The Hits • 24th May 2019

'Surrogate Sophie' reveals how she really feels about giving birth to Toni Street's baby boy

This time last year Sophie Braggins was pregnant with Toni Street’s baby … Lachie – who is nearly 10 months old - was brought into the world thanks to Sophie being a surrogate for him, as her best friend, Toni was unable to go through with another pregnancy due to her autoimmune disease Churg-Strauss syndrome. "I do look at Lachie and feel something pretty special," Sophie revealed this morning. "He has a special place in my heart and there’s no denying it." The mother of two also admitted th

The Hits • 9th May 2019

Anika Moa reveals the hilarious story behind how her baby girl's name was chosen

Anika Moa has revealed how she and wife Natasha Utting settled on the name for her baby girl, Marigold – and it turns out there is a hilarious story behind it. The Kiwi celebrity joined Stace and Mike on air to explain how she turned into "a psycho" during her pregnancy, demanding her wife Natasha to pick out the name. "I said to my wife Natasha, I was like: 'you don’t love me because you haven’t come up with a baby name ... if you loved me you would, and if you don’t I’m going to leave you',"

The Hits • 9th April 2019

Brodie Kane gets her 'kit off' in unphotoshopped underwear snaps to promote body positivity

Brodie Kane has bravely got her "kit off" to help promote body positivity. In a campaign for the new Bonds Intimately range, Brodie was snapped in nothing but her underwear alongside her Girls On Top podcast co-stars Caitlyn Marett and Gracie Taylor. • READ MORE: Brodie is 'furious' over her new passport photo: 'I look like all three Hanson brothers' Sharing the photos on Instagram, Brodie wrote: "How do you become an underwear model? Easy, put on some undies, and you're done!" "Every woman d

NZ Herald • 12th October 2018

Game review: Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is epic and endless

I spent hours upon hours slaying bandits, diving for sunken treasure and galloping across a stunning Greek island, looting everything in sight. And then, approximately five hours into the game, the opening credits rolled. That's when you realise how dauntingly large Ubisoft's newest Assassin's Creed game - appropriately titled Odyssey - really is. Which is exactly what you want for an action packed role-play adventure. is set in the stunning backdrop of Ancient Greece amid the 431 BC Peloponn

NZ Herald • 6th September 2018

Game review: Is this Spider-Man's best outing yet?

Adrenaline rushes through my veins as I leap from the tallest tower in New York City. I plummet rapidly and then, at the very last minute, swing to a nearby building. How? Well, I'm your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. This is just one of the many things Insomniac Games absolutely nails in their new Marvel's Spider-Man game. The web-swinging, the combat, the Spidey-suits, the narrative and even the city itself all come together to create an epic action-adventure that will cure you of Marvel

NZ Herald • 31st May 2018

Review: Detroit: Become Human is close to being a masterpiece

What makes us human? Empathy? Morality? Love? All of those are put to the test in David Cage's neo-noir thriller, Detroit: Become Human. I felt everything from exhilaration to sorrow playing through this intense interactive drama, where every choice you make and every action you take has a consequence. Even death. The bleak, not so distant future of 2038, sees a robot uprising thrust into your hands. Playing as three androids, it's not hard to get emotionally invested in their intertwining tal

NZ Herald • 15th March 2018

Review: Moss is the Playstation VR game you've been waiting for

"Awww, you are so precious!" I couldn't help exclaim as soon as I met Quill, my new little mouse companion. She is brave, determined and oh, so cute. She is also the hero of PlayStation's new VR game Moss and her quest is to save her uncle and their kingdom from a terrifying fire-breathing snake. With your help of course. This fairy-tale 3D puzzle adventure platformer is the type of game that VR was created for. Physically flipping the pages of a story book, a narrator throws you into the mag

NZ Herald • 8th February 2018

Game review: The Inpatient will unsettle you to your core

That's what I found myself screaming as I played The Inpatient, a virtual reality experience that morphs from mysterious to creepy to heart-stoppingly terrifying faster than you can "Nope!" again. The Until Dawn prequel, which you'll need a PlayStation 4 console and PlayStation VR unit to play, captures all of the scary goodness from the 2015 game, and amplifies it into an immersive VR experience. Seriously, this interactive survival horror will give you nightmares. Taking place in the Blackw

NZ Herald • 19th December 2017

Best podcasts of 2017 - have you heard them all?

Podcast obsessive Rachel Bache picks the best podcasts to listen to this year. is a shocking real life story of seduction and deception – and it is by far one of the best podcasts of 2017. L.A. Times reporter Christopher Goffard shares the unbelievable tale of Debra Newell and the man who swept her off her feet, John Meehan, aka. 'Dirty John' - and let's just say that it doesn't all end in roses. The brilliantly produced podcast will give you a rush of adrenalin and leave you asking: how well

NZ Herald • 1st October 2016

Funny Girls returns: How Rose Matafeo and Laura Daniel became NZ's first ladies of LOL

You would think - or at least hope - that by the year 2015, New Zealand would have been ready for an all-female comedy show. Yet when Laura Daniel and Rose Matafeo launched their ground-breaking series Funny Girls on TV3 last year, the hate came thick and fast. "We were branded in the first series as these 'feminist bitches', trying to push their feminist agenda," explains Matafeo, who returned from her new UK-base to film the second series in July. "All we were doing was making observations

NZ Herald • 15th August 2016

The best bits in that awesome new Rogue One trailer

A new trailer for Star Wars spinoff movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped over the weekend and it looks great. Here are five things we’re pumped about ... 1. Rogue One's very own Suicide Squad "Can you be trusted without your shackles?" Wait, why is Jyn Erso (played by Felicity Jones) in shackles? We know a team is being sent on a deadly mission to retreieve the plans for the Death Star, but in this new full-length Rogue One trailer we get to see a bit more of Erso and the team who will b

NZ Herald • 12th August 2016

Melanie Martinez fans camp out before concert

You may not know her, but Cry Baby’s creator is drawing Kiwi crowds, writes Rachel Bache. Teens are camping out on the streets of Auckland for a singer who you've probably never heard of. Ahead of her show tonight some of Melanie Martinez's dedicated fans have gone the extra mile to get to the front of the stage at the Powerstation. Early this morning more than half a dozen fans were seen braving the winter cold for Martinez's first ever headlining show in New Zealand tonight, which sold out i

NZ Herald • 23rd June 2016

Kimberly Crossman finds success on new show

Kimberly Crossman has been working out her funnybone on the internet. The Kiwi actress landed herself a major role in the new web-series, Hashtaggers, where she plays a media strategist to the stars. But her tips for the real world of Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat aren't what you'd expect. "I don't know if I'm the right person to speak to," Crossman says bashfully when she speaks to TimeOut. "I definitely don't have a strategy or anything like that. I try to just be pretty authentic with m

NZ Herald • 15th June 2016

Sydney: Enchanted evenings

Rachel Bache is awestruck by the lights, the music, the street food and the magic of Vivid Sydney. It can be easy to get swept up in the crowds moving through the waterfront streets of Circular Quay, with everyone making their way in different directions, trying to get a better view of the beautiful glowing installations dotted along the walkway. The chill of the cold night air seeps through the layers of warm winter clothing people have wrapped around themselves. But they don't let that scare

NZ Herald • 11th June 2016

Rachel Bache: Pokemon Go is ruining my phone battery - and my life

Rachel Bache explains the thrilling highs and desperate lows of becoming a Pokemon Go addict. Sitting in my car at 11pm on a Thursday night, I couldn't help but think to myself: "What the hell am I doing with my life?" I was parked down a random street sitting outside a stranger's house. But I wasn't doing anything dodgy, I swear. I was just playing the new game that has swept the world this week, Pokemon Go. Since Pokemon Go was first announced last year I had been ecstatic about the concept

NZ Herald • 13th May 2016

Escapade: Navigating the darkness

Rachel Bache gets stuck in a locked room, and loves every second of it. It takes my eyes a little while to adjust to the small dark room I've just been locked inside. The countdown clock in the corner flashes red and I can't help but feel a tiny rush of panic. I've got to get out of this room. Instead of a PlayStation controller in my hand, I have a small flash light. I flick it on, and the hunt for clues begins. Escapade, New Zealand's very own room escape game, takes the video game experie

NZ Herald • 16th March 2016

'Suits' star Gabriel Macht in NZ

If you happen to see swarms of extremely excited people around Auckland, there's no need to worry - Suits fans are just on the hunt for American actor Gabriel Macht, who is currently in New Zealand. Macht, who plays the slick New York lawyer Harvey Specter on the show, arrived in Auckland yesterday evening from Brisbane, Australia, where he was on holiday with his wife, Australian actress Jacinda Barrett and their two children. Fans are already out and about, trying catch a glimpse of the star

NZ Herald • 9th March 2016

Five big reveals from JK Rowling's new Harry Potter story

JK Rowling has unveiled the first of four chapters from her History of Magic in North America. Rachel Bache takes a closer look at the lessons we can learn about the wizarding world. 1. Americans have their own word for 'muggle' In the original Harry Potter stories we learnt that muggle is the term used for the everyday folk that don't possess magical powers. However, it turns out that American wizards have their own slang term for non-magic people: "No-Maj." The magical communities of Native

NZ Herald • 13th December 2015

Review: Ed Sheeran, Mt Smart Stadium

Less than a year after Ed Sheeran was in the country wowing fans with a sold out performance at Vector Arena, the British songwriter was back in New Zealand for a repeat performance. This time, upsizing to Mt Smart Stadium, where close to 50,000 fans packed the venue last night. The show marked the final date of his first stadium tour, ending on a high note. Following opening acts Foy Vance, Passenger and Rudimental (who were forced off-stage mid-song when they blew the sound system before maki

NZ Herald • 22nd October 2015

The art of dressing up in cosplay for Armageddon

Armageddon is the perfect place to show your love for your favourite movies and shows. Cosplay is the art of dressing up as your favourite pop culture character, and at Armageddon it's a growing trend. This weekend's pop culture expo is a chance to escape everyday life as your favourite character from TV, films, games or comic books, says cosplayer Courteney Kay. "Auckland Armageddon is the biggest event on the calendar for New Zealand cosplayers," says Kay, who likes to dress up as blond fem