Long-time entertainment gossip reporter David Hartnell has lashed out at TVOne's Good Morning co-host Steven Gray in his latest NZ Truth newspaper column, saying Gray's 'overblown ego' is not needed on the show. "Why has part-time movie reviewer Steven Gray been elevated to presenter alongside the two original hosts, Sarah Bradley and Brendon Pongia?" the gossip-merchant writes in a column titled 'Steve surplus to Good Morning show - Three's a Crowd'. "One minute TVNZ is slashing front people from their screens to cut costs, then they add Steve as a full-timer ... Hello! Just how many people does it take to front the three-hour long infomercial?" remarks Hartnell. With the three presenters, 'Good Morning', a lifestyle programme on TVOne each weekday at 9am, has become "a total gabfest", he continues. "Brendon and Sarah do a great job fronting the show. They certainly don't need the overblown egos of others raining on their parade. If this situation had happened in Hollywood I'd put it down simply to the casting couch working overtime," he concludes. Gray, who was a regular cinema and DVD reviewer on Good Morning for eleven years, was asked to be a regular host in July - and the openly-gay presenter refutes Hartnell's 'casting couch' theory, saying his boss is a woman. "The decision was made due to positive audience feedback and ratings have been going up - people are loving the three hosts," Gray responds. "But as Oscar Wilde said, 'The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about'." Hartnell's latest column may signify a change in policy for the celebrity writer. At the launch of his Hollywood trivia book in 2003 he revealed his survival for more than 30 years in show business was because he's never nasty. “Good gossip is tongue in cheek… funny, happy trivia. It's not malicious," Hartnell told the Sunday News at the time. Ref: NZ Truth, GayNZ.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 13th September 2007 - 3:54pm