Million-dollar fisherman Keegan Payne was shamed on national TV over an indiscretion he made as a child. Now a young mum reveals the inspirational story from his past that Peter Stefanovic missed

Amid the furor over Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic’s controversial question to Million Dollar Fish competition winner Keegan Payne, a woman has come forward to share a heartwarming act he and his friends did for her family when they were stranded after a car accident.

Darwin artist Sarrita King told her followers on Sunday what happened when she and her family came across some buffalo on their way home from Katherine in the Northern Territory late last year.

Mrs King said they were ‘completely stranded’ on the side of the road after her mother’s car was totaled in the incident, before Mr Payne and his friends provided invaluable help.

Payne, 19, made national headlines when he caught a barramundi worth $1 million in Katherine, 317 kilometers south of Darwin, in late April.

But his momentous victory was overshadowed when Stefanovic interviewed the teenager on Wednesday and grilled him on the spot about an alleged past theft.

Keegan Payne (pictured, left) helped tow Mrs King’s (pictured, right) vehicle after she and her mother collided with some buffalo. The car was destroyed, leaving the family stranded until friends came along and helped

Some viewers called for the journalist to resign after the harsh questioning that prompted Stefanovic to issue a groveling apology.

Darwin’s mother never referenced the interview in her video, but did say she had “the best story of the week” and posted it with the hashtags “goodnewsstories” “keeganpayne” and “legend.”

“These kids came and dragged us back to safety,” she said.

“So it was an hour out of their time, they hitched a buggy, they were on their way to go fishing on the Million Dollar Barra, and they had an absolute blast.

‘They have restored both my partner’s and I’s confidence in children today.’

Mrs King said the friends made her and her family feel “really safe”.

“For a terrible situation – the car was destroyed – they were the best,” she said.

“At the time we were like, ‘I hope these guys have the best life,’ they have so much to offer.”

The artist then expressed her surprise that one of the teens who helped won the life-changing prize.

Keegan Payne with his whopping $1 million prize after hooking a tagged barramundi in the long-running competition, earning his first win in nine fishing seasons

Keegan Payne (pictured center) and his family were emotional after the huge, life-changing win. The artist says he deserves his prize and thinks he will be ‘someone of the future’

“We’ve been over the moon for him ever since,” she said.

“And we can’t stop smiling and thinking about it.

‘So congratulations and how’s Darwin? Like, good karma.”

The mother’s followers showed overwhelming support for the teen, labeling the artist’s video a “beautiful story.”

“Darwin children have hearts of gold,” one person wrote.

“His story just keeps getting better and better, I think he’s going to become a full-fledged Aussie icon,” said another.

The mother has since told the story NT news Mr. Payne came across as a “great” young man.

“He was nice, he proudly said he was from Katherine – which is where I’m from, so we talked about that,” she said.

“He talked about his family and his love of fishing – it was exactly what you want your own child to be at that age.”

Ms. King called the teens “real heroes” who were confident and “calm.”

The artist also said that the teenager deserved his win.

“The way he got himself through everything, someone in the future will be – with all the pressure and all the scrutiny, he’s got his head screwed down,” she shared NT news.