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Speaker 1: So last night the new documentary on the poking Horn

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Speaker 1: trial was released and you can take a listen right now.

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Speaker 2: For thirty odd years I have been watching wealthy then

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Speaker 2: control women, but he usually doesn't end in dead. Evidence

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Speaker 2: is missing.

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Speaker 1: But it didn't much sease.

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Speaker 2: I was thinking his story gets changing.

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Speaker 1: Oco, it's just snowballing into this incredible spectacle that couldn't

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Speaker 1: look away from all right. Yes. The documentary received two

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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty eight grand from funding from New Zealand

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Speaker 1: On air. It follows the eight week trial of Philip Pokinghorn,

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Speaker 1: who was accused of killing his wife, Pauline Hannah back

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one at Easter two. So this is

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Speaker 1: what third anniversary, fourth anniversary. A jury ultimately found Pokinghorn

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Speaker 1: not guilty. He walked out of the Court of Free Man,

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Speaker 1: telling a scrum of reporters to let Pauline rest in peace.

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Speaker 1: But that's not happening, is it? Because we've got this

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Speaker 1: new documentary and Polly Fryer is the producer of it

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Speaker 1: and joins us this morning, Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: Your Polly, good morning, how are you great?

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Speaker 1: It's a good watch. I have to say, why make it?

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Speaker 2: I think it's important to make these stories so that

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Speaker 2: people can hear particularly from two of the key witnesses

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Speaker 2: and participants in the case that we didn't hear form

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Speaker 2: in court. That's Madison Ashton and doctor Philip Pulkinghorn himself,

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Speaker 2: so an opportunity to find out more from their perspective,

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Speaker 2: and that obviously wasn't presented through the judicial process.

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Speaker 1: I've found it fascinating right from the get go, because

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Speaker 1: I saw the rope, and I saw the house, and

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Speaker 1: I saw the bed, and I got a fuller picture

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Speaker 1: of the story. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's often the way that documentaries can do that

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Speaker 2: because we don't have the same you know, we're obviously

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Speaker 2: not there to prove his guilt or his innocence, So

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Speaker 2: we have the ability to be able to show things

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Speaker 2: in much more detail and with much more commentary from

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Speaker 2: more of the players, and give more detail to a

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Speaker 2: lot of elements of the case.

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Speaker 1: Now I feel poking Horn later in the series. I've

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Speaker 1: not got to that point yet. I've only seen the

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Speaker 1: first one. But later and this is making the headlines.

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Speaker 1: He blamed the COVID vaccine for Pauline's death. Is anyone

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Speaker 1: buying that?

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Speaker 2: I think it's clear to say that neither the defense

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Speaker 2: nor the prosecution mentioned or used the COVID vaccine theory

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Speaker 2: during the court case. So we can't comment any further

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Speaker 2: on it. But that's all that we know that it

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Speaker 2: was never raised as part of the trial.

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Speaker 1: Okay, he hasn't been found innocent, he was found not guilty.

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Speaker 1: That's the way the law works. However, you are in

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Speaker 1: a way relitigating it. Did you have concerns around the

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Speaker 1: defamation while making this story?

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Speaker 2: I think that it's quite a balanced documentary, and obviously

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of Polkinghorn in there himself talking to

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Speaker 2: us and commenting on the situation. We did ask Ron

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Speaker 2: Mansfield to participate and doctor Polkinghorn again after the initial interview,

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Speaker 2: but both declined, as did dozens of other acquaintances and

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Speaker 2: former colleagues of Horns who we approached. But I don't

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Speaker 2: think that really we're trying to re litigate it. I

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Speaker 2: think what we're trying to do is give more detail

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Speaker 2: on a fascinating subject in a case that is sort

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Speaker 2: of captured the nation and probably very interesting to others

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Speaker 2: abroad as well.

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Speaker 1: Yes, and you've got overseas backing as well. I mean,

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Speaker 1: what is it? Sky News UK and Warner Brothers Discovery,

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Speaker 1: So is this going to play worldwide?

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Speaker 2: Nine in Australia have acquired the series, have Sky UK

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Speaker 2: and then we have a representation for rest of world,

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Speaker 2: so we'll see how that goes following the New Zealand release.

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Speaker 1: It's fascinating because the interview with Pokinghorn happened nineteen months

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Speaker 1: before the trial, so obviously he's wanting to talk to

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Speaker 1: you and to convince you of his innocence. He has

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Speaker 1: a quote saying when you and Julia Hartley Moore approached him,

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Speaker 1: you said you'll be able to help him without any advice.

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Speaker 1: He trusted you both and what they said to me.

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Speaker 1: But now he's come out and described his own documentary

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Speaker 1: series as tad BOYD clickbait and he claims he was misled.

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Speaker 1: What do you say to that.

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Speaker 2: Mark McNeil, the other executi producer myself weren't on board

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Speaker 2: the project when Julia and Chris Cook did the interview

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Speaker 2: with Polkinghorn. Chris Cook has not been involved in the

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Speaker 2: documentary since the interview was held. Julia is an executive

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Speaker 2: producer on the series. I think it's been it's clear

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Speaker 2: even from the text messages in the stuff article that

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Speaker 2: we agreed to not air the documentary until after the trial,

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Speaker 2: so we were never going to be any part of

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Speaker 2: a judicial process that was questioning his guilt or not.

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Speaker 1: But is it tabloid clickbait? As he sees, after all,

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Speaker 1: it is a prilliant insight into a world of remi

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Speaker 1: weerra and hookers and murder and all sorts. I know,

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Speaker 1: so alleged murder.

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Speaker 2: That was his life. We're only telling his life as

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Speaker 2: he tells us in those in his life, including Madison

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Speaker 2: Ashton tell it. I don't think it's clickbait for that.

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Speaker 2: I think it's probably you know, portraying a side of

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Speaker 2: life that maybe we don't see that often. And as

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Speaker 2: Philip himself says, he's not on trial for morality issues

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Speaker 2: and we're not trialing for morality issues either. We're really

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Speaker 2: saying what his life was like and what Pauline's life

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Speaker 2: was like in the time leading up to her passing.

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Speaker 1: Well, good job, it's a good watch, and I thank

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Speaker 1: you so much for your time today. That is Polly Fryer,

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Speaker 1: producer of the new Poking Horn documentary. You can see

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Speaker 1: it on three now. You can see it streaming, so

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Speaker 1: you can watch it whenever you like. And as I say,

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Speaker 1: it's got funding from Sky UK and the Nine network,

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Speaker 1: support from New Zealand on Air and the government's Screen

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Speaker 1: Production Grant.

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Speaker 2: For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live

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