1991–1996 original The original New Zealand version of the popular American game show
Wheel of Fortune was first broadcast in February 1991, on TVNZ channel
TV2, at 5:30pm. The show, which was heavily modeled after
Australia's version, was originally hosted by
Phillip Leishman with co-host
Lana Coc-Kroft, along with Grant Walker (also doing New Zealand's version of
Sale of the Century at the time) as announcer.
Simon Barnett became the new host in March 1996. During its time the show aired on various time slots and switched between TV ONE and TV2; at the show's peak it aired in prime time on TV ONE at 7:00pm, a time slot previously used to screen
Sale of the Century, but moved off this slot in 1995 when TV ONE extended their news to a one-hour show followed by
Holmes. After moving to TV2 in a 6:00pm time slot the show was ultimately axed in May 1996 as the show could not compete with the 6pm news shows on TV ONE and TV3.
2008–2009 return On 14 April 2008 the New Zealand version of Wheel of Fortune returned again to TVNZ channel TV ONE. The show returned with new hosts
Jason Gunn and Sonia Gray. The show now airs at 5:30 pm local time. At the conclusion of the filming of the 2008 season, TVNZ announced the show will return in 2009 bigger and better. Additionally, Jason Gunn officially announced that his co-host Sonia Gray was pregnant with twins and that she would return to co-host the show after her pregnancy.
Greer Robson temporarily took Gray's role on the show until she returned on 2 May 2009. It was announced on 2 May 2009 that the series was being cancelled after only one year on air. The reasons given by TVNZ for the cancellation were lower ratings than the previous season, decreased advertising revenue and the high cost of producing the show. Lower ratings may have resulted after the reformatting of the show interrupted its flow due to an increased emphasis on 'Speed Digits'. The last show was screened on 2 May 2009. ==David Tua incident==