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July 9, 2025 11 mins

Antonia Prebble is a mainstay of New Zealand’s evening TV viewing. 

She had just hit her 20’s when she was cast in 'Outrageous Fortune', becoming a household name. 

They’re now celebrating the 20th anniversary of the iconic comedy-drama show, plus the 10th anniversary of the prequel series 'Westside'. 

Prebble has expanded since then, and while she still partakes in international productions, she also runs a successful podcast ‘What Matters Most’, which is now on its 4th season. 

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan it’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since 'Outrageous Fortune'. 

“I just turned 41, so I started Outrageous when I was twenty and a half – literally half my life ago.” 

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you have watched any New Zealand tally in just
the last couple of decades seven past that, by the way,
then our next guest has been a mainstay of your viewing.
And Tonia Preble, she just had her twenties when she
was cast an Outrageous Fortune, became a household name. They
are now celebrating the twentieth anniversary of this show, plus
the tenth anniversary of the prequel series, West Side. Antonia

(00:21):
has since gone on to do other things, and she's
doing international productions, also running a successful podcast, What Matters Most,
and Antonia Preble joins me, now morning, Antonia.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good morning here that I can't believe it's.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Twenty years, can you?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
No? I really can't.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
And you know the thing that makes me feel the
most weird inside my belly about this is I just
turned forty one.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
So I did it.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
I started Outrageous when I was twenty and a half,
literally half my life ago. So when I think to
myself that I had the same amount of life pre
Outrageous Fortune as I have had post starting Outrageous Fortune,
I can't believe that.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
So it's at the midpoint of my life.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Is it overwhelming to think of that.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
It's not overwhelming.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
It just makes me feel very sort of strange and
a bit kind of queasy because the first twenty years
of my life, as I'm sure it feels the same few,
they were interminable, you know, the growing up years, going
to high school for what felt like in millenniars, and
then the last twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Years have just flown by. So yeah, I can't believe it.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Yeah, which is kind of worrying because then you think, well,
what about the next forty years? And then you know
life is over?

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Do you everyone?

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Yeah? Do you ever go back and watch it?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Do you know what?

Speaker 3 (01:31):
I don't intentionally go back and watch it, and not
for any specific reason. I actually I do sometimes find
watching the things I'm in difficult, but now, because it
was twenty years ago, there is enough distance for me
to be able to see it with some objectivity. But
I kind of just don't often think too. You know,
life's busy and there's lots of current shows to watch.

(01:51):
But there's been quite a few posts on social media
that I've been tagged in to celebrate this twenty years,
with various clips from the show, and so I watched
them whenever I'm tagged in them, and I just get
transported straight back to that time. You know, the scene
where Cheryl tells us we're going straight I remember, I
remember shooting that scene. I remember the direction that we

(02:13):
were all being given by our director. That there was
such a visceral, palpable time in my life. So yeah,
I just get transported back there. But I have to
say I really like it still, Like I think in
its own way, it has stood the test of time.
Like it looks a bit dated because just you know,
cameras and lighting and everything was different. But I still

(02:33):
really enjoy the story. And the poem says, which is
really nice.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
You are you aware of how big that show was?
And I'm asking this because sometimes when you're doing something
and you're in the middle of it, you can't quite
appreciate what is actually happening to you. But with time,
have you come to realize how massive that show was
in this country?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (02:52):
It's such a good question, and it's so true because
when we started the show, i'd say season one, season two,
we had no idea really, like we felt on set
collectively that there was kind of a bit of a
magic happening. There was a kind of this electricity that
was created that felt really special. But even that's not
a good litmus test because I've had that feeling on

(03:13):
other shows and then no one watches it and it's
not good, or you don't think the show is good,
and then for some reason it really finds an audience
and is great. So we were having a good time
but had no idea really if that would translate, and
I think we sort of squeaked in to get funding
for season two. I don't know how. I mean, I
think season one was well received but not crazy successful.
So it wasn't until about season three when we've got

(03:36):
renewed for like eighteen episodes, which was, you know, pretty
unheard of, and we started really getting stopped in the
street a lot more that we realized we were kind
of onto something. But I think in a way, I'm
sort of surprised every day, like it's now we're talking
about the show that we did twenty years ago, and
here we are talking about it, you know. So the
fact that the legacy has endured this long, I think

(03:57):
is still still quite startling and so lovely. Now I
feel so special to be part of a show that
people still want to talk about twenty.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Years later, How do you feel about the state of
local TV at the moment. Is it sad to you
that we do not provide as much of it as
we used to.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, it's really sad.

Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yeah, I don't know many actors or crew who are
like having a good time at the moment.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Almost all of the people who I know who work
in the screen sector are struggling.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
And yeah, it is just you know, put the post
COVID issues, America is having its own issues, which you
know has a flow on effect from here.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
So yeah, I do think it's sad.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
It's a lot harder to get things funded, particularly at
a more premium level, without having international funding.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Attached, which is really hard to get. So yeah, it is.
It is sad.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
I mean I try not to get to sort of
generally downhearted about things, because what's the point, you know,
then you're just sort of spen your life being miserable.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
So I tried it, you know, be optimistic.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
But I do have to say that I in my
conversations with my peers, there's no one sort of having
the best time at the moment.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Yeah, we still need to see ourselves on Telly right
as a country, right, now we're talking about the possibility
that even Shortland Street doesn't come back next year. How
do you see yourselves on tally in a small country
like New Zealand where everybody is subscribing to Disney and
Amazon and Netflix, how do you actually make sure that
we are on tally?

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well?

Speaker 3 (05:18):
I think we have to have government charters to make
sure that we do have enough funding to tell our
own stories. And other countries with similar populations, like Ireland,
do it really well. You know, they have an amazing
output of TV and they just really value the arts because,
as you say, they recognize the value of having their
own stories on screen.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
And I think that was kind of amazing.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Thing about Outrageous Does to take it back to that
is because it was sort of one of the first
times where we felt quite like proud about.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Seeing ourselves on screen.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
You know, we have this huge cringe factor about tall
poppy syndrome in New Zealand, and when that show came on,
which was celebrating and really was celebrating, it was never
poking fun at a very.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Specific part of our culture.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think for the first time, New Zealanders were like,
we love seeing we love us, No, we love hearing
our voices. So what a shame if we if we
don't get that opportunity anymore and across a diverse range
of voices and a diverse range of stories.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Because yeah, I think it's.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
A it's such an important reflection of who we are
to sort of find out who we are, or to
keep learning and discovering who we are and moving forward
as a culture in a society.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
And that is gone. Yeah, what are we lift with
just learning how to be Americans?

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well exactly? Can I talk to you about after the party?
Because your husband was involved with that, right, yes he was. Okay,
that ending sucked, didn't it. I loved that. Well, I
say this, but I'm conflicted when I say this game.
I loved it. I think it is the best television
that we have done out of the country in a
long time. But it was to neat at the end.

(06:53):
I hope this is not a spoiler, but it's too
neat at the end that the bad guy dies.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, right, I yet, fair enough. I didn't mind it.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
I sort of felt like it was true to the
story and true to what the characters would have done.
And I also really liked the the kind of synergy
and the parallels of what happened after the party and
what happened after the party, you know, the parties beginning it.
So look, I didn't mind it, but I hear I
think that's that's that's a Valot point of view.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
Look, I'll pass it on to Dan. So look here,
that's not heavy with the ending. Okay.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Well when you pass it on, though, make sure that
you primarily say she gives it like a strong nine
out of ten. And the only missing star is because
he should have suffered with everybody knowing what he did.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah, fair enough, like suffered consciously rather than just dying.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, it was it was an easy escape for him.
I've totally blown the ending for anybody who hasn't seen it.
By the way, I have heard, right because because because yeah,
your husband's involved in Taliaza you I've heard that you
were involved some sort of an unnamed international production. What's
going on?

Speaker 3 (07:59):
Oh yes, I'm something film, Well possibly the thing I'm
filming at the moment.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
That does that sound? Is it?

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Are we allowed to know about this or is it
a secret?

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Look? I think so.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Look, I'll just say get in trouble later. Yeah, it's
a show called MS X and it's it's plus six
four which is a New Zealand production company and copro
with FPP. And then they've got some American investment as well.
And do you know Melissa George. Do you remember Melissa George?
She she stole my heart as an eight year old

(08:31):
when she played Angel and Home and Away, but she's
gone on to have a very illustrious career after that.
So she's the lead alongside Dino Gorman who we love,
and Simone Kessel And yeah, I'm in it as well,
and I just play I honestly that I've had the
most fun playing this character.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's very different.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
In fact, couldn't be more opposite to like Larta West,
let's say. So when it comes out, I think people
be like, oh, we've never quite seen Antonio do a
role like this, and it's been so fun.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
I've almost I'm almost finished. I've got a couple of
more days to go. But yes, so this is.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
A New Zealand azzy production.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Is it? It's just a New Zealand production but with
American funding. Oh I see outers of Facts plast six.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Four and then some American funds.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Why are the Americans funding our shows?

Speaker 3 (09:14):
Why are they interested, Well, we have to have Americans
or some other international body funding our shows. Now, if
you really want any show that's at a premium level,
anything over about three million dollars, New Zealand Air just
won't fund it anymore.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
So you just have to go looking.

Speaker 3 (09:31):
And I think international production companies or distribution companies that
they're looking for a show that they think they can sell,
that they'll they'll make money on. And they really like
these scripts and really like this idea. So so got
on board with it.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
Brilliant stuff. Now, Also, before I let you go, I
want to understand something because you're a wedding celebrant, and
I'm noticing I've got a lot of friends in the
media who are wedding celebrants, you know, for example, Matt McLain, who,
Maddie Who? Does you know the heads or whatever? What's
up with all you got becoming a wedding celebrants?

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Oh that's funny.

Speaker 3 (10:03):
Well, I suppose it feels like a bit more of
a natural quite a natural fit for the skills you
already have, which is, you know, being a communicator, being
a presenter. The reason I got my license was because
some friends of my brothers actually wanted to get married,
and I thought, oh great, I'll do that. And I
think for like, for me, it's a really lovely thing
to do. But it also fits really well around other work.

(10:25):
So you know, you can just I only do like
a few a year, but it's a lovely thing to do.
And yeah, I think you know, it fits fits quite
well probably with people in this industry and what they do.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
Probably it's the performance, isn't it. You're a performer and
then you're just a performer at somebody's wedding.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
You are, Yeah, and you're connecting people and you know
it's about relationships and yeah, giving us sort of speech. Yeah, brilliant.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
Hey, it's been absolutely lovely to talk to you, Antonia.
I'm so pleased to hear that you're doing this wonderful
show and I can't wait for it to come out.
Thank you, Antonia Prebble of Outrageous Fortune. By the way, Antonia,
I told you at the start. Antonia Prebble's doing this podcast.
It's called What Matters Most and Base. She talks therapy
with her friend who's an expert in this, Jackie Maguire.
They're in their fourth season of it, episode one of

(11:06):
what matters most comes out tomorrow. It's on perfectionism, which
is you'll know is a blessing and a curse. Perfectionism
makes you good at your job, but huh, it's exhausting,
isn't it if you start doing it on everything like
dinner prep? Anyway, Tune into that for more from the
Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen live to news talks that'd be
from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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