Henry guests on TV show

Paul Henry. Photo / Greg Bowker

Paul Henry has returned to breakfast television - and jokingly proposed the idea of a world tour with Sheila Dikshit to promote peace and reconciliation.

The former TVNZ Breakfast host appeared on Australia's Sunrise show for a candid interview in which he spoke about the comments he made about Ms Dikshit's name. Henry received four formal complaints after he laughed at the name of India's Commonwealth Games official in October.

"What is the greatest insult? Laughing at someone's truly humorous name in another country? Or organisations deliberately mispronouncing it so that people won't find it funny?

"The biggest insult is deliberately mispronouncing the name."

He said New Zealand's reaction to the comments was "extreme".

When asked what he is doing now, Henry said he was "fielding inquiries". The Herald on Sunday reported he has been approached by American television producers to create a reality-style show on his life.