Austrailian TV personality Steve Irwin made a “very, very weird” speech just weeks before he died, his close friend said.
Appearing on the I’ve Got News For You podcast, Irwin’s friend and The Crocodile Hunter producer opened up about filming Ocean’s Deadliest – the ill-fated 2007 documentary that would be Irwin’s last.
Stainton said that the crocodile hunter – as Irwin was fondly known – made a “very, very weird...finale” speech just weeks before he was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray in Queensland.
The TV producer explained: “A couple of days before we started the show, he made a little speech to all the crew that were up there catching crocs for his research trip – which I joined at the end with our crew.”
Stainton, who witnessed his friend’s death, continued: “He was sort of thanking them all for being who they were and for helping him. It was like a finale speech.”
Stainton also admitted he couldn’t shake the feeling that “something was wrong” when he joined the Ocean’s Deadliest crew, and that he was against making the documentary at all.
After he had a “premonition” he would die on that trip, Stainton said he even wrote a will and underwent multiple medical checks but was repeatedly assured that he was healthy.
Tragically, Irwin would be the one to lose his life during the filming.
Speaking at a press conference in the wake of Irwin’s death on 4 September, 15 years ago, an emotional Stainton said: “‘He died what hee loved doing best. He left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, ‘Crocs rule’.”
Irwin is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Bindi, and son Robert.
