The famous ebullient smile that Australians know so well was not there on the face of the man we have known and loved for almost 60 years, and it was sadly absent from that of his wife as well. Bert and Patti Newton have been part of our living room furniture for almost as long as television has been around in Australia and over the past five decades we have been entertained by them on tv, stage, radio and screen. We remember when they married, when their first child Matthew arrived – the image of his ‘moonface’ dad – and then followed by daughter Lauren. We watched as Matthew grew into a bubbly child who clearly was blessed with the same jolly on-camera charisma as dad Bert, and musically gifted like his mum Patti. They were our own tv royalty and we admired how they had protected their family life from the glare of the cameras, they seemed like the normal, typical Australian family.

Well, in many ways they are because Bert and Patti Newton are enduring the same nightmare faced by untold numbers of parents around the country – and the world – they have a child who has descended into the maelstrom that is mental illness and they simply do not know what to do next. Matthew Newton has been on a downward spiral of assaults, rages and court appearances over the past few years, he has been in rehab and checked out before being sufficiently recovered and it has got to the stage now where his behaviour and mental state has dangerously reached melting point after several well-publicised incidents.

Bert and Patti appeared on TV last night to discuss their son’s condition – not to publicise themselves, not for PR, not to make empty excuses for their son – they appeared on national television to explain and to question while they seek answers as to how best to treat their son. They are a couple clearly at the end of their rope as most parents in this position, anyone in fact, would understand; this is a much loved showbiz couple stripped down to the rawest essentials, in pain and grieving already it seems – let’s hope that their beloved son is able to get the help he so badly needs, before it is too late.