“I’m so sorry I did it”: Denise Drysdale opens up about that brussels sprout incident
Denise Drysdale has opened up about the continuing fallout from that brussels sprout incident last Christmas, where she lobbed a few of greens in the direction of fellow Studio 10 co-host at the time, Ita Buttrose.
"We were supposed to tape the Christmas song for Studio 10," Denise says in an exclusive interview with The Australian Women's Weekly. "I had to get up at four in the morning to get there because I had to fly down from where I live in Queensland."
She adds: "We'd been out at a skating rink to film a segment and then we went to this beautiful pub where they put on a lunch, the full roast turkey and the whole catastrophe.
"There we were, singing along with the song – and I had a couple of champagnes. I didn't have to drive. I was in a jovial sort of mood and I threw a brussels sprout at Ita. I lobbed it up and over the table at her and it hit her on the chest."
The 69-year-old two-time Gold Logie winner reiterates she meant no disrespect to Ita.
"The upshot is that she thought I disrespected her but I didn't and I don't. I am so sorry I did it. If I'd known it was going to cause so much trouble I wouldn't have done it. I just didn't think. But that's me all over. It's nothing that I haven't done before. That's why people like me. They look at me and think, "She's a bit of whacker'. And I am. I'm a bit of a ratbag,” she says.
Things between Ita and Denise turned sour when Ita suddenly left Studio 10 last month.
Denise was noticeably quiet during Ita’s last show on Studio 10, which she attributed to the emotions stirred by ANZAC Day. However, Denise’s comments on radio once again stirred rumours of a feud between the two.
Ita responded the next day with a pointed jab: “If it weren’t for me, Denise wouldn’t have the job at all”
The full interview with Denise Drysalde is in the May issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.