Henry in 7pm slot would be dicey call for MediaWorks

Paul Henry. Photo / Sarah Ivey

MediaWorks will be tempted to put Paul Henry in the 7pm slot being vacated by John Campbell, continuing with Henry's morning experiment broadcasting on TV3 and RadioLive from 6am to 9am.

On the face of it that would be disastrous, turning around the target audience and abandoning a newly revived following. The two presenters' audiences are diametrically opposed and Henry has had a rotten start in his morning show ratings.

But chief executive Mark Weldon and board member Julie Christie love Henry as the face of the company. MediaWorks has already made it clear the new show would not be just a tweaking of the Campbell Live format.

Other names spring to mind as alternatives to Henry.

The first is Duncan Garner, who has a job hosting the drive time show on Radio Live. At the end of last year, Garner opted to stick with MediaWorks and rejected an offer to take over from Leighton Smith at Newstalk ZB.

Another being mentioned in dispatches is Wayne Hay, who has been pushed out of a role on Prime News with the return of Eric Young. And Jack Tame would have the ability to host such a show - if he could be coaxed away from his role with TVNZ in New York and his work with NewstalkZB.

The appointment of Henry as the main host for the new show would create the biggest problems. Some people just could not work with him.

In my opinion, the best option - if they could get her away from Seven Sharp - would be Heather Du Plessis Allan. She would hold her own against Henry, or any co-presenter.

There is, of course, the chance of Henry and Hilary Barry working together again. But she would have to give up on 3News.

Another option is Alison Mau, who worked with Henry when they hosted Breakfast for TVNZ. Mau now works at MediaWorks alongside Willy Jackson on RadioLive. However, it is understood that Weldon is not a fan of the Willy and Ali show the same way he is of Henry.

Other potentials include Samantha Hayes or an outsider like Stacey Morrison - who previously tried out for TV One's Seven Sharp.