No matter how much they prepare, reporters are not immune to some of the things that happen unexpectedly on live TV, and this was one of them.
Melbourne Victory player Mitch Austin joined ABC News Breakfast presenter Georgie Tunny on set yesterday for an interview to talk about his team’s chances during the upcoming A-League season.
However, the interview didn’t last long, with Austin suddenly standing up and walking off the set, leaving Tunny visibly shocked.
The power of live TV. Let’s hope Mitch Austin is ok after his walk out during the interview on #newsbreakfast on our #ABC! pic.twitter.com/VreP2Qp2ts
— armitage_shanks (@mauricebilli) October 2, 2017
Tunny was then forced to throw back to the ABC News Breakfast team of Paul Kennedy and Virginia Trioli who, to their credit, handled the situation very well, before later clarifying to viewers that Austin had suffered a panic attack, and that he was A-OK.
Their professional handling of the situation didn’t go unnoticed on social media either.
Panic attacks can strike anyone anytime, not funny.Well done @abc in explaining what happened,U got my respect @mitchaustin10 #mentalhealth
— James Taylor (@TaylorJim181) October 2, 2017
Great work and well done @paulwkennedy @LaTrioli for being so understanding about Mitch Austin. Handled beautifully.
— Tim Grainger (@tim_grainger) October 2, 2017
