All the highlights from the 2023 Logie Awards ceremony
Sam Pang nailed it, Karl Stefanovic bombed, and Sonia Kruger won big at this year’s Logies. Here’s how it all unfolded.
Logies host Sam Pang - the first to host the ceremony in 11 years - opened proceedings with a hilariously pointed monologue.
“I would like to acknowledge a win for diversity tonight. I am the first host in the history of the Logies to be half and half - half Channel 7 and half Channel 10,” Pang began.
“Let’s be honest, it’s just great to have an Asian on Channel 7 who isn’t trying to smuggle live birds through border security,” he continued, telling viewers to strap in for the “two-day” ceremony.
And he wasn’t wrong - it’s been a long night, with the ceremony stretching past the four-hour mark.
And the Gold Logie goes to...
Daryl Somers took to the stage at 11:30pm to present the Gold Logie - but first did an extended, freewheeling “bit” in which he pretended all the nominees had to bid at auction to win. Dear god, Daryl, just tell us who the winner is and let us all go to bed!
And the winner is...
Sonia Kruger. The host of multiple Channel 7 shows appeared overwhelmed as she took to the stage to accept her first gold Logie. She thanked all the people on the shows she currently hosts - Big Brother, Dancing With the Stars and The Voice.
She also took aim at last year’s Gold Logie winner, Hamish Blake, with whom she shares an agent. She said their shared agent had told her “frankly I am hoping that [Hamish] will leave the agency so I can concentrate all of my efforts on you, Sonia” - before the cameras cut to an awkward-looking Hamish.
“I will be sending out apology letters to everybody that I haven’t thanked tonight. Go and party, have a good time,” Kruger said.
Karl’s Kochie joke bombs
Taking to the stage after 10pm to introduce a tribute to Barry Humphries, Karl Stefanovic first tried his hand at a little ad-libbing. His former brekkie TV rival David Koch had earlier named the stan series Bump as one of his favourite shows while on stage, leading to this weird apparent cocaine joke from Stefanovic:
“I did want to just check something... I am pretty sure before I heard Kochie say he loves Bump’s.... season 3. Did anyone mishear that? Because I am pretty sure I did. Anyway, those are the headlines tomorrow morning...” he said.
The audience reaction was muted to say the least - and then the cameras cut to Kochie, who looked positively bewildered and possibly needed the joke - Bump’s third season, bumps of coke - explained to him.
Kochie looking genuinely confused and annoyed that Karl Stefanovic made a cocaine joke about him 😂#Logies#TVWeekLogies
— Leon Sjogren (@Leonsjogren) July 30, 2023
Karl doing a key bump joke that no one got it seems lol #Logies
— ozboxfan (@ozboxfan) July 30, 2023
Not Karl making a coke joke 💀 #Logies
— Sose Fuamoli (@Sose_Fuamoli) July 30, 2023
I'm so confused. Was that a joke? #tvweeklogies#logies
— jac (@JackieWarner13) July 30, 2023
Kochie looking terrified at Karl. #Logies
— TheGrimRecapper (@TheGrimRecapper) July 30, 2023
Is Karl cooked again #Logies
— ali rabbits (@AlmG) July 30, 2023
Karl making cocaine jokes that only he gets ... #Logies
— Julian O'Brien (@Julian_OBrien) July 30, 2023
“I don’t want to say Karl’s joke about Kochie sank,” Sam Pang said onstage afterwards, “but OceanGate are offering expeditions to visit it.”
Pang brought the laughs back after the In Memoriam segment, presenting another In Memoriam, this time to all the TV shows that have bombed in the ratings in the past 12 months.
Among them, Seven’s ill-fated balloon show Blow-Up - “A show with entertainment, artistry and family fun, all taken out of it” - and Ten’s The Real Love Boat: “After watching the first episode, I’ve never been more in favour of stopping the boats in my life.”
Sam Pang’s best jokes
Pang thanked those he claimed had turned down the hosting gig, including Hamish Blake:
“I appreciate it, mate, some of us have a mortgage,” he told Blake, owner of a very fancy house in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. “By the way, a mortgage is when the bank loans... Ah,don’t worry about it.”
He joked that Kenny star Shane Jacobson said yes to hosting, “before even knowing what the question was.”
“Karl Stefanovic said yes, as long the show was held in a park in Noosa.”
Eventually, it came down to two candidates, but “Rolf Harris said no, so here we are.”
Then he took aim at the stars of MAFS, seated in the audience - he welcomed them to their “last-ever Logies."
We got rapid-fire gags on some of Australia’s other biggest reality TV shows:
“The Voice is nominated tonight, despite Peter Dutton’s strong opposition to the nomination...”
“The Block shows Australians what it is like to own their own home, making it the greatest fantasy series since Game of Thrones.”
He said I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is “a wonderful show where we find out which Australian celebrities haven’t been adding to their super. Hi Kerri-Anne!”
He noted that Hamish Blake is up for his second Gold Logie this year, while comedy partner Andy Lee is... “is mates with Hamish.”
He paid tribute to recently retired Sunrise host David Koch, who “changed breakfast television forever. Warmth, humour, personality... you needed none of those.”
And then Today host Karl Stefanovic, sat with co-host Sarah Abo. Or as Pang put it: “Sitting next to your co-host - who do you have this year, Karl?” He said Karl’s table would only be more fun if “Michael Clarke was on it.”
Pang finished his opening monologue with perhaps his creakiest joke, batting away rumours he might be a new co-host of I’m A Celeb: “The last thing Australians who fought for this country want to see when they turn on the television is an Asian emerging from the jungle,” he said, to groans from the audience.
More gags from Pang followed after the first break - he noted that legendary Kiwi actor Sam Neill was in the audience, and asked: "What are you doing here? Fire your agent.”
He also advised audience members “not to mix beer and wine, and make sure that you don’t mix your acceptance speech with an active court case.”
Big winners
BINGE comedy Colin From Accounts took out the night’s first award, for Outstanding Comedy Program.
Andy Lee presented the night’s second award, and got his own back at Pang for his earlier joke - asking the crowd if they could hear him. “Oh good, I thought the microphone was still set at Sam Pang height.”
Lee and Celeste Barber presented the award for Most Popular Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie to Home and Away. Heartbreak High lost that award, but shortly after, ensemble member Thomas Weatherall won the Best Supporting Actor award - his first win from his first nomination.
Jackie O introduced a - slightly shaky at times - live performance from singer Amy Shark, who minutes later won the Most Popular New Talent award for her role as a judge on Seven’s Australian Idol reboot.
Tony Armstrong won Most Popular Presenter, while Harriet Dyer won Most Outstanding Actress for Colin from Accounts, paying tribute to her co-star and husband Patrick Brammell.
“If anyone could find a partner half as amazing as him, then you are going to have a great life,” she said, undercutting the “aaahs” from the audience: “Ew! Gross!”
Australian Survivor won Most Outstanding Reality TV Program, with host Jonathan LaPaglia sending a thankyou message from the set of the show’s next season. “I guess you could say the tribe has spoken,” he quipped, to a few groans from the audience.
Ten’s cult favourite The Cheap Seats won Most Outstanding Entertainment Program, thanking their network “for taking a risk on a show that doesn’t feature an island, a vet or a cruise ship.”
Kitty Flanagan won the Most Popular Actress award for her role in Fisk, with fellow nominee in the category, Julia Zemiro, accepting on her behalf. And she said Kitty wanted to dedicate the award to someone who famously couldn’t be there tonight because she wasn’t invited: Amanda Keller.
It was past 11pm when Sam Neill won the Most Popular Actor award for his role in the acclaimed series The Twelve, and the wheels seemed to be falling off proceedings fast by that point. He stammered repeatedly about how shocked he was, asked how to clean the award, then wandered off stage.
Brooke Satchwell won the award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress for the same show, Foxtel’s The Twelve. The show also won the night’s penultimate award, for Most Outstanding Drama Series, with Neill returning to the stage, this time more eloquent: “We would like to dedicate this to our friend, our patron and now our guardian angel, Brian Walsh.”
A touching tribute to Jock
MasterChef won the award for Most Popular Reality TV program, and Melissa Leong choked up as she thanked viewers for their support “given the year that we’ve had.”
She handed over to another member of the MasterChef team who said that the award was “100% for Jock, and implored the audience to “give it up for Jock Zonfrillo!”
Sam Pang squirms
Have You Been Paying Attention? won Most Popular Comedy Program, with Logies host Sam Pang joining Tom Gleisner and Ed Kavalee onstage to accept the award. Kavalee stitched up Pang during the speech, saying he’d read Pang’s portion on his behalf - then reading: “It’s an honour to be on Seven, like my mentors, Andrew O’Keefe, Craig McLachlan and Ben Roberts-Smith.”
Pang winced at the joke: “Come on mate, I’m up here all night.”
Pang was further stitched up a short time later when he started some planned schtick about veteran Home And Away star Ray Meagher - who was not, at that point, in the audience.
“That’s OK, we can do it without him,” he said - but it was clear the “bit” didn’t really work without Meagher in front of him to volley with.
“This probably would have been better if he was here,” Pang sighed as the jokes faltered. “Once again, anyone seen Ray?” He eventually, thankfully, cut the segment short - awkward TV, but at least we might be running ahead of schedule now?
Liz Hayes’ savage Kochie burn
Who saw this drive-by shooting coming? Liz Hayes took to the stage to present an award with recently retired Sunrise host David Koch, who filled the audience in on how he’d been enjoying his new free time.
“I feel a bit of a bludger now,” he said. “[Wife] Liv sees me more. That is a downside for her. I’m not sure she’s too happy about it. And I have got a footy team to get deep into September. Any Port Adelaide fans here? Go the Pies! Come on, get onboard!”
After a beat, Hayes shot back a withering critique of Kochie’s prepared patter: “The writers are still on strike, I see.”
Savage.
TV chef seems... merry
MKR TV chef Colin Fassnidge presented the award for Most Outstanding News Coverage Or Public Affairs Report with MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow.
Their energies seemed... a bit mismatched:
Has Colin been into the Cooking Sherry? #tvweeklogies
— MelbourneMick (@MelbourneMick1) July 30, 2023
Colin Fassnidge apparently already drunk enough to undo the last two decades of Ireland's image rehabilitation. #Logies
— TheGrimRecapper (@TheGrimRecapper) July 30, 2023
Colin looks smaaaashed. #Logies
— ozboxfan (@ozboxfan) July 30, 2023
Fassnige on brand trying to joke with poor Poh about serious tragic events coverage & she wasn’t having it. #logies
— Jo🤗 (@jojoeyjo9) July 30, 2023
Poh keeping it classy as per usual. #TVWEEKLogies#Logies
— shhh. (@fourleafc_lover) July 30, 2023
Fassnidge praised the nominees for “exposing truths and holding power to account. We like that, Poh!” he said, leaning over her as he exclaimed into the microphone.
“...Yes,” she said, giving her co-presenter a polite smile with a discernible undercurrent of “let’s just get through this.”
Tribute to a TV legend
Tributes flowed for Foxtel boss Brian Walsh, a giant in the Australian TV industry for more than 30 years, after he died suddenly in March. Tonight, he was posthumously inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame, with presenters Marta Dusseldorp and Matt Shirvington both revealing how he had guided and influenced their careers in the entertainment industry.
Dusseldorp called Walsh “our beacon of entertainment, our game changer, our champion.
“He nurtured people. I was lucky enough to be one of those people. I miss you, Brian, sadly more than you will ever know,” she said.
More Coverage
Celebs including Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman paid tribute to Walsh with specially recorded messages, with Kidman crediting him with kick-starting her acting career.
Earlier, stars walked the red carpet - check out our round-up of all the fashions. Special shout-out to radio star Jackie O, who looked incredible on the red carpet, and Alone Australia winner Gina Chick, who gave fans a candid insight into her Logies preparations.
And keep abreast of who won what with our full list of nominations, updated with winners as they’re announced.
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