There is something truly heart-wrenching about watching a person who feels familiar to you, cry on live  television.

So was the case this morning when Sunrise newsreader Natalie Barr was moved to tears while reporting the outcome of the Sydney siege. Barr, who is filling in for Sunrise’s usual co-host Sam Armytage this week, was live on air when the identities of the hostages who were killed became news.

“I’m just finding out Katrina Dawson,  was the sister of a prominent barrister Sandy Dawson who has done some work at Channel Seven,” Barr said, trying to hold back tears. “Sandy Dawson, who I know and I have friends who know. A mother of three children”.

Screenshot via Seven.

Barr’s voice was shaking. Her eyes filled with tears.

She was moved like all of us who have a connection to the dead, the surviving hostages, or even to the Sydney community have been. In a few seconds of television, Barr became the physical manifestation of how we are all feeling today: shaky, teary and unsure. A city, and a nation, in mourning.

Sunrise viewers took to Twitter to offer support:

Today we remember the hostages who lost their lives overnight. You can read more about Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson here.