Citation :Monday, 15 October 2007
Meet Dominic Bowden Next Great American Band Host
Who is Dominic Bowden? Did you know that he drank his own urine on national television, and loves to make big romantic gestures? Some of you may have heard that his desire for a tan left him red-faced at his interview, but did you know his earlier efforts at tanning left him orange faced? Read on for more on the new host of The Next Great American Band.
Dominic Bowden, or Dom as we know him here in kiwiland, is a regular fixture on New Zealand television. He is currently one of New Zealand's highest profile presenters. So high profile that we’re looking forward to have a wee break from the omnipresent Dom who is currently on our screens fronting the first (and hopefully last) season of the kiwi version of Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old? (known in the U.S. as Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?). Dominic is also the face (and voice and body for TVNZ's TVNZ OnDemand and conducts the virtual tour of the site.
The facts:
* His full name is Dominic Joseph Bowden, but most people call him Dom.
* Uberskinny Dominic towers over American Idol shortie Ryan Seacrest and is thought to be 6’4”, although some reports say he is 6’2”
* Dom is a 30 year old Sagittarian born 15 December 1976
Dominic’s career
Dominic is highly ambitious and career focused. Dom has a reputation for being charming, polite and very hard working. His career started in New Zealand however he moved to Sydney, Australia for a period to further his career before returning to New Zealand. He followed girlfriend Claire Robbie (now his fiancee) to Shanghai and worked there for a few months.
Dom has worked in both radio and television for many years as well as emceeing corporate events and awards ceremonies. His career took off in 2004 when he started hosting New Zealand Idol.
His first television role was as the host of children’s television show Squirt in 1999 which he co-hosted with an animated penguin. He later hosted television music show, Space with the zany Jaquie Brown. Dominic has also hosted his own national radio show on More FM, and has interviewed many of the biggest stars in music and entertainment including Robbie Williams, Bon Jovi, Will Smith and Keanu Reeves.
Reality Television
* Dominic is best known for hosting three seasons of NZ Idol from 2004-2006. He gained instant popularity, not only for his smooth television delivery, but also for keeping the live audience entertained.
* More recently Dominic hosted Pop’s Ultimate Star where the so-called best of the best competed against each other for $50,000, a car and the chance to wear tacky costumes and sing songs for which they were woefully unsuited. Although Dom continued to be a smooth and polished presenter, he appeared to lose his personality and seemed to be going through the motions – perhaps because he already knew he had bigger opportunities awaiting him in L.A.?
* Dominic Bowden was a contestant on the first season of Celebrity Treasure Island, a Survivor type contest, but was quickly eliminated from the show.
* Dom appeared in cringe-worthy Shock Treatment, a travel show where celebrities think they will be fronting a luxury travel show and instead find themselves sent to a boot camp where they have to rough it for a few days and humiliate themselves in the name pf personal growth. The highlight was one celebrity getting an enema on television. In the episode featuring Dominic he travelled to India and drank his own urine. Euwwww!
* Dominic has also hosted reality game show Finding J. Smith and other very forgettable shows.
Dominic’s Love Life
Charming Dominic is said to have an eye for the ladies, and is currently engaged to beautiful television reporter Claire Robbie.
Ironically, in a 2006 interview Dominic said that long-distance relationships didn’t work for him and Claire and that he had decided to stop putting his career first and instead make Claire his top priority.
I realised that I could go 10 years forging out an amazing career for myself but I would be by myself. I needed to put Claire first.
Claire was able to join Dominic in LA for two weeks to help him settle in as they had both planned to holiday at that time, but will return to New Zealand while Dominic is working in LA for the filming of The Next Great American Band.
Claire Robbie has been working hard to establish herself in television. She had a small part in New Zealand’s longest running soap opera Shortland Street playing the part of Courtney Williams and has pursued acting work alongside her political studies degree. She has worked a variety of jobs and travelled to Asia for a working holiday. More recently Claire joined TV3 as a reporter for their Nightline program.
The pair got engaged in early 2006 after an on-again off-again romance and planned to marry in early 2007, however this has not yet happened. Dominic proposed in their Bangkok hotel room amid hundreds of red rose petals to the music of Queen’s CD You’re My Best Friend and a bottle of Dom Perignon.
The result was an interview in NZ Woman's Weekly which included several soft porn shots of Dominic and Claire frolicking on the beach.
Trivia & Gossip
Like many aspiring models and television stars, Dominic Bowden entered the Cleo Bachelor of the Year contest, and was a finalist in the year 2000 competition. Other memorable finalists include Shortland St actors David Wikaira-Paul and Ben Mitchell.
Fair skinned Dominic Bowden appears to like the idea of getting a tan. During one season of NZ Idol, Dominic was nickname "Fanta Face" for the orange colour of his fake tan. When he travelled to L.A. for his audition for Next Great American Band, he hoped to get a bit of time in the sun and underestimated the potency of the sun's rays. He turned up to the audition red-faced after getting sunburned. Fortunately for Dominic, the same thing happened to American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, and everyone laughed about it.
Dominic is a very conservative dresser, and sometimes wears glasses. He is said to be looking for a stylist in L.A.
Although, it was eventually smoothed over, Dominic created a sensation when he pulled out of reality television show Intrepid Journeys hours before the plane was due to leave, after winning the coveted presenting role on Next Great American Band.
Dom is a non-smoker.
source:
http://www.nzrealitytv.com/2007/10/meet ... rican.html