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New Zealand's Got Talent judge Rachel Hunter dances with contestant Russell Gray - Source: ONE News -
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New Zealand's Got Talent host Tamati Coffey says viewers can expect to see him make more impromptu dance performances on future episodes of TV ONE's hit new show.
Coffey surprised audiences on Sunday night's episode of NZGT, when he ran onto to the stage, and joined 52-year-old Russell Gray while he was auditioning.
"He just looked like he was suffering out there," Coffey said of Gray's Britney Spears-inspired dance moves.
"I soon realised that he actually had nothing choreographed and he was just free-styling.
"I thought maybe he was used to people 'moshing' around him, so that's when I decided to jump in," says Coffey, who has plenty of dance experience after winning Dancing with the Stars in 2009.
Coffey told onenews.co.nz that what he found even more surprising was NZGT judge Rachel Hunter's decision to join Gray on stage.
"I was surprised that Rachel joined in as well, but I'm sure it would have made that old guy's life. He will be living off that memory for quite some time I'm sure," he said.
However, Coffey says that the highlight of the show for him was when 17 year-old Tawaroa Kawana serenaded Hunter with a version of her ex-husband Rod Stewart's song I Don't Want To Talk About It.
"Sonny Bill Williams look-alike, Tawaroa Kawana has such a beautiful voice," he said.
"He just had a real maturity to his voice and sung the words like he meant them.
"And I think that's the difference between a singer and a good singer, a good singer actually feels the words that they are singing, and a singer just says the lyrics," said Coffey.
Coffey said the audience was similarly captivated by nine-year-old Ocean Waitokia's yodelling.
"She yodelled so well and she did it so fast! I bet her performance made the nation look at themselves and think, 'I'd like to have a go at yodelling'."
However, Coffey says that the audience was "astonished" by ninety-one year-old Olivia Turner's version of I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady, and he was not at all surprised when she received a standing ovation.
"She was just so beautiful and graceful. I think it was amazing that this 91-year-old has got courage to get up on stage in front of an auditorium of people and give it a go.
Coffey also revealed that prior to Turner's performance he had asked her why she had decided to audition for NZGT, to which Turner replied: "It's because I've got nothing to lose dear."
On Sunday night over 1.4 million Kiwis tuned in to watch the first episode of the talent show.
During the show, #NZGT was also the top trending topic on Twitter globally and continued to stay in the top ten well after the show had ended.
Coffey says that he is keen to interact with some of NZGT's many viewers, and will be tweeting his thoughts from @tamati_coffey while the show is being broadcast each Sunday night at 7.30pm on TV ONE.
To find out more about New Zealand's Got Talent click here.