On the latest episode of Magic’s ‘Where Are They Now?’, Mark caught up with the lovely Heather Crofskey (née Eggleton).

Heather once graced Kiwi screens as the first television hostess of the popular 70s series ‘It’s in the Bag’, alongside the much-loved Selwyn Toogood.

As the travelling game show brought joy and excitement to small town halls across the country, Heather was at the heart of it all, leading her to be one of the most familiar faces in early New Zealand telly. 

She reflects with Mark on her beginnings in theatre, her move to Radio Avon, and then her almost accidental jump to TV as a continuity announcer after an interview that resulted in a long chat about fishing. 

“I found out the interviewer liked fishing, so I asked him about it. He talked for 45 minutes, I barely got a word in, but at the end he said, ‘You’re on tomorrow night.’”

Listen to Heather’s full chat with Magic Breakfast here:

It was, however, her earlier theatre talents that ultimately helped her land the role of ‘It’s in the Bag’ hostess, with Selwyn himself choosing her for the position.

“Years later, I asked Selwyn why he chose me, and he said, ‘Because you were a theatre person, and the show is a theatre production.’”

While that may sound blunt, Selwyn himself was a man full of warmth and deep kindness. Heather remembers, “he had far more time for the tea lady and the sound crew than for the big wigs.”

“He once told me, ‘Don’t ever lose your integrity; once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.’ I’ve believed that all my life.”

Heather looks back fondly on her years spent on the game show, crediting Selwyn with teaching her an “awful lot”.

She also shares a hilarious memory, which she calls “the most embarrassing thing I ever did on television”, which happened on the set of ‘Beauty and the Beast, ’ another show presented by Selwyn. 

Off-camera, Heather and Selwyn shared an interest in horse racing, a hobby that would eventually shape her current life.

After spending years across the ditch in Australia - dabbling in Radio, TV and media - she returned to New Zealand to raise a family. 

Now living rurally, Heather has come full circle with her passion for horse racing and is heavily involved in breeding racehorses. 

As she tells Mark, the purchase of one horse led to another, and just recently, she and her husband have had success with their horse Leica Lucy, who won the Group One New Zealand Oaks - an achievement Heather describes as life-changing.

Through all her recent endeavours, Heather’s love of meeting people has stayed with her, revealing that she’s “had a lot of luck and met really good people”.

She adds: “It’s been a wonderful life”. 

Tune in to Magic Breakfast Tuesdays at 8am, or listen HERE on rova, to catch up with more NZ stars of the past and see where they are now.