The latest in a long line of Polly Gillespie mishaps played out on Celebrity Treasure Island last night, with the broadcaster’s knee injury ultimately leading to her early exit from the show.
After injuring her knee while stepping off the boat on arrival during episode one, the media personality found herself disadvantaged from competing in several of the show's challenges.
She was consequently put up against actor Vinnie Bennett in an elimination battle, where she lost — making her the second person eliminated from this season and ending her short-lived stint on the island.
The 62-year-old was representing charity Kidney Health New Zealand on the show.
Even in defeat, an emotional Gillespie kept her trademark humour intact.
“This has been one of the best times of my life. You’ve all been so kind," she said of her teammates. "I mean, I injured myself getting off the boat!
“I may be the second person out, but I’ve had a lifetime of fun, experience and friendship.”
Reflecting on her experience on the show, Gillespie said it was "bittersweet" to leave after forming such a close bond with her fellow castaways.
"I had the best time I'd had in 20 years, at least, on Celebrity Treasure Island," Gillespie told 1News.
"By the time I left I was in quite a bit of pain, so I was really looking forward to getting to the doctor. But I didn't want to leave.
"I would've stayed as long as I could have, because I just loved being with those people."
Her island stumble marked only the latest chapter in a lengthy catalogue of very Polly-style chaos.
Earlier this year, Gillespie revealed she had written off her car in a late-night crash in Wellington after swerving into a parked vehicle.
Describing the incident, Gillespie said she was coming up a narrow hill after getting “luncheon sausage and Freddos” when a four-wheel drive vehicle "hurtled down".
“Stupidly I went straight/turned in to parked car," she said in a social media post.
She admitted the accident was “my fault” and said she had “foolishly” let her insurance lapse. She joked at the time she was now “strongly considering OnlyFans” to pay the repair bill.
In the same post, Gillespie described herself as “a wee bit of a walking disaster” — a line indicative of the self-deprecating charm that has charmed New Zealand’s airwaves for years.
As one half of the hugely successful Polly and Grant breakfast radio duo with former husband Grant Kereama, Gillespie has long built a public persona around laughing through life’s messier moments.
“I think I was the first female in radio not to be the sidekick," she told Seven Sharp in 2021. "Up until then, the women giggled and laughed and went, ‘Oh, you're so funny.’”
She has also spoken openly about the end of her 25-year marriage, being made redundant multiple times during Covid industry restructures, and retraining as a counsellor after leaving radio for good.
In 2021, she released an autobiography titled The Misadventures of Polly Gillespie: Reports from a Riotous Life, which detailed many colourful encounters throughout her career.
For now, her latest setback has come on national television. But if history is anything to go by, Gillespie is unlikely to stay down for long.
Celebrity Treasure Island airs 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday on TVNZ2 and TVNZ+.
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