The 52nd TV Week Logie Awards

Home And Away actor Ray Meagher (pictured) has been awarded the TV Week Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television. Despite Meagher’s lengthy career, including 22 years on Home And Away, it is his first Logie award.

Home And Away also won an award for actor Luke Mitchell as Most Popular New Male Talent. And Seven’s other drama Packed To The Rafters also swept up several awards last night – Most Popular Drama Series, Most Popular Actress (Rebecca Gibney) and Most Popular Actor (Hugh Sheridan).

Seven also won Most Outstanding News Coverage for Seven News’ coverage of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria and Most Outstanding Sports Coverage for the V8 Supercars: Supercheap Auto Bathurst. Better Homes And Gardens won Most Popular Lifestyle Show.

The Ten Network was well rewarded last night with two Logies for its hit show Masterchef Australia (pictured) – including Matt Preston winning the Graham Kennedy Award for Outstanding New Talent – and Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation winning three Logies, including Shaun Micallef for Most Popular Presenter. The 7PM Project also scored a win with Carrie Bickmore winning Most Popular New Female Talent, and Bondi Rescue won Most Popular Factual Program.

The Nine Network didn’t score all that well at last night – winning only one award for The Footy Show (NRL) as Most Popular Sports Program.

ABC won awards for Most Outstanding Children’s Program (My Place, ABC3) and for its Four Corners report, Code Of Silence. SBS’ drama series East West 101 won two Logies – Most Outstanding Drama and Most Outstanding Actor (Don Hany) – and the telemovie Saved won Most Outstanding Actress for Claudia Karvan.

donlane_3 The tribute to those in the industry that have passed away in the last 12 months included a performance by PJ Lane, son of Don Lane (pictured), who was joined on stage by several performers from the earlier days of IMT and The Don Lane Show, including Philip Brady, Toni Lamond, Patti Newton, John Michael Howson and Geoff Harvey.

Bert Newton, hosting the awards solo for the first time since 1993, did an admirable job for what has become one of the toughest gigs in television – keeping up the tradition of topical humour as well as a candid interview with guest k.d. Lang. Restoring Newton to the hosting role could be regarded as a safe option after the last few years’ instability in the Logies hosting, but he did well to restore some of the Logies’ sense of occasion.

briannaylor_2 Newton also presented an excellent introduction to the Hall of Fame presentation, with former Melbourne newsreader Brian Naylor (pictured) posthumously inducted in the TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall of Fame in an outstanding tribute including speeches by Naylor’s former colleagues Mal Walden, Peter Hitchener and Peter Mitchell.

Musical performances came from Gabriella Cilmi, k.d. Lang, John Mayer (who seemed rather disinterested in being at the awards) and the Rogue Traders.

Last night’s four-hour presentation at Melbourne’s Crown Casino earned an average of 1.4 million viewers for the Nine Network across the five cities – a decline on last year’s awards which were watched by 1.58 million viewers and the Red Carpet arrivals which scored 1.7 million viewers. The Logies were beaten in the ratings last night by Nine News, Masterchef Australia and Seven News – though none of those had a four-hour run time and the Logies did not wind up until after 11.30pm.

Nine also won the night’s ratings convincingly with a 32.8 per cent share, well ahead of Seven (25.4%), Ten (19.1%), ABC1 (9.9%) and SBS1 (3.4%), with digital channels GO! (4.5%), 7TWO (2.5%), ONE (1.4%), ABC2 (0.7%), ABC3 (0.2%) and SBS2 (0.1%).

logie_2010 GOLD LOGIE:
Ray Meagher, Home And Away

SILVER: MOST POPULAR ACTOR
Hugh Sheridan, Packed to the Rafters
SILVER: MOST POPULAR ACTRESS
Rebecca Gibney, Packed to the Rafters
SILVER: MOST POPULAR PRESENTER
Shaun Micallef, Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation

MOST POPULAR DRAMA:
Packed to the Rafters, Seven
MOST POPULAR REALITY:
MasterChef Australia, Ten
MOST POPULAR NEW TALENT: MALE
Luke Mitchell, Home And Away
MOST POPULAR NEW TALENT: FEMALE
Carrie Bickmore, The 7PM Project
MOST POPULAR LIFESTYLE:
Better Homes and Gardens, Seven
MOST POPULAR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT:
Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Ten
MOST POPULAR SPORTS:
The Footy Show NRL, Nine
MOST POPULAR FACTUAL:
Bondi Rescue, Ten

OUTSTANDING AWARDS:

SILVER: MOST OUTSTANDING ACTOR:
Don Hany, East West 101
SILVER: MOST OUTSTANDING ACTRESS:
Claudia Karvan, Saved
SILVER: MOST OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES, MINISERIES OR TELEMOVIE:
East West 101, SBS1
MOST OUTSTANDING NEWS COVERAGE:
Victorian Bushfires, Seven News
MOST OUTSTANDING PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT:
Code of Silence, Four Corners, ABC1
MOST OUTSTANDING LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT:
Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Ten
MOST OUTSTANDING SPORTS:
V8 Supercars: Supercheap Auto Bathurst, Seven
MOST OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S:
My Place, ABC3
MOST OUTSTANDING FACTUAL:
Law And Disorder, SBS1