‘Hi mummy’: Cleo Smith’s mum Ellie opens up about emotional reunion

Ellie Smith has revealed the details of her emotional reunion with her daughter Cleo, 18 days after the four-year-old was abducted from the family’s campsite.

Cleo Smith’s mother has opened up about the “nightmare after nightmare” of her eldest daughter’s 18-day disappearance in a preview for the family’s upcoming tell-all interview with 60 Minutes.

Ellie Smith and her partner, Cleo’s stepfather Jake Gliddon, will sit down with the show on Sunday night as part of a landmark $2 million deal, sharing the story of four-year-old Cleo’s abduction from their campsite last October.

West Australian police made international headlines when, almost three weeks later, they found the little girl at a house in Carnarvon, 900km north of Perth, with the words “my name is Cleo” heard with relief around the world.

In a preview for the sit-down with veteran 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown, Ms Smith recalled the first words her daughter spoke to her upon their emotional reunion.

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Ellie Smith and her partner, Jake Gliddon, will sit down with the show on Sunday night as part of a landmark $2 million deal. Picture: Channel 9

Four-year-old Cleo was rescued in November last year, 18 days after she was taken from her family’s tent. Picture: WA Police

“[She said] ‘Hi mummy!’” Ms Smith said, who matched her daughter’s enthusiasm by responding, “Hi baby!”

In another clip, the mum-of-two tearfully told Brown, “Someone had my baby … I had to hope she was close to me, but she wasn’t.”

“You had no control,” Brown responded.

To which Ms Smith admitted, “I felt powerless … It was just nightmare after nightmare.”

It’s believed the interview will recount what happened in the days leading up to Cleo’s rescue by police officers on November 3 — and while her parents will relay the hellish experience, the four-year-old is not expected to front the cameras, nor are the officers who rescued her, according to the West Australian.

Ms Smith admitted, “I felt powerless … It was just nightmare after nightmare.” Picture: Channel 9

Cleo is not expected to participate in the interview. Picture: WA Police

Police — who are still in the process of prosecuting Cleo’s abductor, Terence Darrell Kelly — have described the TV special as “highly inappropriate” given the court process is ongoing.

The paper quoted a source as saying it was “almost contempt of court”, and that while they understood why the family accepted the deal and believed it was the right thing to do, airing prematurely could affect the outcome of the case.

The West Australian quoted “officers close to the investigation” as saying it is “highly inappropriate for any episode to be airing prior to completion of the judicial process”.

Terrence Kelly has pleaded guilty to forcibly taking a child aged under 16, but is facing other charges, including assaulting a public officer, that he is yet to enter a plea for.

The deal has also caused a stir within the ranks at Nine, after WA-based reporters were denied the chance to sit down with the family in favour of Brown, who lives in Sydney and was forced to conduct the interview over video calls.

Police, including Detective Inspector Rod Wilde, will not participate in the exclusive. Picture: Colin Murty

Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon with Cleo and their daughter. Picture: Facebook

While the segment’s whopping price tag — reportedly a quarter of 60 Minutes’ annual budget — ultimately beat Channel 7’s bid for the exclusive, it further stoked outrage after the network recently underwent budget cuts.

“This is insane. This is dinosaur chequebook journalism. It smacks of an inexperienced CEO who has got a rush of blood in his first bidding war,” one insider was quoted as telling The Australian last month.

“Shareholders will be screaming. [Seven West Media chairman] Kerry Stokes is an astute judge — he knows what a story is worth — and, instinctively, knew it wasn’t worth this much.”

Another source was quoted by The Australian as saying, “Nine was scared at the end of the year after they lost their No 1 position — this seems a desperate attempt to regain the mantle … and it won’t work”.

At the time of writing, the biggest cheque cleared for an interview in Australia’s history went to the two survivors of the Beaconsfield mine disaster, Brant Webb and Todd Russell. The two miners were each paid roughly $1m by the Nine Network after their 2006 ordeal.

Bids for the exclusive interview started almost immediately after the little girl was found, with producers flocking to the remote town.