He would also be pleased to work with Maryanne Ahern, a long time colleague, who was producer of Q + A.
But he had not heard back and he needed to know soon because he had other options to pursue. Interviewer Shane Taurima is expected to return.
Paul Holmes stepped down late last year due to ill health.
Then his replacement Greg Boyed moved to become one of three presenters on the TV One show Seven Sharp.
TVNZ has been caught with little interviewer talent while rivals at MediaWorks now have Guyon Espiner, Duncan Garner, Sean Plunket and Rachel Smalley, as well as John Campbell
The other obvious choice for Q + A is Mike Hosking, who has lost his gig presenting Close Up on Fridays due to Seven Sharp and is now off TV altogether.
Hosking is highly regarded as an interviewer, but carries extra baggage from commercial relations he has with corporates, including Sky City and Lexus,
Its not clear whether Hosking has been approached for Q + A or whether his commercial relationships with Lexus would be a factor limiting TVNZ's ability to hire him.
But while on Close Up he was restricted from covering any stories involving SkyCity,