Rebecca Gibney on being crowned the Queen of Oz tv
Rebecca Gibney has become the fourth woman and the fourth Kiwi to be inducted into the Australian television hall of fame. Photo / Getty Images
Since 1984 – about the time an aspiring young Wellington actress called Rebecca Gibney was considering a shift across the Tasman – the Logie Hall of Fame has honoured the long-serving greats of Australian television.
In mid-August, Gibney became the fourth woman and the fourth Kiwi to get the industry tribute at the annual TV Week Logie Awards, recognising the fixture she’s been on Aussie screens through the years in shows like The Flying Doctors, Halifax f.p., Packed to the Rafters, Wanted, and more recently, the NZ-made Under the Vines.
Among those making the induction speeches was Gibney’s 20-year-old son Zac Bell, who is now in his third year at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. Gibney and her production designer husband Richard Bell have just relocated from the coastal Dunedin home they’ve lived in since 2016 to the Marlborough Sounds, where the Listener catches up with her while she’s still unpacking from the house move and is looking forward to heading overseas for an Australian travel show.
It would appear that from the footage of your induction, you were not only inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame, but also made mother of the century. How are you feeling after the event?
To be honest, it’s still a bit surreal. I was completely blown away to be considered, let alone for it to happen and I am grateful for the honour and very proud. And Zac was incredible with his speech. I think that was the thing that tipped me over the edge.
Between This Is Your Life in 2022 and the Logies it seems a major part of the Australian television industry is now devoted to getting you on stage and making you cry. What do you think – other than an illustrious career – has brought this on now?
Ha, ha. I’m a good crier? I have always been incredibly open with my life and my career in Australia and in most interviews, no subject has been off limits. I guess when they were looking for another woman to be inducted – there are still only four – I think the feeling that I have been around for so long, worked very hard, and try to make life easy on set for everyone might have helped. My motto, learned on the set of The Flying Doctors from the legendary, late, great actor Maurie Fields, was: “Show up on time, know your lines and don’t be a dick.” Maybe that’s it?
Yes, you are the fourth woman and the fourth Kiwi. Any thoughts on those numbers?
Well, hopefully this is the start of many more women to come. I have no idea why it’s taken so long and why there are so few, as most of my life and career has been shaped by the women in it – from my mother to my first agent and the many female producers, directors, writers, actors and crew who have encouraged me to step behind the scenes and take more control over my roles. There is a huge array of phenomenal women in this industry, and I think they are recognising that. I could give them a list …
Looking at that list of past hall-of-famers, if there was a dinner party, who would you like to sit next to?