To New Zealanders of a certain era, "Lyn of Tawa" is as much Ginette McDonald as "Fred Dagg" is John Clarke.
The Wellington actress, presenter and celebrity circuit speaker was hoping to arrive in Wanaka today as herself but has found she cannot run away from Lyn, her gravel-voiced, gum-chewing alter ego and a character many people have thought of as real.
McDonald will be speaking at tonight's Wanaka and Districts Lions Club black-tie dinner to raise funds for Stew Burt's Canlive cancer charity, which is also supported by his Perfect Woman Charitable Trust.
The function has sold out.
She follows in the footsteps of luminaries such as amputee climber Mark Inglis and outspoken comedian Mike King, who have previously worn the crowd-pleaser's hat at the popular Lions club fund-raising dinners.
"People do call me Lyn. They do. It's flattering, I suppose," McDonald drawled during a telephone conversation from Wellington.
"On the whole, they mean well. I remember when Lyn was in her heyday, a lot of people thought they were better than Lyn.
"If I appeared anywhere they would look down on me. Thank God things have moved on," McDonald said.
Perhaps only the very young could be forgiven for failing to identify one of New Zealand's defining characters, invented by McDonald when she was just 16.
But they still have a chance to meet her.
McDonald - who gave her age as "the dark side of 39" - recently reinvented Lyn as an Islam-friendly, "living treasure".
"Lyn has matured, of course. She's been offshore for many years and has just returned to her turangawaewae after a low period as a sex slave and property developer (in Australia) . . .
"She is more mature, wiser. Still pondering the 25 years of extramarital bliss with Gary," McDonald explained.
Life as McDonald was "going fine", she said.
She's been doing quite a bit of "other stuff" and trying to make a living as cheerfully as she can.
"Like everyone else, [I'm] bracing against the economy and keeping a sharp eye for what's happening politically."
She has just finished being Angela, in a one-woman comedy, My Brilliant Divorce at Downstage Theatre, where she first began performing at the age of 14 over 30 years ago.
As Angela, McDonald played a housewife who was ditched by her accountant husband for a younger model.
The English play was written by Geraldine Aron and featured Dawn French.
McDonald hopes the play will tour New Zealand and it can come to the South Island.
While working out the nuts and bolts of that, she is working on another one-woman show, the details of which have yet to be released.
McDonald had not prepared her speech when interviewed on Thursday.
"Oh God. You've put me on the spot there. [It will be] my take on how we are going, New Zealand.
"Perhaps a little bit about the difference between the North Island and the South Island, the mainland. A little bit about the difference between men and women."
