Jenny-May Clarkson will leave Breakfast in November. Photo / TVNZ
TVNZ presenter Jenny-May Clarkson is departing as Breakfast host, with the network today announcing it will be refreshing the show in 2026.
Clarkson’s final broadcast will be on November 21, TVNZ confirmed in a statement.
The presenter has been in the role since 2020, most recently alongside Chris Chang, and is one of the network’s longest-serving presenters.
She’s also the first wahine Māori to be appointed to the Breakfast co-host role — representing her Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kahu heritage.
Clarkson said it’s been an incredible journey over the last five years.
“I’m grateful to our audience who have welcomed me into their homes each morning. It’s been a privilege and an honour to be part of compassionate broadcasting — creating space for all voices, and being trusted to hold those conversations with empathy, humility, and respect.
“This was always a privilege, never a right. I leave with gratitude, proud of what we’ve achieved together, and thankful for the trust and support of our viewers over the past six years.”
Chief news and content officer Nadia Tolich added Clarkson brought connection and compassion to the role.
“Jenny-May is a talented broadcaster who has shown an amazing ability to connect with audiences and capture raw emotion on screen, showing empathy with communities often in tragic situations, like through TVNZ’s award-winning Cyclone Gabrielle coverage.
“She’s broadcast live and breaking news, helmed Commonwealth Games coverage and played a pivotal role in delivering domestic Netball free-to-air once again. I know New Zealanders will miss her presence on the Breakfast couch each morning and we all appreciate the effort she has given to this role.”
TVNZ said it will commence a process to appoint a new Breakfast presenter.
The news comes after a host of other changes at TVNZ, sparked by the departure of Simon Dallow from the 6pm newsreader role.
Dallow had been in the role for 20 years, and his departure marked the end of an era for 1News at Six, TVNZ said at the time of the announcement, adding “we are deeply grateful for his years of service”.
He is due to depart the role in two weeks, with Melissa Stokes confirmed as his replacement for the network’s key role from November 29. Stokes will host the programme from Sunday to Thursday.
Q+A host Jack Tame will replace Stokes as TVNZ’s 6pm newsreader on Fridays and Saturdays. Tame will also continue to host Q+A.
Before she was a regular feature on our screens, Clarkson made her name on the court.
She became a household name at age 23, debuting as a Silver Fern in 1997. She played 26 tests over six years for the team and also represented Aotearoa in touch rugby.
After retiring from competitive sport, she applied for a job as a sports presenter with TVNZ in 2005, following a chance encounter, and has been with the network ever since. Before that, she was studying part-time to become a teacher. She also worked as a police officer in Hamilton.
The presenter married husband Dean Clarkson in 2015, and the pair welcomed twin sons, Atawhai and Te Manahau, in 2016.
She moved from sports news presenting in 2019, replacing Daniel Faitaua on Breakfast, when he left to take the network’s European correspondent role. She then landed a permanent spot on the couch in 2020, following the departure of Hayley Holt.
In early 2024, Clarkson marked a personal milestone, of turning 50, alongside her journey to reclaim her Māori heritage by getting a moko kauae.
Clarkson was the first member of her family to wear moko kauae since her great-grandmother.
She acknowledged her anxiety about the public’s reaction to the facial tattoo, revealing that she had struggled with what people would say when they saw it.
Speaking to Paula Bennett on her Ask Me Anything podcast, Clarkson told the host she was even fearful she might lose her livelihood because of it.
“I was just saying, ‘This is what I’m doing, just letting you know.’ I had expected that I might lose my job - don’t ask me why. I guess it was just one of those things that went through my head, which I wasn’t that concerned about, because this was about me and what I wanted to do.“
While she was met with a largely positive reaction, there was also a fair share of negativity online surrounding her decision.
“I don’t read comments. I mean, I saw one the other day, Clarkson Scribbleface, I think it was. I shouldn’t have cared about it, but I did, and just for that moment, my heart kind of...
“And then my thought went to ‘I feel really sorry for you that you are stuck in your little world’.“Yes, there were the negative comments, but, again, I don’t have access to the inbox - for good reason.”
Clarkson had plenty of memorable moments on-screen during her time as Breakfast host.
In 2021, Clarkson reacted to Act Party leader David Seymour’s decision to tweet out a vaccine code, reserved for Māori to get advanced access to the Covid-19 vaccine, slamming the politician for his decision.
Speaking to clinical immunologist Dr Maia Brewerton about Māori vaccine rates, Clarkson asked why it was important for Māori to be prioritised.
“We work in a system where Māori have a life expectancy that is seven years less than non-Māori, so you can understand that there might be some mistrust there if a system has served you that way.”
Clarkson got emotional, asking Brewerton to repeat the statistic, saying, “I think we need to make that really clear”.
In November 2024, Clarkson again challenged the Act leader, this time on the Treaty Principles Bill on-air and the heated exchange made headlines. The debate generated significant public reaction and commentary online.
In October this year, Clarkson had a hilarious on-screen fit of laughter which lasted nearly two minutes, following mispronouncing the name of a German museum.
Clarkson fumbled over the pronunciation of “Hessische Landesmuseum”, which is the name of the art and natural history museum for the state of Hesse.
“In the opening scenes of the video for her song The Fate of Ophelia mimics a work by German painter Friedrich Heyser, which hangs in the Hessische Landesmuseum,” she said before pausing and laughing.
Breakfast co-presenter Chris Chang told Clarkson she’d “nailed it” before Clarkson tried, and failed, to carry on with the rest of the segment.