Marc Ellis resigns from Charlie's, holds on to TV job

Marc Ellis, the unnamed "sports celebrity", arrives at Auckland District Court accompanied by a detective. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Marc Ellis has held on to his television job for now but lost his place around the boardroom table after admitting he bought five Ecstasy pills for personal use.

The television celebrity and former All Black was convicted in the Auckland District Court yesterday of possessing the class-B drug.

He was fined $300 and ordered to pay court costs of $130.

He later offered his resignation to the board of juice company Charlie's, and it was accepted. Ellis was a co-founder and director of Charlie's and played a key role in the company's marketing.

But it is as a television host that he is better known these days, with regular appearances on Touchdown-produced shows on TVNZ. The broadcaster said yesterday that it would continue screening Game of Two Halves and Matthew and Marc's Rocky Road To South America.

However, the drug conviction would be a factor in decisions about future shows.

It was a long day for the normally jovial Ellis, beginning with a visit to the Auckland Central police station at 9.45am to be charged by drug squad detectives and then "processed" - photographed and fingerprinted for the national crime database.

Two hours later, the officers escorted Ellis to court in an unmarked police car and walked him through a back entrance to wait in custody for his afternoon appearance.

Ellis walked into the dock just after 3pm, stood with his head up and confirmed the worst-kept secret in the country: that he had been caught up in a so-called white-collar drug ring busted by police last month.

Former league player Brent Todd was this month identified as the other celebrity. He is named in court documents as a joint offender in supplying cocaine and cannabis but has not been charged with any offence.

In court yesterday, lawyer Robert Fardell, QC, said Ellis, who still holds the record for the most tries by an All Black in a test (six against Japan in the 1995 World Cup), did not seek name suppression and accepted responsibility for his actions.

Crown prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch said Ellis and an associate, who was not identified, went to the apartment of another man, who is currently facing charges, on June 25 to buy Ecstasy.

The man explained to Ellis and his friend that he had tablets that were "beautiful" and asked, "Do you want 10?"

Ellis spoke to his friend and they agreed they wanted 10 pills.