Alex Casey for The Spinoff

We can all remember the most iconic moments in recent New Zealand television history. Always blow on the pie. The three-way handshake. When Rodney Hide dropped that lady on Dancing With The Stars.

But nothing has left a stain on our national collective memory quite like that episode of Target.

Ah yes, 15/05/2012. The day that ruined the reputation of cleaners everywhere. The day that made everybody rethink the positioning/existence of their laundry basket.

If you missed it, (how did you miss it?) Target ran one of their now infamous hidden camera trials on three different cleaners. The result? Something straight out of an Eating Media Lunch dream. One of the cleaners didn't exactly clean. One of them did, what you could argue, is the exact opposite of clean.

We talked to Catie McDonald, who was working for the production company that made Target at the time. Retire your work stories everyone, this is not a tale to be sniffed at.

What exactly was your role on that episode of Target?

My role was hidden camera actress and schedule manager for the Target house. So I would call all the tradesmen and say "Hey I've got a stain on my carpet and I need to have it cleaned – can you come around?". I only ever called three tradesmen and would meet them at the house. Once I'd let them in, I'd leave them to go to 'uni' or a 'meeting'.

So one of those tradesmen you called was that one, how did you choose them?

I literally just opened the Yellow Pages and picked three companies at total random. That's how it was for all of the trials. Lots of people think that we tested about 20 different tradesmen and put the worst three on TV – that's not how it worked. We only ever chose three across all of the trades. We didn't have the budget for any more.

It wasn't your house was it?

It was a house that Target rented for about three months. I decorated the place to look like I lived there with a few flatmates. In the past, some hidden camera actresses have actually lived in the house, but it was close to where I was living anyway.

Did you use your own… belongings in the house?

They were props. So some of them were my things like the old clothes in the wardrobe and photos on the wall. But the underwear in the washing ­– those were props. Probably from Kmart or somewhere. And no they weren't worn – I know you are going to ask that.