TVNZ's new Breakfast team take to the air

Petra Bagust and Corin Dann have taken over from Pippa Wetzell and Paul Henry. Photo / TVNZ

The first appearance of new Breakfast hosts Petra Bagust and Corin Dann has been met with praise from TVNZ but viewers are going to take a bit longer to be won over.

The pair, who hosted the show for the first time yesterday, have big shoes to fill in replacing the popular combination of Pippa Wetzell, who left to have her third child, and Paul Henry, who resigned from the network after a series of controversial comments.

Ratings for the episode are expected later today but TVNZ says ratings are best used as a measure of a trend over a period of months, not one episode.

However, critics took to the internet to voice their views with many comments referring to lack of rapport between Dann and Bagust.

One user wrote: "It's a bit like an awkward first date, nice enough but still getting to know each other I guess."

There was a bit of sympathy too: "I think people are used to Paul and Pippa and it will take time to adjust. I am sure as time goes on they will get better," one wrote. And another: "I feel so sorry for both Petra and Corin having the viewers do nothing but attack them on their very first day, for goodness sake give them a chance to settle into their new jobs."

The Throng website, which says it is "New Zealand's TV watching community" read:

"The new pairing got off to a reasonably trouble-free start in their new roles, with most of the feedback online so far concerned only with the unnecessary amount of chair-swapping the pair engaged in and Bagust's choice of footwear."

Bagust raised her foot in the air to reveal sneakers when a viewer said she didn't have proper shoes on.

Paul Patrick, editor of TVNZ's daily news programmes, said: "It was a very promising start - our new hosts were comfortable with each other and with the viewer ... improvements will always be looked for, but this was a terrific first day."

Graeme Muir, Breakfast's editor, said: "It was a great first-up show. Petra and Corin look like they've known each other for much longer than they have."