Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher and mother, has spoken publicly for the first time about the great white shark attack that nearly killed her at Sydney's Coogee Beach on 13 June. She was swimming between the flags when she was attacked, spending two weeks in a coma and undergoing multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one arm, before beginning a long recovery process. Her account, given to Tracy Grimshaw for 60 Minutes, matters both as a harrowing survival story and as a fresh reminder of the dangers posed by shark encounters at popular Australian beaches.

In the interview, due to air the following Sunday, Stewart described the shark's face as "horrific" and recalled that her only thought during the attack was of her one-year-old daughter, August, saying she refused to let the girl grow up without a mother. The programme will also broadcast the emergency triple-0 call made by a bystander at the scene. Separately, Stewart has thanked supporters behind a fundraiser that has raised more than $558,000, money that will help her family keep their home and fund further medical treatment, and said the outpouring of support has driven her recovery and her determination to "get better, not bitter".