Get a taste of New Zealand’s very best journalism and access all Herald Premium stories free for 24 hours. To give readers a sneak peek of the benefits of subscribing we’re bringing back some of our most popular Premium stories. This story was first published in June.
As she prepared for her first one-woman show, Jodie Rimmer talked to Joanna Wane about why it’s time for women to start acting their age. Nicola Cheeseman is Back ran from June 19 to July 7 at Auckland’s Herald Theatre. In the end, it was radio DJ Athena Angelou’s superior bicep power that left Jodie Rimmer undone.
But by the time the (then) 45-year-old actor was bumped from Celebrity Treasure Island on day 12, after losing a challenge to the much younger Angelou, she’d made her point. Nobody puts Jodie in a corner. “The people I hang out with know my value, but they just looked right through me,” she says, of a buff 2019 line-up that included rower Eric Murray and boxer Shane Cameron.
“And I didn’t like that at all.” After knocking out Matty McLean – who went on to win the Fans v Faves edition last year – nailing a memory game and outwitting Murray in a heated leadership challenge, she was finally eliminated to finish around the middle of the pack..
