New Zealand Woman’s Weekly Issue 14, 2022

TVNZ 1 show The Repair Shop might restore battered and broken family heirlooms back to life, but nothing could prepare the team for the havoc caused by Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Dame Judi Dench! The trio of iconic actresses ran riot in the workshop of the beloved British show for a Comic Relief sketch to support Red Nose Day. In the skit, comic partners Dawn, 64, and Jennifer, 63, arrive in the rustic barn to ask restorers Jay Blades and Steven Fletcher to repair a – well, rather unusual item. Then, things only get more complicated when Dame Judi, 87, and her actress daughter Finty Williams, 49, arrive. Before filming the sketch, Dame Judi confessed to having a crush on foreman Jay, 52. And after the skit, Jennifer told, “She’s a huge fan, Dame…

I am so excited about this week’s issue celebrating the wedding of Sam and Sarah Wallace! Weekly readers will have been following their romantic love story over the years, from the surprise announcement they were having twin daughters, to their engagement, and then of course welcoming Sienna and Cosette to the world. So it is just wonderful that they are sharing all the details of their special day with us. I thought they were very brave sticking to their plans with Omicron surging around the country. About four weeks ago, I called them (they were outside on the trampoline with their kids) because I was getting worried – what if the photographer had to pull out at the last minute? Or the make-up artist? We needed a back-up plan! But…

‘When I walked out, I thought, “This is really happening,” and it was such a relief’ It’s not a traditional wedding tune, but as far as Sam and Sarah Wallace are concerned, the romantic Jason Mraz song I Won’t Give Up was the perfect way to begin the touching ceremony that saw them become husband and wife. It also turned out to symbolise the couple’s determination to make their wedding the best day of their lives, despite some trying circumstances. As Sarah walked up the aisle on the arm of her dad Ross towards Coast FM breakfast host Sam last week, the lyrics, “I won’t give up on us, Even when the skies get rough, I’m giving you all my love, I’m still looking up,” rang out through the garden of the…

Michael Flatley once insured his legs for more than $45 million, owns a private jet and a Ferarri – but the world-famous dancer says he has also paid a huge price for his success. “My spinal column is a problem,” the Riverdance and Lord of the Dance creator revealed recently. “My [vertebrae] C1 is gone. C3, T1… my hip ligaments. I have a torn right calf muscle, two ruptured Achilles tendons and my shoulders need shots in them, otherwise I’ll have to have them replaced. “I do try to get to the gym, but the old legs start to argue back, to the point where it’s almost prohibitive. “There’s a whole heap of other stuff, but it doesn’t bother me. Dancers have to make friends with pain. If you feel like complaining you have…

Back home in Britain there are fears for the health of the Queen, but half a world away in the Caribbean, future king Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge were showing that the monarchy is in safe hands. Her Majesty’s increasing frailty – according to some reports, the 95-year-old is now using a wheelchair much of the time behind the scenes – is cause for concern. But the monarch herself will have watched the skill and confidence with which her grandson and his wife undertook a visit to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas on her behalf, and been able to relax, knowing they have done her proud. “Obviously the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are not novices when it comes to overseas tours – they’ve represented Her Majesty on…

Nearly two years after signing a whopping $37 million deal with Spotify, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is finally about to launch her debut podcast on the platform. For a while it looked like the agreement she and husband Prince Harry, 37, signed to produce podcasts might be in jeopardy after they called on the company to crack down on Covid vaccine misinformation spread by fellow Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan. But it seems like they’ve been able to sort out their differences. A statement released by their Archewell Foundation says they had worked with the music streaming giant to “ensure that the digital technologies so many of us use every day are rooted in strong principles of trust and safety. “We are encouraged by ongoing conversations we’ve had with Spotify on this shared goal,…