Network Ten personality Grant Denyer was the winner of the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality On Australian Television at the 60th annual TV Week Logie Awards.
The former Family Feud host, and soon to be host of Ten’s new Game Of Games, ranked ahead of fellow nominees Rodger Corser, Tracy Grimshaw, Amanda Keller, Jessica Marais and Andrew Winter. Denyer, who also won the Logie for Most Popular Presenter, gave an emotional acceptance speech when collecting the Gold, paying tribute to his wife Cheryl and attributing Family Feud for getting him out of low point in his career.
Denyer was not the favourite to win the award. Industry stalwarts Tracy Grimshaw and Amanda Keller were tipped to take out the Gold. Possibly instrumental in Denyer’s win was a last ditch campaign by comedian Tom Gleeson plugging for votes for Denyer in the week leading up to the awards presentation. It is far from the first time that an active campaign has seen a Gold Logie win determined. Karl Stefanovic acknowledged Nine’s heavy campaigning for him to get votes ahead of his win in 2011. Even back in 1976, comedy character Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald) campaigned for Gold Logie votes and became the first fictional character, and one of only a few ABC personalities, to win the popular voted award.
The awards were held at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, the first time that the Logies was hosted outside of Melbourne or Sydney. There was no appointed host of the awards but rather the passing parade of TV personalities as presenters throughout the night. Dave Hughes presented his now-traditional opening monologue. Other presenters to appear on stage through the evening included Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Dr Chris Brown, Johanna Griggs, Osher Gunsberg, Georgie Parker, Bernard Curry, Deborah Mailman, Rebecca Maddern, Scott Cam, Shaun Micallef, Edwina Bartholomew, Tina Bursill, Abby Earl, Georgie Gardner, Virginia Trioli, Robert Irwin, Marta Dusseldorp, Aaron Jeffery, Rob Collins, Carrie Bickmore, Richard Wilkins, Ryan Johnson and overseas guest, NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama.
Shane Jacobson interviewed the Gold Logie nominees through the night, and Julia Morris, a regular highlight at Logies nights in recent years, performed a musical tribute to the Logies including a take on the “Me Too” movement.
YouTube: Channel 9
Also to perform on the night were Kate Ceberano, Conrad Sewell, UK artists Jess Glynn and Dap Caplen, Kelly Rowlands and The Voice winner Sam Perry.
Comedian Tony Martin was an unusual choice as booth announcer for the night, a definite departure from more straight voice over deliveries in the past. Some of the gags worked well, others perhaps less so. But it was a welcome change to a presentation that has differed little over the years.
Logies legend Bert Newton took to the stage to present the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent. Despite Newton’s usually flawless Logies appearances, this one was perhaps not his greatest. Making some casual gags about his late former colleagues Kennedy and Don Lane implying some untoward behaviour with young performers behind closed doors under the guise of “mentoring” was deemed too offensive for some and cringeworthy to others in light of the current “Me Too” era, of which Australian TV has not been immune. Newton also used a derogatory gay term to mock himself that he had done many times over in years gone by, but in 2018 perhaps the time for that sort of reference has passed. Given Newton’s over 60 years in the industry and almost as many associated with the Logie Awards themselves, it would be unfair to tarnish Newton’s enduring contribution based on a couple of off-colour gags but this appearance would not be regarded as a highlight.
Jana Wendt took to the stage, making her first television appearance in years, to induct 60 Minutes into the TV Week Logie Awards Hall of Fame. This year marks the program’s 40th year on air. On stage to accept the award were reporters past and present and the show’s founding executive producer, Gerald Stone. 60 Minutes is the fifth program, and the first from Nine, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame since the award was inaugurated in 1984.
Foxtel drama Wentworth was a hit on the night, collecting three Logies — the most of any program on the night. The series won Most Popular Drama and Most Outstanding Drama as well as Pamela Rabe winning Most Outstanding Actress for her performance as prison governor turned inmate Joan “The Freak” Ferguson.
Foxtel also won with Gogglebox Australia collecting the award for Most Popular Entertainment Program.
Streaming website Stan picked up two Logies — Romper Stomper for Most Outstanding Telemovie Or Mini-Series, and series star Jacqueline McKenzie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress.
It was a night of slim pickings for the two top-rating networks, Seven and Nine. Nine collected three Logies, and one of them was technically shared with Network Ten. Jessica Marais, from Nine’s Love Child and Ten’s The Wrong Girl, won Most Popular Actress. Nine also won with The Block for Most Popular Reality Program, and 60 Minutes for the Hall of Fame.
The Seven Network came away with just one award for the night, Home And Away‘s Ray Meagher for Most Popular Actor. Meagher dedicated his Logie to his former on-screen colleague Cornelia Frances, who passed away earlier this year.
ABC collected awards for Four Corners and War On Waste, with actor Hugo Weaving winning Most Outstanding Supporting Actor for Seven Types Of Ambiguity. The Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular Talent went to Dilruk Jayasinha, who appeared on ABC’s Utopia and also Ten’s CRAM!
As well as Grant Denyer’s two Logies, Network Ten also won Logies for The Living Room and Have You Been Paying Attention? and its coverage of the Bathurst 1000.
Children’s animated feature Little J & Big Cuz won for SBS’s indigenous channel NITV, while SBS drama series Safe Harbour also won an award for Hazem Shammas for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor.
In ratings terms, the four-hour TV Week Logie Awards telecast was watched by an average of 852,000 (5 cities, OzTAM) in overnight preliminary numbers. It was a decline from last year’s 972,000. The Red Carpet Arrivals as the awards prelude was watched by 840,000.
The Nine Network won the night with a share of 34.3%, followed by Seven (29.8%), Ten (15.8%), ABC (13.4%) and SBS (6.7%). Nine’s primary channel was the highest rated individual channel on 26.6%, almost seven points clear of runner up Seven (19.7%)
Public-voted awards:
TV WEEK GOLD LOGIE – MOST POPULAR PERSONALITY ON AUSTRALIAN TV
Grant Denyer (Family Feud/All Star Family Feud, Network Ten)
MOST POPULAR ACTOR
Ray Meagher (Home And Away, Channel Seven)
MOST POPULAR ACTRESS
Jessica Marais (Love Child, Nine Network; The Wrong Girl, Network Ten)
MOST POPULAR PRESENTER
Grant Denyer (Family Feud/All Star Family Feud, Network Ten)
GRAHAM KENNEDY AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR NEW TALENT
Dilruk Jayasinha (CRAM!, Network Ten; Utopia, ABC)
MOST POPULAR DRAMA PROGRAM
Wentworth (Foxtel – Showcase)
MOST POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
Gogglebox Australia (Foxtel/Network Ten)
MOST POPULAR COMEDY PROGRAM
Have You Been Paying Attention? (Network Ten)
MOST POPULAR REALITY PROGRAM
The Block (Nine Network)
MOST POPULAR LIFESTYLE PROGRAM
The Living Room (Network Ten)
Industry-voted awards:
GOLD LOGIE — HALL OF FAME
60 Minutes
MOST OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Wentworth (Foxtel – Showcase)
MOST OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR TELEMOVIE
Romper Stomper (Stan)
MOST OUTSTANDING ACTOR
Hugo Weaving (Alex Klima, Seven Types Of Ambiguity, ABC)
MOST OUTSTANDING ACTRESS
Pamela Rabe (Joan Ferguson, Wentworth, Foxtel – Showcase)
MOST OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
Hazem Shammas (Ismail Al-Bayati, Safe Harbour, SBS)
MOST OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacqueline McKenzie (Gabe Jordan, Romper Stomper, Stan)
MOST OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
Little J & Big Cuz (NITV)
MOST OUTSTANDING SPORTS COVERAGE
Bathurst 1000 (Network Ten)
MOST OUTSTANDING NEWS COVERAGE OR PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT
“The Siege” (Four Corners, ABC)
MOST OUTSTANDING FACTUAL OR DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
War On Waste (ABC)
Source: TV Week
Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM.
Program performance and ranking information subject to change when not based on final program logs.
