King's Birthday Honours: Comedian Dai Henwood and other entertainers recognised
The 47-year-old, who has been undergoing treatment for incurable cancer for years, was one of 188 New Zealanders honoured for their community contributions.
Beloved New Zealand comedian Dai Henwood, who has been undergoing treatment for incurable cancer for years, is one of the New Zealand entertainers receiving King’s Birthday Honours.
Henwood was awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). Other honours across the entertainment and media industries went to presenters Suzy Cato, Louise Wallace and Jude Dobson.
They are some of the 188 people recognised this year through the New Zealand Royal Honours system to thank New Zealanders for their service to the community.
WWII Spitfire pilot Maurice Mayston and son Richard with producer Jude Dobson. August 2019
Jude Dobson
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Henwood told RNZ via email that he accepted his ONZM “with honour".
“I have been blessed to spend more than half my life making people laugh all around Aotearoa and abroad.”
Henwood has worked on stand-up stages and TV for more than 25 years, becoming a household name for his role in TV3’s 7 Days in 2007. Some of his most notable hosting gigs include Dancing with the Stars and Dai’s House Party, a comedy show he filmed in his home during the first Covid lockdown in 2020.
In 2023, he announced that he has been living with metastatic bowel cancer since 2020. Henwood recently cut short a national standup tour due to ill health.
Dobson, who began her television career in 1989, was with her daughter when she received an email from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet notifying her ONZM.
“I thought it was spam,” she told RNZ.
She jumped on a family group call with her other daughter, her son and her husband to celebrate.
“I guess probably my common denominator is I quite like helping. I quite like being useful.”
One of those early community-minded endeavours was creating education videos for parents of newborns, toddlers and children that were distributed through charities and government agencies.
More recently, Dobson turned her eye to preserving the stories of the First and Second World Wars. In 2023, she created an audio documentary that captured the memories of WW2 aviators who served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Wallace, another TV presenter honoured, held numerous high-profile roles including on 3News and 60 Minutes as well as acting roles on TV shows such as Shortland Street. Off camera, she produced and directed shows and hosted RNZ’s Health Matters, a radio segment that looked at health sector innovations.
In 2012, she co-founded Tadpole Theatre Productions, producing two plays yearly for the Takapuna’s Pumphouse Theatre. Wallace mentored young talent while providing opportunities for actors even if it meant financially supporting productions herself.
“I’ve been lucky to have had great opportunities come my way and to have worked on some really exciting projects with amazingly talented people,” she wrote in an email to RNZ.
“I’m hugely grateful to those who put their faith in me over a 40-year career.”
Suzy Cato.
RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Suzy Cato was honoured for her 35 years of contribution to children’s programming, music and education. She is the author of several children’s books and has created kids' music albums as a singer-songwriter.
She said she was particularly proud of helping bring te reo Māori into everyday life for children, curating the Aotearoa Children’s Music Awards, and sparking excitement around science through the children's TV show Suzy's World.
"The fact that we were able to take science and make it so fun in Suzy's World and the number of comments that I've had from young scientists who go You've sparked an interest in me, in the world around me and particularly the element of science' has been thrilling."
