In a heartbreaking moment, Peter Helliar teared up on The Project last night as he opened up about the death of his former co-host, Richard Marsland.
The Australian comedian broke down as a story about Richard Marsland’s tragic 2008 suicide was aired.
WATCH: The moment Peter Helliar broke down in tears during Richard Marsland segment
When the segment ended, Helliar appeared to be staring down instead of facing the cameras, prompting his co-host Waleed Aly to ask him if he was okay.
“Yeah. Um … We need to keep talking about it [mental illness]. We need to keep listening,” the 44-year-old replied, overcome with emotion.
The Project panellist also mentioned Richard’s history with mental illness, stating that he didn’t “begrudge” him or his family for remaining private about it.
“But hopefully, 11 years on, we know how to have those conversations and we are better at having them,” Helliar continued.
“Every day, about 10 million Australians wake up with brekkie radio. Along with an incredible comedian called Richard Marsland, 10 years ago I was lucky enough to be part of a brekkie radio team,” Helliar confessed on air.
Marsland— who hosted AM Adelaide on Channel 7 and The Late Show with Bessie Bardot— sadly took his life at age 32, in 2008.
His other television appearances included Rove Live, Newstopia and The Glass House.
“Richard was an incredibly gifted comedic performer. It’s impossible to do him justice in a few sentences, but he was a celebrated writer for TV shows fronted by the likes of Rove and Shaun Micallef,” said Sam Mac earlier this month.
The comedian worked alongside Helliar and Myf Warhurst when they hosted Triple M’s Melbourne breakfast show.
With a weekly column for The Sunday Mail, Marsland was at the peak of his career when he died, leaving his loved ones in complete shock.
During the Project segment (which highlighted the mental health crisis in Australia) Helliar described Marsland as “one of the happiest, friendliest people he knew.”
“Rich was more than a mate. He was like my family,” his former co-host said, adding “Rich was always smiling. I thought he was always happy, but I was wrong.”
“We’ve come a long way when it comes to our understanding of mental illness. Yet every day on average, eight Australians still take their lives,” the father-of-three said.
Carrie Bickmore appeared to sympathise with her co-host and later shared a supportive tweet:
“I know how hard that was to do @pjhelliar but you did such a beautiful job. My heart aches for you and Richard’s beautiful friends and family. Thankyou for this powerful piece.”
The death of Marsland still deeply affects Helliar.
“And he’s certainly so missed. And as Sam said, you play things back over your head, and that just doesn’t go away,” he said.
If you need support or information about suicide prevention contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263).
