoyment, Henwood said he loved working.
“It’s my Zen point, if you know what I mean, when I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m filming, I don’t think about anything.
“I was doing a huge round of chemo and radiation at the end of last year and that’s when I got word [about] Taskmaster. And I was so excited, and it was such a huge thing to look forward to.
“The thing is, I’m living with cancer, that’s my whole way of framing it. I’m living with it. So I’m going to get out there.”
Henwood said Taskmaster – a hit global franchise which sees five comedians perform a string of silly tasks across a whole season of shows – is different from anything else he’s done.
The cast for season four of Taskmaster NZ, clockwise from left: Karen O’Leary, Melanie Bracewell, Ray O’Leary, Sieni Leo’o Olo AKA Bubbah, Dai Henwood, Paul Williams and Jeremy Wells.
“It was more me as a contestant type thing, so it was moving away from traditional comedy.
“Honestly, being on it with [fellow contestants] Melanie Bracewell, Ray O’Leary, Karen O’Leary – they’re not related – Bubbah and myself, we became such good buddies.
“As someone who is doing cancer treatment, and I don’t quite know when that comes to an end, it really solidifies enjoyment to me. And when I’m doing a project like that, I honestly just love it and I cherish those moments.”
Taskmaster NZ is on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+, with new episodes every Monday and Tuesday.
To listen to the full interview, in which Henwood also talks about his relationships with mindfulness and medicinal marijuana, click the play icon on the audio player at the top of this story or visit the Generally Famous homepage.
There’s a new episode of Generally Famous every Wednesday. Follow the show on Apple, Spotify – or wherever else you get your podcasts – to get instant, automatic access.
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