Carroll du Chateau: Holmes relishing his challenge

It's all nervous energy at Prime's Albany headquarters five hours before screen time. A week into the new Paul Holmes show the ratings are as fickle as a skittery cat. They started high, dropped like a soggy sponge, then bounced back again after the naked cyclists of Thursday night.

But it is what they will do tonight that's preoccupying Holmes and his CEO, Chris Taylor. They stand out front, having a quick cigarette, studying the sticker over the road. "Go Holmes, Kick Ass," It's from Bay FM, just appeared the other morning, says Holmes. A couple of minutes later Alison Mau blanks me as she strides up to work in her jeans and top. It couldn't be nastiness, Mau is not like that. She is simply stressed.

On the other hand, Holmes was not too happy with the Herald after the "Holmes: the incredible shrinking audience" story of yesterday's paper. "How am I shrinking?" he'd demanded on the phone. "I'm here for the long haul. When Holmes [on TV One] went from 6.30 to 7 [pm], ratings went to 9 per cent. It took months to build back up. "Will you show me on a pogo stick bouncing back tomorrow if I say yes [to the interview]?"

Inside, the place is buzzing. The secrecy of last week is gone. Sure we can do the photos in the studio, says Holmes, nipping next door to the makeup room and emerging under a thick layer of pancake makeup, leaving us to pick up the used tissue and push the slightly grubby face flannel and water bottle of last night to one side. Don't these people have cleaners? Already there are modifications. The brilliant cobalt pillars they were so proud of last week are now off-white. "We felt the set needed to be softened up."

"There are a lot of balls in the air, and probably on the first night, too many balls in the air," says Holmes of the interactive part of his act. They're massaging that too.

But when Holmes perches himself on his black set chair, and assumes the cheeky smile he has perfected over the past couple of months, it is business as usual. This is Holmes for the long haul - all right.

For all that, it's been a rough week. And yes, there were problems on Wednesday night when the ratings fell from 113,370 to 37,790.

"[The lineup] fell apart at quarter to 5," he says. "I went out there and got us through. It was a great team-bonding exercise- but not the most riveting programme in the world."

It is when I ask Holmes about his research team that he becomes a little defensive."They're a marvellous team," he says. And no, he won't tell me how many there are.

"Why?"

"I don't want the enemy to know." Later he phones to explain that Prime are in this for the long haul. They may not have the mighty news machine behind them that TVNZ has, but they do have the energy, the balls and the ideas.

"I make no apology for being controversial and trying new things, for trying to freshen the landscape. When you try to be innovative, it's amazing the number of people who say you're wrong. Then it's amazing how, after the progress of time, people start to copy and regard what you do as the norm."

As I leave, Holmes is back in his office discussing tonight's line-up with his startlingly young producer, Pip Keane, and assistant, Monique Caddy. Tonight they have a live feed from Britain and, says Holmes, we all know how they can fail.

On the other hand, he's relishing the challenge. "I love a battle. I love coming here to work every day and building this programme. I think I'm at my best when my back's against the wall and so's this team."

So no, don't write Holmes off yet. "I'm tough as boots and I'm on a roll here."