Wells first appeared on television in 1997 on
MTV. He later appeared as Newsboy on
Mikey Havoc's television show. Wells and Havoc went their separate ways when the show finished - Havoc fronting a show on TV3 and Wells hosting
Eating Media Lunch on TVNZ. He also presented the satirical
The Unauthorised History of New Zealand in 2005 and an episode of
Intrepid Journeys in 2007. The
New Zealand Listener described Wells' deadpan delivery as "newsnight-of-the-living-dead", saying he would be "compelling viewing reading the phone book." Wells became notorious in November 2003 when an episode of
Eating Media Lunch spoofed the
current affairs programme
Target, which often used hidden cameras to catch unreliable tradespersons or workers. The spoof depicted two actors as
Target camera technicians in someone else's home, caught on hidden camera in acts such as
masturbation,
defecation (on a kitchen stove), drug use and
phone sex. One technician stripped naked, covered himself with cling wrap, and appeared to
urinate on the other technician. Several viewers complained but, in March 2004, the BSA (
Broadcasting Standards Authority) of New Zealand found the episode had not breached any guidelines. Wells and Havoc satirically labelled
Gore the gay capital of New Zealand in 1999, during ''Havoc and Newsboy's Sell-out Tour''. Returning to town to cover the
2008 election, Wells was confronted by 15 men angry over the comments. The group started harassing him at a petrol station, and followed him back to his hotel room. They harassed him for 90 minutes and he was trapped in his hotel room until the police were called. Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said Wells was "either very brave or very stupid" for coming back. Wells spent 23 days travelling with the 108 members of the
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in October 2010 and produced a documentary
The Grand Tour, a product of his own interest in classical music. The programme contains several interviews with the musicians and support crew, including
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Wells co-hosted
The Saturday Special with Steve Simpson on
bFM; the show continued when both hosts moved to Radio Hauraki. In 2014, Wells changed shows to become a co-host of the Radio Hauraki breakfast show, alongside
Matt Heath and Laura McGoldrick. Since 2018, he has co-hosted TVNZ's
Seven Sharp with
Hilary Barry, and from 2020 he is the host and titular Taskmaster of
Taskmaster New Zealand, the New Zealand version of the TV series
Taskmaster, with
Paul Williams as the Taskmaster's assistant. In November 2020 he was named one of the best dressed men in show business on
David Hartnell MNZM's Best Dressed List. == Personal life ==