Philip Polkinghorne has broken into deep sobs at his wife's inquest, with the hearing paused for him to compose himself.

Coroner Tania Tetihaha halted the airing of Polkinghorne's first police video interview because he began crying from his seat in the front of the court.

The inquest into Pauline Hanna's death is underway, two years after Polkinghorne was found not guilty of her murder.

About two minutes into the airing of the police video, Coroner Tetitaha noted Polkinghorne was distressed and told lawyer Ron Mansfield she would break.

She questioned whether he should stay for the remainder of the video.

Polkinghorne said he was sorry as stepped out, supported by his sister Ruth Hughes who is sitting with him.

After a short break, Mansfield returned and said his client was very upset but would be okay.

He was being supported by Hughes and his son, and had decided to stay out while the rest of the video played, Mansfield said.

Earlier, Polkinghorne had opted to step out while his 111 call played.

At the trial, he had been in tears when it aired.

But on Tuesday the coroner asked if anyone wanted to leave before it was played.

In the police interview, Polkinghorne is seated on a small blue couch in a sparse room, with a plain clothes officer, in an adjacent chair.

At that stage he was being interviewed as a witness.

In response to questions from the officer, Polkinghorne struggled to recall some details about how his wife was when he found her.

He could recall other aspects.

Much of the detail is suppressed because of coroner's court rules than forbid reporting of the possible method of death.

Polkinghorne told the officer he knew Hanna was dead when he found her in the morning and he took some steps to preserve her dignity.

He talked in some detail about making his toast and tea before he discovered her.

In the 111 call, Polkinghorne sounded distressed and was breathing heavily as he told the operator his wife was dead, that she was blue and not breathing.

On Monday, Coroner Tetitaha noted the inquest was not a trial of Polkinghorne, rather an attempt to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding Hanna's death.

Polkinghorne's role in the hearing is as an interested party.

Hughes is seated with her brother and on Tuesday brought lilies to place next to a photo of Hanna in the court alongside flowers brought by Hanna's family yesterday.

Hanna's brother Bruce Hanna is also an interested party in the inquest and remained in court for the 111 call.

On Tuesday morning, the police officer who was second in charge of the investigation into Hanna's death, inspector Chris Allan, has been giving evidence about the police's first arrival at the house.

Parties were shown photos of Hanna's body, her head resting on a pillow, with a duvet over her.

Allan outlined the police search of the scene.

Officers were initially responding to a suspected suicide, he said,

Part of what the inquest will consider was whether Hanna's death was self inflicted.

Several aspects of Allan's evidence cannot be reported because it suggests the method of death.

He noted there was damp bedding and women's clothing in the dryer that was sent to ESR.

There were three pieces of untoasted bread in the toaster and breakfast items on the bench, as well as an empty glass of wine with lipstick on.