But the former foreign correspondent hit the ground running, interviewing incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on the show - the first day on the job for both of them.
He told Burns-Francis, “A lot has happened in a year and so there is a need for us, as a Government, to refocus and to make sure that we’re really focused on those bread and butter issues that New Zealanders are focused on at the moment.
”For many Kiwis, that was about their grocery, electricity bills and mortgage rates, for example. They want to know that the Government’s got their back.”
Meanwhile, Chang has swapped his former sports reporting role for a bit of everything, from presenting the news bulletin to the weather and heading out into the field to report on Chinese New Year celebrations.
And self-confessed “hard news nut” Burns-Francis was clearly in her element with the newsier aspects of the show, as well as providing a dry sense of humour that played well with her charismatic co-hosts Clarkson and McLean.
The team chatted New Year’s resolutions, transport issues, the Waiheke sausage mystery and Chinese New Year celebrations.
It comes after Burns-Francis told the Herald over the weekend that she was looking forward to “digging into some of the harder interviews” on Breakfast.
“I like hard news. I like interviews. I really like live TV ... obviously it’s an election year, and what a week to be starting the show,” she said of Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation last Thursday.
The former US correspondent also thought she’d flunked her audition at the time, telling the Herald, “I was jet lagged. I was a little bit stressed about trying to do a really good job. I flew back to the States just full of dread.”
Meanwhile, Breakfast’s competitor AM has given an update on host Bernadine Oliver-Kerby’s health battle.
Last year the popular television presenter took extended leave from the AM show as it was revealed she was suffering from Bell’s palsy, a condition which causes facial paralysis. According to Newshub, Oliver-Kerby has since been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which displays similar symptoms to Bell’s palsy.
This morning Oliver-Kerby’s co-hosts shared an update on their colleague’s condition.
Ryan Bridge told viewers: “She’s making great progress. She is missing you all, she sent us a text to say that, but she also has a little more resting to do.”
And Melissa Chan-Green added: “We’re really looking forward to having Bern back with us soon.”
Late last week a Discovery Warner Bros. spokesperson told the Herald Oliver-Kerby was still recovering from the condition which struck her in October, with treatment at Auckland Hospital.
