Dominic Joseph Bowden (born 15 December 1977) is a New Zealand television personality, host and voice actor. He is best known as the host of New Zealand reality series including New Zealand Idol, Dancing with the Stars New Zealand and The X Factor New Zealand. When based in Los Angeles, he hosted the American reality music competition show, The Next Great American Band and as a Hollywood reporter for the Erin Simpson show. Bowden has been called "New Zealand's Ryan Seacrest." Early life Bowden was born in Auckland, New Zealand, where he attended Sacred Heart College. His parents are a surveyor and a business manager. Bowden is a graduate of the Auckland University of Technology, with a Bachelor of Communication Studies, majoring in Television which he achieved in 2000. Career After graduating from AUT, Bowden began hosting the popular Saturday morning Children's television programme, Squirt for TVNZ. Bowden then moved into live television on the weekly late-night music show Space. He also traveled the country with British popstar, Robbie Williams for a television special, Robbie Williams: Be Here Now. Bowden, then moved to Australia and into radio, working as a roving nightly reporter for Austereo, on 2Day FM. Then in 2004, it was announced Bowden would return to New Zealand as the sole host of New Zealand Idol for TVNZ. The Idol series one grand final was watched by a quarter of the country's population. During this time, for six months Bowden hosted his own nightly radio show for MediaWorks Radio on More FM, called Most Wanted. He also appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Treasure Island: Series 1 and Shock Treatment. As well as hosting the successful game-shows, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader and Dare to Win, which had a similar format to Minute to Win It. Bowden has worked as a reporter for the magazine news show 20/20 (US television series), traveling to Los Angeles to interview Ryan Seacrest for a television special in New Zealand. Shortly after, Bowden signed with Seacrest's then agent William Morris Endeavor and moving to Los Angeles. He was selected by American Idol executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick to host "The Next Great American Band", which was cancelled after one season. In 2014, Bowden co-hosted the all access show with Lacey Schwimmer for Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 19). Bowden was the sole host of the first and