Live broadcasts can sometimes take unexpected turns as was seen recently on ABC News Breakfast. Australian weather presenter Nate Byrne experienced a panic attack mid-broadcast on Tuesday morning. He was presenting a weather report for Queensland.
In a video shared by ABC News’ Facebook page, the meteorologist is seen delivering the weather report when he suddenly pauses. With a trembling voice, Byrne says, “I’m actually going to need to stop for a second." He then explains, “Some of you may know that I occasionally get affected by some panic attacks, and actually that’s happening right now."
Byrne called on co-host Lisa Millar to take over the broadcast as he took a moment to recover off-camera.
The camera quickly shifted to Millar who reassured viewers, “Very pleased to say that our wonderful colleague Nate is back with us," once Byrne regained his composure.
Upon returning, Byrne apologised for the interruption, saying, “Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare."
Co-host Michael Rowland humorously confessed his concern about having to step in for Byrne. “You gave me a scare because I thought I’d have to finish doing the weather report and I am not good at it," he said.
“Well, he was talking about Queensland so I was going to step up," Millar chimed in.
Byrne thanked everyone for their support, adding, “Well, today would be the day to do it, because there is so much going on for Queensland. But thank you all so much for helping out."
Later on Tuesday, Rowland posted a video of the incident on his Instagram, reassuring viewers that his co-host was “doing okay."
“You might have seen Nate experience a panic attack earlier this morning while presenting the News Breakfast weather. Nate’s open about his panic attacks — he’s even written about them before — and he’s doing okay! Thank you for all the supportive messages (There have been so many. What a wonderful audience we have!) As a team, we’ll always have your back, Nate. Always. (Although I hope I didn’t make matters worse with my bear hug off-camera…)," Rowland wrote in the caption.
In the comments, Byrne expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thanks Michael Rowland and to everyone else – I have the best (and biggest!) support team. Makes it all so much better."
Bryne previously shared his experience with panic attacks in a 2022 article, describing that he experienced his first panic attack live on TV, calling it “absolutely terrifying."
“As I stood there under the studio lights, talking to people having their morning coffee and wiping sleep from their eyes, my heart was racing, I was gasping for breath and sweat was pouring out of every pore as my brain screamed “RUN!"," he wrote in the article.
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