Larry Emdur takes home Gold Logie in star-studded awards
The 2024 TV Week Logies kicked off on Sunday night to celebrate the world of Australian TV and entertainment, with actors and presenters alike dressing in their best frocks and heading to Sydney's The Star.
For the second year in a row, hosting the show was Sam Pang, known for his hilarious comedy on Have You Been Paying Attention? on Channel Ten, as he took to the stage for a memorable opening monologue.
Pang used the Logies stage, which was being broadcast by Channel Seven, to take a swipe at the struggling network, roasting Seven for their spate of recent scandals, such as the Bruce Lehrmann-Spotlight scandal
"Firstly, Channel 7, well, I'm just letting you all know I'm going to say whatever I want tonight," he said as he kicked things off.
"I stand before you safe in the knowledge that whatever I say, this network will defend me in court, and with their impeccable record in defamation cases over the last 12 months I reckon I'll be fine."
Amid a string of jobs being cut at Seven, Sam then joked that he wasn't getting paid by the network for his hosting gig and said they would instead be paying his rent.
"Full disclosure - I'm not getting paid by Channel Seven tonight. Instead, for the next 12 months, they're paying my rent," he quipped. "Which is handy as they'll know what address to send the Thai masseuse to."
Pang then took aim at Network Ten, his usual employer, to call out their difficult year of cancelled shows.
"It's been a tough 12 months for Channel Ten, although they did bring back Deal Or No Deal hosted by Grant Denyer, a show where contestants get to open a briefcase and try to guess how much money the network is losing each week," he said.
As the awards ceremony kicked off, one young talent stole the hearts of the nation, as 15-year-old Felix Cameron, who recently starred in Netflix's drama Boy Swallows Universe based on the novel by Trent Dalton, took home two awards: the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent and Best Lead Actor in a Drama.
More tears flooded the stage when acting legend Rebecca Gibney was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her decades of work in the Aussie TV industry.
Gibney was surprised as a myriad of co-hosts reflected on memories they shared on set, with Hugh Jackman even sending in a video message to share how she is "perfection and excellence personified".
Presenting Gibney with the award was her son Zachary, who gave an emotional speech about his mum and her stellar career.
"I feel so lucky to have been raised by someone with so much love to give and be guided through life watching her show so much kindness to everyone that she meets...
"So many people love Rebecca Gibney, the actor. I will always love her as the kindest, most-loving mum anyone could ask for. And, tonight, all of us in this room, and industry, celebrate her. I love you, Ma, to the moon and back and I'm so proud of you."
Rounding out the night was the award everyone was waiting for: the coveted Gold Logie.
The Morning Show host Larry Emdur took out the gold, in a move which surprised even him as he explained in his acceptance speech, reflecting on being “television’s most axed man”.
“I love television. I’ve never done anything else, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else,” he said.
During his speech, Larry also recalled a promise he made if he were to win the award, recalling, “I just remembered I did say if I won this, during the week ... I was so convinced that I wasn’t going to win this that I said that if I did win it, I would have all the nominees’ initials tattooed on my a*** live tomorrow morning,” he said, prompting the room to explode into laughter.
“We’ll see you on The Morning Show tomorrow I guess.“
Image credits: Seven/Norman Ko/Shutterstock Editorial