Vaughan Smith (entertainer)

Vaughan Smith (born 20 February 1982-) is a New Zealand radio presenter and media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular morning radio show Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley on ZM.^[2] He has also known for his role as a permanent panellist on the New Zealand edition of Have You Been Paying Attention?.^[3]

Vaughan Smith
Born	Vaughan Alan Smith (1982-02-20) 20 February 1982 (age 43).[1] Morrinsville, Waikato, New Zealand
Alma mater	New Zealand Broadcasting School
Occupations	Radio personality television presenter voice actor
Years active	2002–present
Employer	ZM (radio station)
Television	Have You Been Paying Attention? (New Zealand game show)
Spouse	Sharde Smith ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2

Early life and education

Vaughan Alan Smith was born in Morrinsville, New Zealand, to Christine and Ian Smith, on 20 February 1982. He attended Morrinsville Intermediate where he served on the student council alongside future prime minister Jacinda Ardern.^[4][5] Smith studied at Morrinsville College. While at school, Smith worked as a forecourt attendant at Shell and as a relief-milker at local dairy farms.^[6]

After completing high school, Smith studied broadcasting at the short-lived Auckland campus of the New Zealand Broadcasting School.^[7][8]

Career

2000's

Smith's radio career began in May 2002 at The Generator radio station in Hamilton. He initially worked as an unpaid intern before progressing to a position as an announcer and music director.

In 2004, while still working at The Generator, Smith entered a "Quit your day job" contest run by The Edge radio station. The prize was a position as a night announcer at station. However, due to staffing issues, the position was changed mid-contest to announcer on the afternoon drive show. After completing a number of radio stunts, Smith was eventually selected as the winner. The next week after winning, he joined existing presenters Carl "Fletch" Fletcher and Chang Hung to form the Fletch, Vaughan & Chang Drive Show.^[9]

In November 2009, completed the Auckland Marathon along with fellow The Edge presenters Jay-Jay Feeney, Dom Harvey, and Fletcher.^[10]

2010's

In 2013, Smith launched a successful campaign to get Toto's 1982 hit "Africa" to No. 1 on the New Zealand iTunes charts.^[11]

In April 2014, Smith, Fletcher and Megan Papas moved to the ZM network.^[12] Their new show, The Fletch, Vaughan & Megan Show airs in the prime breakfast radio time slot.

In 2016, Smith starred in comedic miniseries The Critic and the Pig with comedian Josh Thomson on WatchMe.^[13][14] Smith and Thompson visit Auckland restaurants and rate them out of a possible five trotters.

In 2018, Smith presented online series MediaScrap on WatchMe. In the show, Smith comedically reviews clips collected from New Zealand television and online.^[15]

Since 2019, Smith has been a permanent panellist on the TVNZ 2 panel show Have You Been Paying Attention?.^[3]

2020's

In 2021, Megan Papas left the show and was replaced by Hayley Sproull,^[16] leading to the rebranding of the program as Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley.^[2] The new trio continued the show's success, maintaining high listener ratings and a strong social media presence.

In 2024, Smith celebrated 20 years on air with Fletcher^[17]

Personal life

Smith lives on a hobby farm in West Auckland with his wife, Sharde Smith, and two daughters.^[18][19]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref
2006	New Zealand Radio Awards	Best Non-Breakfast Host or Hosts – Metropolitan	Fletch, Vaughan & Chang Drive Show – The Edge Network	Finalist	[20]
2009		Best Music Non-Breakfast Host or Hosts – Metropolitan	Fletch & Vaughan – The Edge Network	Finalist	[21]
2011		Best Music Non-Breakfast Host or Hosts – Metropolitan	Fletch & Vaughan – The Edge Network	Finalist	[22]
2012		Best Music Non-Breakfast Host or Hosts – Metropolitan	The Edge Drive with Fletch & Vaughan – The Edge	Finalist	[23]
2013		Best Music Non-Breakfast Host or Hosts – Metropolitan	Drive with Fletch & Vaughan – The Edge	Won	[24]
2016		Best Video	April Fools – ZM Network	Finalist	[25]
		Best Single Station Client Campaign	ZM’s Jelly Tipster – ZM Network	Finalist
		Best Music Breakfast Show – Network	Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Finalist
2017		Best Client Digital/Social Promotion	ZM and Friskies Cat News – ZM Network	Won	[26]
		Best Music Breakfast Show – Network	Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Finalist
		Best Network Station Promotion	ZM’s Wedding Unplanners – ZM Network	Finalist
2018		Best Music Breakfast Show – Network	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Won	[27]
		Best Video	Lorde-The Babysitter – ZM Network	Won
		Best Video	The Intern – ZM Network	Finalist
		The Blackie	Ed Sheeran's Plea for Citizenship – ZM Network	Finalist
2019		Best Music Breakfast Show – Network	Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Won	[28]
		The Blackie	Fletch, Vaughan & Megan's Final Conversion	Won
		Best Client Promotion/Activation – Single Market	Fletch, Vaughan & Megan's Car Raffle – ZM Network	Won
2020		Best Breakfast Show – Music Network	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Won	[29]
2021		Best Breakfast Show – Music Network	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Won	[30]
2022		Best Network Team Show	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Won	[31]
		Best Podcast by a Radio Show	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Finalist
2023		Best Music Network Breakfast Show	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Won	[32]
		Best Podcast by a Radio Show	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – ZM Network	Finalist
		The Blackie	Hayley's Version: We Didn't Start The Fire – ZM Network	Finalist
2024	New Zealand Radio & Podcast Awards	Best Music Network Breakfast Show	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley	Won	[33]
		The Blackie	ZM's Girl Math	Won
			Callum Presumed Dead	Finalist
			Fletch v Shania	Finalist
			Hayley Meets Jason Momoa	Finalist
		Best Network Station Promotion	ZM's Girl Math	Won
			Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley Live	Finalist
		Best Podcast by a Radio Show	ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley	Finalist