If Rebecca Gibney had to sum up her new TV series, Happiness, in just five words, they’d be “a joyous ray of sunshine”. Having watched the first few episodes, New Idea can confirm the star is bang on with her elevator pitch!
In the New Zealand-set musical comedy, Rebecca plays Gaye Summers, whose name is a big giveaway as to the type of person she is.
“Gaye is like a light bulb, so even if I am feeling a little flat myself, I can’t help but smile when I put on her costume and get into character,” Rebecca tells us.
“She energises me in a way that hasn’t happened in a very long time.”
Happiness follows the antics of Gaye’s amateur community theatre group. When her Broadway director son, Charlie (played by Harry McNaughton), returns home suddenly due to visa issues, Gaye convinces him to help put
on their original musical about Helen of Troy.
Rebecca, 60, has sung professionally before – in the film Mental and on stage in Happy Days. She also doesn’t mind a bit of karaoke; her go-to song is Peggy Lee’s ‘Fever’.
“Singing is great for the soul just as much as dancing is good for the body,” she says. “It releases tension, and singing musical notes does something to your cells on a deep level.”
To prepare for Happiness, Rebecca worked with the show’s composer for a few months and used a warm-up app on her phone that she “constantly” used to keep her voice in shape.
“Richard [Bell, my husband] had to deal with my warbling for days on end,” she says with a laugh. “Luckily, we live in the bush, so the only other beings that had to put up with it were the birds and the odd sheep and cow!”
Rebecca admits that she sees a lot of herself in Gaye.
“She is a born optimist and a glass-half-full type of person. I’m not sure I am quite as forgiving as she is, though!” she explains.
They also share being empty-nesters, as Rebecca and Richard’s son, up-and-coming actor Zac Bell, moved out of the family home last year.
Happiness opens with Gaye greeting Harry at the airport with a flash mob set to the Backstreet Boys. Rebecca says she’s not sure Zac would appreciate it if she were to spring one on him.
“I think he would secretly like it even if he wouldn’t admit it,” she says.
“He’s had to deal with me dancing on Instagram for a few years now, so I think he would probably expect it of me!”
Happiness has already been renewed for a second season, which will be added to Rebecca’s consistently full plate, which now also includes hosting duties on Network 10’s new reboot of Millionaire Hot Seat.
“I’m still wrapping my head around it all to be honest,” she says of the Hot Seat gig.
“It’s a thrill to be able to facilitate people potentially winning a life-changing sum of money, but the downside is when they do get questions wrong, it’s really hard not to be emotional about it.”
