The ‘powerful’ story that saw Today show’s Allison Langdon shed tears

Viewers are used to seeing Today show co-host Allison Langdon composed on air.

But on Friday’s program, the 41-year-old showed her vulnerable side after footage from a 2013 segment of Nine’s 60 Minutes played out on screen.

Allison wiped away tears and was even offered a tissue from co-host Karl Stefanovic, as they revisited the ‘powerful’ story of Saroo and his adoptive mother Sue Brierley. 

Saroo and Sue appeared on Friday’s program to promote their new books, however the segment began with the Today show replaying footage from 60 Minutes.  

In 2013, Allison was a journalist on 60 Minutes, and interviewed Saroo and Sue, who inspired the highly acclaimed film Lion, starring Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel. 

The program flew Sue over to India from Australia to meet Saroo’s birth mother Fatima Munshi. 

At just five years of age, Saroo became separated from his brother at a train station, and ended up on a train by himself, travelling miles away from home. 

After spending weeks in Calcutta, he was put into an orphanage, which is where he was eventually adopted by Sue and John Brierley.

Saroo, who lived in Hobart with his adoptive parents, eventually returned to his home village of Khandwa in 2012.   

60 Minutes replayed footage of Sue meeting Saroo’s birth mother Fatima for the first time in his home village, causing Allison to shed tears on air.  

‘Boy, that moment was powerful, wasn’t it?’ Karl directed at Allison, after the footage aired. ‘You got pretty emotional just watching it, it was as if you were there again.’   

‘It was such a moment because we took Sue back to India for the first time to meet Fatima and this moment where you have birth mother and adoptive mother meeting for the first time.   

‘I will even just… even just watching that now, it was so powerful. It was the most powerful moment that I have ever witnessed on 60 Minutes.’