Grant Denyer has won the Gold Logie at the 60th annual Logie Awards on the Gold Coast, beating nominees including Tracy Grimshaw and Amanda Keller. The Family Feud host, whose show was cancelled, earlier won the most popular presenter award.
Denyer paid tribute to his wife Cheryl in an emotional speech, having earlier admitted he forgot to thank her. His win came as TV veteran Bert Newton faced backlash for onstage comments about mentoring young talent 'behind closed doors'.
Newton, presenting the Graham Kennedy Award, said Kennedy 'mentored a lot of young people' and that 'if you went to his dressing room it was locked, he will be inside doing some mentoring'. In the #MeToo era, the remarks drew criticism on social media, with commentator Andrew Mercado tweeting it might be Newton's last Logies appearance.
Newton later insisted his comment was 'totally innocent' and that he meant nothing untoward. Other winners included Jessica Marais for most popular actress, Ray Meagher for most popular actor, and Dilruk Jayasinha for most popular new talent.
Comedian Dave Hughes courted controversy by joking 'I love Don Burke' before conceding he had entered 'the weird zone'. The Block won most popular reality program, and 60 Minutes was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame.
