TV Week is expected to announce Bert Newton as the host of this year’s TV Week Logie Awards.
The TV legend, a four-time Gold Logie winner and inductee into the Logie Awards’ Hall of Fame, has hosted the awards a record-breaking 18 times already – the last time he hosted the awards was in 1993 (pictured) but has returned on several occasions to hand out the Gold Logie and also co-hosted in 2006 as part of the celebration of 50 years of television.
His talent to adlib alongside the best – and possibly worst – in the business, both from Australia and overseas, have earned him some of the most defining moments in Australian TV history. In 1973, Newton had to cope with the rather emotional, and occasionally mumbling, overseas guest Michael Cole dropping the word ‘shit’ while accepting an award. A few years later, in 1979, an innocent wisecrack from Newton almost led to blows from boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
The decision to appoint Newton as the Logies host comes after former Big Brother host Gretel Killeen received criticism for her hosting of last year’s event and in previous years before then the awards had relied on multiple co-hosts rather than a single presenter.
Previous hosts and co-hosts of the event include Eddie McGuire, Ray Martin, Andrew Denton, Shaun Micallef, Andrew O’Keefe, Rove McManus, Fifi Box, Dave Hughes, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Adam Hills, Lisa McCune, George Parker, Wendy Harmer, Daryl Somers, Mark Mitchell, Don Lane, Mike Willesee, Michael Parkinson, Greg Evans, Andrew Daddo and Noni Hazlehurst.
The 2010 TV Week Logie Awards are to be held on 2 May at Melbourne’s Crown Casino and will be telecast on the Nine Network.
Source: TV Tonight
