Newshub's Patrick Gower has revealed the "bloody embarrassing" moment he gets drunk during his new documentary on New Zealand's binge-drinking culture.
Gower spoke to AM on Tuesday about his deep-dive into the millions of Kiwis who drink, Patrick Gower: On Booze, which airs tonight at 8:30pm on Three.
In the documentary, Gower gets personally confronted as he investigates his own drinking habits.
"One of the things that people will see tonight is I actually do sit down with a psychologist and complete that weekly drinking survey pretty honestly," he told AM host Melissa Chan-Green.
"It's been super uncomfortable. I went to sleep last night and I was kind of like, 'Oh God, should I be doing this?'... People will see tonight that I open up my life."
On Booze began as an investigation into alcohol and how it impacted Kiwis, Gower explained - but as viewers will find out, it quickly morphs into something much more personal.
He said one particular moment stood out to him as being particularly mortifying.
"This documentary - it's going to be bloody embarrassing for me, honestly... the scene where I get drunk is humiliating."
He said the aim of the documentary wasn't to be "some wokester jumping into people's lounges telling them what to do with their lives", but to create a space and raise awareness for those who have problems with alcohol.
One person who admitted to having an "on-and-off relationship" with alcohol was well-known children's entertainer Suzy Cato.
Appearing on AM's panel on Tuesday, she said she was surrounded by alcohol as a young person.
"It wasn't a taboo subject for us as we were growing up and we were surrounded by it, but it wasn't until we were older that other people encouraged us to start drinking - and then it became a part of life and quite a habit."
Despite Gower believing alcohol was "fine - it's awesome to have fun", he said it wasn't for him anymore.
"We need to just make a space in New Zealand life for people like me, who have got a problem with alcohol, to live - because it is actually pretty hard...
"If that can make a little bit of space for others, that'd be awesome and I'll feel a little bit better."
Made with 'NZ On Air' funding, Patrick Gower: On Booze premieres on Three at 8:30pm on Tuesday and will be available to watch after it airs on ThreeNow.
