Tom Gleeson has been crowned winner of the TV WEEK Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.
The ecstatic winner beat out six fellow nominees; Amanda Keller, Costa Georgiadis, Eve Morey, Rodger Corser, Sam Mac, and Waleed Aly.
This is the first Gold Logie win for the Hard Quiz star, who announced he was “cancelling” his hit show the day before the nominations were announced. He claimed he was following in the footsteps of Celebrity Name Game host Grant Denyer, who Tom campaigned for with his “Denyer4Gold” campaign in 2018.
“I’m playing a really big game!” Tom said of his bold move.
“Last year, Denyer won the Gold when he didn’t have a show, so I thought the only way to win is to not have a show, so I’ve axed myself. As soon as I win, I’ll un-axe the show. That’s my plan.”
Tom Gleeson is the Gold Logie Winner!
(Credit: TV WEEK)Speaking to TV WEEK about the prestigious award, Tom, 45, says he was excited to win, as a comedian.
“Well, this is the thing. I always feel like comedy gets a bit dudded by the Logies,” he says.
“There was a year I was watching keenly – it was 2010, if I remember correctly – and there was Shaun Micallef, Wil Anderson, Adam Hills, Rove and Paul McDermott: a lot of comedians up for the Gold. That was probably the first time I thought it might be within reach. And then Home And Away’s Ray Meagher won.”
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During his acceptance speech, Tom thanked his colleagues at Hard Quiz for giving him a huge national platform.
“Everyone who works at the office thank you,” Tom said.
“Chris Walker, the EP [executive producer] of this show that I work on, he does a fantastic job. One of the things I like about him is that he always tries to think of things that we need to edit back into the show.
“Often there is little bits where I go, ‘We want put that to air’ and he goes, ‘Yes, get that in’ and I appreciate it. Thanks mate.”
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After weeks of campaigning, all of Tom’s efforts finally paid off.
(Credit: Getty)Plus, he gave a shoutout to all the contestants who have appeared on his hit show.
“I do want to say thank you to the contestants on Hard Quiz, because I do appreciate them being on the show,” Tom said.
“They turn up week in, week out and they let me give them an absolute flogging that they don’t deserve and they don’t even win any money and it makes no sense whatsoever. That’s why I love it so much.”
WATCH: Tom talks to TV WEEK editor Thomas Woodgate after his Gold Logie win. Story continues after video.
And finally, Tom thanked his wife Ellie Parker, who was by his side on the red carpet earlier in the evening.
“I would like to thank thank my wife, because it is a convention,” Tom joked.
“But I do really appreciate it. Thank you very much for putting up with my s— in the kitchen as I plotted to win this for the last two years. So I do really appreciate it.”
Congratulations to our 2019 TV WEEK Gold Logie Award winner!
