Entertainment

‘Next time I’m hurling the turkey!’ Denise Drysdale reignites sprout feud

Jul 04, 2018

Denise Drysdale and Ita Buttrose launched into an epic row previously.

Tensions erupted between Denise Drysdale and her Studio 10 co-star Ita Buttrose after she threw Brussels sprouts at her during their Christmas party last year.

But while the pair have since moved on and buried the hatchet, 69-year-old Denise has joked anything could happen if she has one too many drinks in the future – and next time it could be a lot worse.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Starts at 60, Denise opened up on the scandal as she was joined by co-stars Joe Hildebrand and Angela Bishop on the TV Week Logie Awards red carpet – and all three couldn’t resist joking around about the boozy night out.

Asked how they separate friendly debates on the show from their friendships off camera, Joe simply joked: “Brussel sprouts!”

It kick-started a funny exchange between the presenters, as Denise added: “It depends how much we’ve had to drink!”

Asked if there will be a repeat of the sprout incident, Joe joked: “Next it will be cabbages,” to which Denise said: “No, next I’m hurling the turkey!”

TV star Denise previously confirmed she had been forced to apologise to Ita after she threw the vegetables at her. While Ita initially kept a dignified silence, she later dismissed rumours of a “feud”. She did make it clear “it wasn’t one sprout, it was a bowl” however, and told Fairfax Media it was just something that happened – and it could happen to any “family”.

Despite claims the pair had fallen out and were no longer speaking, Ita insisted there was no feud, and showing she’s kept her humour intact throughout, she reportedly joked: “I love Brussels sprouts, especially when you sprinkle them with nutmeg but unfortunately the ones that were involved did not have nutmeg on.”

That came after Denise blamed the bizarre behaviour on her having one too many drinks at the bash, and told the Herald Sun at the time that they had since made up.

“I threw the brussels sprout at her (Ita) — I have to admit that — at the Christmas party and I did the wrong thing, so it is totally my fault,” Denise said.

“I was in a jovial mood. The (official Studio 10) Christmas party was that night and I could not go, so I had a couple of glasses of champagne towards the end of the day and I threw the brussels sprout and I shouldn’t have.”

The two women had worked together on Studio 10 since Drysdale joined panel as a series regular in 2016. Buttrose had been with the show since its 2013 inception, but abruptly quit in April, saying she wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren and “write a couple of books”.

Meanwhile, the Studio 10 co-host Angela praised the Logie Awards for recognising women who have given decades of work to the TV industry, and said: “I think it’s recognition that women are not going anywhere and the audience is finally being heard. I think they’ve always been there, but I think people are finally listening to them.”

In his usual jokey way, Joe added: “No, they’ve had their time, it’s about the 40 somethings men now. Get out the way! It’s our time to shine!”