...brought to you by Mazda. Tonight on Sunday, the moment two paths crossed with disastrous consequences. Two minutes earlier or two minutes later she might not have come across it. Stepping in to help a stranger,... I would have just been thinking, 'What are you doing?' Would it have occurred to you he might hurt you? Would it have occurred to you he might hurt you? Not at all. ...she became the victim,... He dropped the bag and punched me in the face. ...turning her life on its head. I would get surprised when I would feel the stitches, staples that were in my hair. Had you ever seen her like that before? Had you ever seen her like that before? No. It wasn't really Lucy. Then from Food In A Minute to French cuisine. It was time to say the things I've worked hard for personally are now more important. So I went. Captions by Anne Langford. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015 Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. Would you step in to help a stranger in trouble? When mother of six, Lucy Knight, saw a teenage boy snatching a woman's handbag outside the supermarket, she didn't think twice. But bravely stepping in would have serious consequences for her and her family. Lucy was punched to the ground, fracturing her skull as she hit the pavement. She suffered a severe head injury. Tonight the Good Samaritan tells her personal story about fighting for her life, and why she'd do it all over again. Here's Libby Middlebrook. Are you the same old Lucy? > I think so. No, I'm not exactly. No. Slightly different. Things are more black and white to me now. How have you changed? I will get upset more easily, find things much more alarming. Lunch? How's it going? Lunch? How's it going? Nearly done. But in the chaos of the early morning scramble,... CHILD YELLS ...with six children to herd out the door,... One, two, three, four. Did Oscar get ready? ...Lucy Knight feels strangely like her old self,... Rubbish bin. I quite like the mornings because you know that's my most alert time at the moment. That one there? Are you ready to walk again? ...forgetting for a while she was ever hurt. We made it. Just before I was feeling really on to things, you know, and really good and fit and ready to go out and achieve things, and now I'm, like, 'Oh yeah, have to work on that.' Her life forever altered after a chance meeting with a violent young offender. If she'd been two minutes earlier or two minutes later she might not have come across it. I just wish she hadn't been hurt. Lucy, Peter's childhood sweetheart, was injured when she tried to help a stranger being mugged by a teenage boy. There would be terrible consequences. The fact that I would act like that is not good. Very scary for Peter. Did the future seem unknown at that point? > Did the future seem unknown at that point? > Yeah, it did. When everything had always seemed so certain. They met when they were 17; two kids on the way home from orchestra practice. I was a tuba player in the North Shore Youth Orchestra. Yes. And Lucy was the clarinettist. One of them. Um... We clicked. Yeah. And you married young? > And you married young? > Yes, yes. 21 They finished university ` Lucy a qualified architect and Peter with a bachelor in music; wasting no time having babies. Did you always plan to have such a big family? No. < It evolved. It evolved. I didn't get any sauce. Sorry. First came Laura, then Oscar, Rowan, Phoebe, Benny and finally Max. Lucy, a stay-at-home mum. You know, the kids need someone there for them and that's what I was there to do, and I love them so much that, you know... I love playing with the kids. What if I tickle this, though? And that was a life that you embraced? And that was a life that you embraced? Absolutely. Until one day last September. What's it like coming back here? It's quite weird. Yeah. A little bit unsettling, even though I know it's perfectly safe and fine. Lucy was on a routine trip to her local supermarket with her two youngest boys. Tell me what you remember. Um, I remember parking over here, getting the boys out and loading them into the trolley. Max sits in the trolley and I had Benny by the hand. And I remember coming over towards the entrance, and that's it. At the same time, CCTV cameras captured this man, Hendrix Hauwai, targeting a woman to mug. He stalked his victim and tried to snatch her handbag right in front of Lucy. What would have you been thinking when you saw Hendrix trying to take that bag? I'd have been thinking, 'What are you doing? You're kidding me. 'This is a public place and you are attacking a poor lady. 'A small lady. You know? It's not acceptable.' Would it have occurred to you that he might hurt you? Would it have occurred to you that he might hurt you? Not at all. I don't think so. Possibly naively, I don't expect that people hurt other people. Whoops. Lucy shouted at him to stop. At which point he dropped the bag and then came and punched me in the face, and apparently it was the punch that knocked me out. So you were out to it before you even hit the ground? So you were out to it before you even hit the ground? Apparently, yes. Lucy took a massive blow to the head, fracturing her skull as she hit the concrete. A gruesome fall witnessed by her boys. Tell me what happened. Did I fall down? Ah-huh. And the ambulance get you. And the ambulance got me? And the ambulance got me? Yeah. And the ambulance got me? Yeah. Ha ha. That was lucky. The thing that probably bothers me the most, is that they saw me being hurt. They're quite clingy, still, thinking, 'Is Mum going to suddenly disappear?' which it seemed to them that I did, you know, and Benny has said, 'Why didn't you talk to me when you fell down? Why didn't you answer me?' So it's that shock for them that Mummy, who is supposed to be there always for you and protecting you, wasn't. Surgeons at Auckland Hospital quickly operated, removing a piece of Lucy's skull to relieve pressure on her brain. Her future was unknown. I was really scared for her and for the kids and myself. They weren't sure if she'd suffered any brain damage. No. I looked awful. I looked really awful, really confused. Basically, just staring out of one eye cos one had closed up. Yeah, it was quite disturbing to think, 'Oh, that was me.' It was pretty hard, yeah, seeing her like that. Seeing someone you love, like, hurt. Especially tough for the youngest kids who missed their mum. The sleeping at nights was really affected. Within an hour or so of me getting into bed to go to sleep, I'd often be joined by a couple of little... They came looking for Mum, and I was the poor substitute. When Lucy finally woke up from an induced coma, she gave her family an encouraging thumbs-up. And it was good because you could see she knew who we were. Do you remember going to see her in hospital? Do you remember going to see her in hospital? Yes. And how did that make you feel? > And how did that make you feel? > Sad and happy. Why sad and happy? > Um, sad because she hurt her head really hard and happy because I got to see her again. Lucy had no memory of the assault. Apparently I had to be told several times a day what had happened. I would get quite surprised when I would feel stitches, staples and bandages. I'd think, 'What's this? 'Don't know.' Her injuries were confronting enough, but her behaviour would also become erratic. No, it's awful. I feel incredibly guilty about it. After the break, dealing with the aftershocks of a head injury. Had you ever seen her like that before? Had you ever seen her like that before? No, no. It wasn't really Lucy. a What's this? What's this? Flower. What's this? Flower. Thank you, sweetie. Lucy Knight was brutally beaten and survived major surgery,... They took a slice off of my skull to release pressure. ...before she was transferred to a rehabilitation clinic; told she'd need weeks of intensive therapy. I was very upset. I wanted to go home. Did you get angry with people? Did you get angry with people? Oh, yes. Lucy says she lost it; refused to wear her protective helmet. I, basically, to be honest, didn't realise I had part of my skull missing. She says she became aggressive. Had you ever seen her like that before? > No. It wasn't... It wasn't really Lucy. Yeah, well, I was throwing things around. There was a little alarm clock, and they showed me that I was now in a locked facility and I wouldn't be able to open it. And I threw the clock at the door. Yeah. It, um,... > smashed the glass pane on the door. Basically, I had to be restrained for a while until I calmed down. This seemed like a real setback. At this stage, we didn't know what the long-term prognosis would be. And Lucy was oblivious to what was happening in the real world. I knew nothing about it at all. DRUMS BEAT Her random act of kindness towards an Asian woman had made her a hero,... MAN: Our Good Samaritan, Ladies and Gentleman, Lucy Knight. > ...inspiring Kiwis to donate more than $260,000. Astonishing. Yeah. And just so moving. People call you a Good Samaritan, Lucy. What do you think of that? To be honest, I love it. I really love it. I think it's a beautiful name, but I do honestly worry that I don't really deserve it, so... Lucy's rebuilding her life. How close to a full recovery are you? > How close to a full recovery are you? > I would think 90%. Take a guess. Now you can say your name backwards. I can spell it backwards. I can spell it backwards. Spell it backwards. I can spell it backwards. Spell it backwards. Y-C-U-L. (GIGGLES) Good. She's working on her balance. Has no sense of smell, and often finds her fingers going to the deep trench in her skull. It's quite numb. The sense of feeling hasn't come back totally yet. It can be quite pins and needley. And there's a few plates ` three or four holding it. She tires easily, and still has another operation ahead of her. One of the screws and the plate is coming through the forehead. Gosh, it is too. Wow. < Does it bother you having it`? < Does it bother you having it`? It does. It's like growing a horn. ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS But through it all, she's had Peter to rely on. He's had to take on so much. He's been running the household, teaching full-time and conducting the Auckland Symphony Orchestra. It's part of who I am. It is something I can seek, sort of, solace from. What's harder? Wrangling your family or an orchestra of 60 people? That's an easy one. The family. (LAUGHS) A couple of quick ones, please. The orchestra do what you say. The orchestra do what you say. Yeah. < Most of them. Most of them. Do you want different things now out of your life? Absolutely more time with the family. Your mother and father should be standing with you in the dock for this sentencing. Her attacker, Hendrix Hauwai, had no family to support him when he appeared. He offered to meet Lucy through restorative justice, but she chose to face him in court. What did you feel when you saw him? > What did you feel when you saw him? > I felt sorry for him. He's in jail. Probably not a fun place to be. Hauwai was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Lucy learnt for the first time he'd snatched other women's bags. You told the police that the primary motivation was to obtain money to buy food, as both you and your younger sister were starving. But Lucy doesn't believe it. No. No, I don't. Why not? > I think there are other avenues if you are hungry, you know. Go and steal some food if you're hungry. Lucy, have you forgiven Hendrix? No, I haven't actually forgiven him yet, but I'm trying to work towards it. For doing it in front of my kids, I do find really hard to forgive. He hurt their hearts? He hurt their hearts? Yeah. Go, Max. Go, Max. Mum, can you help me...? But after everything she's been through, would she do it all again? Yes, I would do it all again. No hesitation? > No hesitation? > No. Even knowing that you could be hurt in that way again? I would probably adopt a more defensive pose. (LAUGHS) Brave and beautiful Lucy Knight. And if you're wondering what Lucy and Peter did with the donation money, they took their first family holiday in years and put the rest towards the mortgage. After the break, from famous foodie to faraway in France. Why did Allyson Gofton give it all up? It went from, 'What the hell are we doing here?' to, 'Why do we have to go home?' Overnight our world blossomed. These lovely people here would like to hear some francais. Hello again. She solved our daily dinner dilemma for 13 years straight, but it was her own dilemma that took her on a daring pilgrimage. Allyson Gofton, the popular face of Food In A Minute, suddenly dropped out. But why and where? Well, as Lisa Davies discovered, behind the scenes, Allyson Gofton was suffering, so her husband whisked her away on a journey that would become soul food for their entire family. It's 7am... Are we up? ...but it's already frenetic here. So, what's breakfast? Nackie or corn fritters? Nackie or corn fritters? Nackie. Nackie or corn fritters? Nackie. Nackie? All right, madam. Viola. Thank you. Because in Allyson Gofton's home, it's not just cereal on the menu. Jean-Luc, is a pizza OK for lunch? What are you going to have for lunch, madame? How about we have pizza sandwich? She whips cream for a pav while she makes school lunches from scratch. You're got pizza for morning tea. OK? As well as lunch,... and afternoon too. But, of course, this is the woman who once answered the day's most dreaded question for us all. What's for dinner? If your tastebuds are in need of something a little spicy, then try these chilli mussels. So, Food In A Minute. The claim to fame. The claim to fame. (LAUGHS) > It was fun. It was great. It was wonderful in its day. I enjoyed every minute of it. Did you really enjoy every minute of it? Did you really enjoy every minute of it? Towards the end I didn't. If you're entertaining over summer, then these tuna dippers are perfect to have with drinks any time. What were the worst combinations you had to do? I hated doing baked-bean pizza. Oh, that one really drove me nuts. But I had to see it from the other side of the coin, which was Wattie's who said, 'So what's the difference between putting baked beans on toast?' The demands of big business after Wattie's was sold to Heinz made her feel like she was selling herself short. International corporates have a very different way of business, of doing business. And, so, whereas I'd been able to choose the products that we would use, cos we had to use a product, it became two products. And then I wasn't able to choose. It was a real struggle. It was a real struggle. Did you end up hating it? It was a real struggle. Did you end up hating it? I suppose at times. But Allyson stuck it out for a very personal reason. I am so grateful that we hung in. It was worth it. For me and my family, it was worth it. Hitting her 40s, Allyson knew her time for having much desired children was running out. If you have to go down the IVF line, then it can be expensive and it can be heart-breaking. But when her son arrived,... We'll change your nappy, I think, little man. ...it was three months too soon. You just popped out a bit earlier than planned, didn't you? Then they faced a four-year battle to conceive their daughter, Olive Rose. Getting Olive Rose, that was hard yakka. And I think if I'm honest, Warwick had long wished I had stopped the request for a daughter. It proved one battle too many. I had suffered depression off and on. So I think it was the IVF drugs as well, < it just collapses in on you sometimes. It was probably one of the good reasons that I had to step away from. Cos you have to look after your own health as well. Having struggled to get Olive Rose, and a mother at 47 with a brand new baby, it was time to go. It was time to say the things I've worked hard for personally are now more important. So I went. But she didn't just leave the show, she was about to leave her whole life behind. Husband Warwick pushed for all of them to take time out ` a year away from NZ. Where he took them was as far as you can get from suburban Auckland; to Caixon, a village of 350 people, at the base of the mountains between France and Spain. We did all hate him for taking us there. On the inside here, you think, 'Why are we doing this?' Up here, you're saying to yourself, 'I'm sure this is going to be all right.' They arrived in the bleakest of winters. It was cold, dark and isolating. None of them spoke the language, and it was especially tough on the kids. There'd be tears, and when any child cries and you're pushing them out of the car, your heart is crying too, and you're thinking, 'This is so bad. They've got to do it.' But we didn't give in. After four months of struggle, spring arrived, and, slowly, so did their love for all things French. It went from, 'What the hell are we doing here?' to, 'Why do we have to go home?' Overnight our world blossomed. Allyson went from Food In A Minute to a passion for rural, rustic French cuisine, pouring that newfound love into a French cookbook. It's cooking with simplicity. It's cooking with ease. And it's not cooking with flash things. And that really sunk in while I was there. And I really loved that. No pesto, no pastes, no dashes, no drizzles, no dustings. Just simple, simple food for the whole year. It's that love of simple food she wants others to embrace. I do think people are too scared to just put something simple on the table. That's a really bad job I've done there, but we can cut and paste. That's a really bad job I've done there, but we can cut and paste. It's a lot better than I could do. You wouldn't see this on MasterChef, OK? This is not your MasterChef way of making a tart. But surely that's part of it too? It doesn't have to look like MasterChef. It doesn't. And it never did. But after all the trials she's faced, the most unexpected pressure was coming back home. We got up at the same time and we went to bed at the same time, but everything in between those hours is a race here ` the traffic, the 'want' wheel that everybody seems to be on. I found it really hard coming back, and there's this urgency to answer things with email, and everybody's on a phone doing things. And there's no time just to smell the roses. Yeah, no, it was very tough coming back. Hi, Mum. Hi, Mum. Hi, handsome. And these lovely people would like to hear some francais. Of course, they ended up bringing a bit of French back too. Je suis mieux que vous. Je suis mieux que vous. What's that? I am better than you. I am better than you. (LAUGHS RAUCOUSLY) What do you like about French? > You can say swear words and no one knows, and also you can speak in French and go, 'I don't like these people.' 'I don't like these people.' BOTH LAUGH Which I do like you guys. You're pretty cool. Which I do like you guys. You're pretty cool. Oh, thanks, mate. France was the reality check Allyson feels she needed. My time in France has really reinforced to me that home food cooked either by Mum or Dad or a carer at home is essential. It's glue for the family. And when people say they haven't got enough time, well, I think we've reprioritised what's important to us in life in many ways. Guys, afternoon tea. If anybody thought, or had an inkling that they'd like to do it, it's worth it. It really is worth the tough times, and it made the good times so much sweeter because we'd had those tough times. Cette bonne? Cette bonne? C'est bien. Oh, oui. Oui. Ooh, it's kind of inspiring, isn't it? Kua mutu te mahi naianei. That's us for tonight. Do check us out on Facebook and Twitter, Sunday TVNZ.