Ita Buttrose she suffered a breakdown in the early days of COVID-19

‘I burst into tears’: Ita Buttrose admits she suffered a breakdown in the early days of the coronavirus lockdown

ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose has revealed she felt overwhelmed in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown.

The 78-year-old media doyenne, who lives in Sydney, spoke about the ‘dark moments’ she’d experienced during the pandemic on Studio 10 on Friday.

‘Well, I must be perfectly frank, early in the COVID-19 shut down, I did, one Saturday. I was just sitting in my lounge room and I burst into tears,’ she admitted.

‘I burst into tears’: Ita Buttrose admit she broke down in the early days of the COVID lockdown. She told Studio 10 on Friday, ‘I must be perfectly frank, early in the COVID-19 shut down, I did, one Saturday. I was just sitting in my lounge room and I burst into tears’

‘I think it was just, it was just the impact of this odd world we were living in. But then you sort of think, “Pull yourself together, Ita,” she added.

She revealed that daily exercise helped her clear her mind and kept her ‘grounded’.

‘I’m a great believer in going for a walk, clearing your brain. I think it’s something you’ve got to do every day,’ she said.

‘I find that when I go walking and a don’t take a radio or headsets or anything like that.’ 

'Unconditional love': The media doyenne revealed that daily exercise helped her clear her mind and kept her 'grounded'. She noted that companionship of her pet dog, named Cleo (pictured), also put her in a good mood during the lockdown

‘Unconditional love’: The media doyenne revealed that daily exercise helped her clear her mind and kept her ‘grounded’. She noted that companionship of her pet dog, named Cleo (pictured), also put her in a good mood during the lockdown

She noted that the companionship of her dog, Cleo, named after the magazine she famously edited in the 1970s, also kept her spirits up during the lockdown. 

‘It doesn’t matter if you leave home in an angry mood, when you come back,[pets] are still pleased to see you. They are really friendly all the time. Unconditional love,’ she said.

Ita also revealed that she and her friends enjoyed lunch together over Zoom in the early days of the lockdown.

'You have to keep in touch': During lockdown Ita revealed that she and her friends enjoyed lunch together over Zoom in the early days of the lockdown. She said: 'We turned on Zoom and ate our lunch and talked to each other'

‘You have to keep in touch’: During lockdown Ita revealed that she and her friends enjoyed lunch together over Zoom in the early days of the lockdown. She said: ‘We turned on Zoom and ate our lunch and talked to each other’

‘We had a Good Friday lunch. Everybody cooked a Good Friday dish, and we turned on Zoom and ate our lunch and talked to each other,’ she said.

‘You’ve got to think, “Alright, this is the way we are living. What can we do to make it more tolerable?” You have to keep in touch with people.’

Ita’s guest appearance on Studio 10 comes two years after she left the program as a panellist. She is the now the chairwoman of the ABC.

Last episode: Ita's appearance on the revamped Studio 10 comes two years after she left the morning program

Last episode: Ita’s appearance on the revamped Studio 10 comes two years after she left the morning program