Peace of my heart

To most of us, Tammy Wells is quite simply “the Briscoes lady” – the inimitable Kiwi icon whose warm smile and cheery voice has been beamed into our living rooms and lives for more than 30 years.

But to her friends and family, Tammy is not only an advertising legend, she’s also a devoted mum, loving wife, farmer, friend, and even a longtime organ player at her local church.

While her role as the face of homeware giant Briscoes – which she started an astonishing 31 years ago – takes her away from home for around 30 days out of the year, it’s here at her little slice of rural paradise on the outskirts of Christchurch where she’s happiest. And as she welcomes us on to the property she’s called home for almost 40 years, she insists there’s simply no place she’d rather be.

“This is me,” she smiles, gesturing out across the lush green paddocks that surround her family home, where she and husband Michael raised their sons