Leigh Sales, the polished and poised ABC TV star who made mincemeat of some of our top politicians on 7.30 and Lateline is full of emotion as she opens up about the story that broke her heart.
“Oh, my God, I had to leave work early because I couldn’t get it together. I was crying so hard and I could not stop,” Leigh tells Woman’s Day, admitting the tears she once had to hide now give her relief.
“I cry all the time. It’s such a relief.”
It’s a frank admission from Leigh, 53, who rarely opens up about herself or her two sons, aged 14 and 12, despite spending more than three decades on TV and radio, and hosting a very successful podcast with close friend Annabel Crabb.
Real stories
Leigh says part of the enduring appeal of Australian Story, which is celebrating its 30-year milestone, is that social media, including her own posts, can only provide a “manicured” snapshot of someone’s life.
“Whereas Australian Story genuinely brings storytelling craft to telling people’s stories and it’s situating an individual story in the context of the experiences and thoughts of the people around them,” she says.
She’s often brought to tears watching the rough cuts of heartbreaking and inspiring episodes, which on average take up to six weeks to shoot. But one Perth mother’s story completely broke her, forcing her to leave work early.
Leigh was deeply affected by Deirdre Croft, who at 72 is confronting the terrible fear of what will happen to her son, Richard, 45 – who has a profound intellectual disability.
“I was crying so hard about this story we had on early this year,” she says, explaining that as a mum herself Deirdre and Richard’s plight hit home, and left her completely broken. “It’s nearly making me cry to talk about it.”
Leigh had to keep her emotions in check on Lateline and 7.30 and now finds it’s “kind of a relief I can just watch the content like a normal human being”.
The secret to Australian Story’s success is that ordinary Aussies see themselves reflected in it, because it captures the universal human experience of loss, grief, joy, transformation and adaptation.
“The nature of news is that it is capturing the worst day of people’s lives. Australian Story shows the fullness of what life is like. You can have terrible experiences, but you can also have joyful experiences and at times they co-exist,” she says.
Leigh, who also mentors autistic journalism students as they prepare to interview big stars for hit doco series The Assembly, has no regrets about stepping back from news to host two emotionally charged shows that have allowed her to be more “human”.
“Working in news gives you a sense of how rapidly life can change and how it just passes by in the blink of an eye,” she says, revealing it was an easy decision to quit her 7.30 anchor role after 12 years.
“When they came to me and said, ‘Would you like to be attached to Australian Story,’ it was a no-brainer for me. I just thought, oh my God, absolutely.”
Leigh remembers “marvelling” at Kerry Packer’s pilot, Nick Ross, talking about donating his kidney to his billionaire boss, and NRL coach Wayne Bennett opening up about two of his children, who live with significant disabilities.
Touched her heart
Since joining the show, her “hands down favourite” is The River, a two-part story that aired last year about Lithuanian rafter Valdas Bieliauskas, who almost died rafting on Tasmania’s Franklin River.
“It was as intense and thrilling as anything I have watched on Netflix,” she says, letting slip that Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe are all on the show’s “hit list” of famous Aussies they would like to interview.
Leigh also “loved” miniature dachshund Valerie, who famously survived 529 days in the wilds of South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, saying it made “me laugh so hard”.
So what does she watch in her own downtime?
“I don’t watch MAFS, but I do like a bit of trash TV. I watched the 50th season of Survivor,” she shares, revealing she also watches RuPaul’s Drag Race and is currently enjoying The Family Guy with her kids, who loved it when she voiced a character on Bluey.
“I’m very mindful of enjoying the moment, being grateful for it, not being in a rush. When I was younger, I was always in a rush to move on to the next thing, the next exciting challenge. I’m just living and enjoying it.”
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