She’s best-known as “Tina from Turners”, the upbeat saleswoman who really loves cars in the TV ads for the used-vehicle dealership. But now Sieni Leo’o Olo, aka Bubbah, is turning up on our screen without the wheels – as one of the contestants in the fourth season of Taskmaster NZ.
The comedy game show, hosted by Seven Sharp’s Jeremy Wells, sees five comedians pitted against each other in a series of bizarre but amusing challenges. For Bubbah, 27, it was a chance to flex the comedy muscles she’s been developing since childhood.
“Taskmaster is probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” she grins. “I’d never seen the show before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But it turned out to be so much fun and I couldn’t believe I was getting paid to play games!”
While Bubbah admits to feeling nervous about meeting fellow contestants Dai Henwood, Karen O’Leary, Melanie Bracewell and Ray O’Leary, the funny folk “really clicked”, she says. “I was especially in awe of Dai because I grew up watching him on TV and then I’m standing next this Kiwi legend! All the comedians were so well-seasoned compared to me, so I was scared, but they held my hand and helped me through. I’ve made life-long friends though this show.”
Bubbah admits one of the hardest Taskmaster challenges was finding a bottle of glitter in a fridge. She explains, “I’m really not good at finding things – it’s not the way my brain works! I’m always losing my keys or my phone.”
Currently single and sharing her South Auckland home with her rottweiler puppy named Friday, Bubbah also had to run and play table tennis on the show. “I’m really not sporty,” she confesses. “It was a stressful but amazing experience and I would 1000% do it again.”
Taskmaster was certainly a long way from her local Samoan church, where Bubbah got an initial taste of performing in front of an audience. “That was the first stage I ever got on,” tells the star, who would sing and act every Sunday, impressing her pastor so much, he asked her to run all the church’s shows.
But when Bubbah told her parents she wanted to pursue a career in acting, they weren’t impressed. She recalls, “They were worried acting wouldn’t bring in a stable income – and it turns out they were right! But performing is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Tina from Turners” is really going places now!
While she was still at high school, Bubbah signed up for a workshop with Auckland’s Massive Company, which creates theatre with new actors, directors and writers. “They taught me all I know,” she says. “It’s where I found my voice and learned how to tell the stories that I wanted to tell, along with the tools to make that happen.”
Always good at making people laugh, after school, Bubbah started doing stand-up shows around Auckland, including at the International Comedy Festival. She also appeared in the 2020 film Mama’s Music Box and the TV show Duckrockers.
But one thing that bothered Bubbah was why there were so few brown faces at comedy shows. “I never saw people who looked like me in the audience. It was important for me to bring my community into a space where they could be comfortable, so I could share stories that would resonate with them.”
Early in 2020, Bubbah brought her comedy to the people, writing a show called My Ode To South Auckland, which she staged in her grandparents’ backyard. She wasn’t expecting the 240 people who crammed into the garden, their cars blocking the street.
“I found a kid at a local bakery who was hilarious, so I got him up on stage, as well as some local rappers. We had the best time.”
Her aim now is to provide more free content for her community. “My goal is to make comedy more accessible, so I’d love to do a free show at Spark Arena that anyone and everyone can come to.”
For now, Bubbah’s busy planning a much-needed holiday in Samoa to visit family. “They come from a small village near Apia, where people live a very simple, happy life. It’s a bit like my beloved dog, who reminds me every day that life should be simple.”
But Bubbah will be straight back into work mode on her return, when she starts an internship writing for Shortland Street.
“I met the head writer, and told her I was interested in storytelling and scriptwriting, then she contacted me the next day. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and am really looking forward to further developing my skills.”
Taskmaster NZ premieres 7.30pm Monday 14 August on TVNZ 2.
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