Julie Christie on Reality TV Secrets, The Truth About Matthew Ridge & Marc Ellis, Damehood Criticism

Dame Julie Christie is a powerhouse businesswoman and TV producer. 

She became a Dame in 2017 and in late 2024 she was named “Legend of the year” at the NZ TV awards.

She has been called many things over the years- the Queen of Reality TV is a popular one. 

One newspaper columnist called her a Cultural Vandal once- we get into all the criticism in this conversation.

Me? I’d call Dame Julie Christie a mate. And a person with a big heart and an even bigger work ethic.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about her early years growing up and how that shaper her, her path from journalism into TV, the TV shows and the huge careers she helped build, the criticism and backlash, work life balance, her thoughts on the state of reality TV now with shows like Love Island, regrets, reflections, lessons and much much more.

You may or may not know the name- but you have definitely consumed hours of TV made by Dame Julie over your lifetime. And you are about to lean more about a great New Zealander- one who is incredibly reluctant to talk about herself- so this is a rare treat.

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Thanks so much to the sponsors of this episode, the epic team at the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme.

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**The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guests and may not reflect the views of the show sponsors**

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