Logies 2017: Live coverage of the 59th TV Week Logie Awards

SAMUEL Johnson had won the Gold Logie. But Molly Meldrum’s strange interruption of his acceptance speech had viewers confused.

SAMUEL Johnson had won the Gold Logie for his role in the hit TV series, Molly.

But it was Molly Meldrum’s strange interruption of his acceptance speech that had viewers confused. The actor began his speech with tears in his eyes, and explained he grew up as an “outlier”. “I was a very spirited, confused kid with a colourful background ... but I found my home here in the arts,” he said. ‘In all seriousness, you have given me such wonderful shelter, I feel indebted. I want to say thank you,’ he said. The actor then went on to thank his family, but before he could utter much more he was joined onstage by Meldrum, the man who Johnson played in the acclaimed Channel Seven telemovie. Meldrum launched into a long and expletive-ridden speech as Johnson stood behind him. Johnson looked bemused as Meldrum told a long drawn-out tale, which was difficult to decipher beyond certain disjointed phrases. Throughout the speech, Meldrum seemed to be reflecting on his long career and how Johnson came to playing him in a movie. But the difficult to understand rant went off on tangents. At one point the word “tits” was muttered several times, but it was unclear what Meldrum was referring to. He also dropped the F-bomb several times and a cry came from the audience. “We love you, Molly,” yelled the woman. Dave Hughes attempted to escort Molly off stage, but the Countdown host waved Hughes away. Finally, after continuing for several minutes, he was walked offstage by Hughes. His incredible win comes after Hall of Fame inductee Kerri-Anne Kennerley gave a candid speech where she reflected on her time in TV, and paid tribute to her husband. As her first Logie, she said some had tried to bury her throughout her career, but she wasn’t pointing any fingers. She also thanked her friends, husband John, and those in the media she had dealt with as she spoke of how she has survived in the industry for so long. Earlier, Dave Hughes delivered on his promise to take aim at TV’s biggest names as he opened the 59th TV Week Logie Awards tonight. Karl Stefanovic got off lightly and a joke about Gold Logie nominee Samuel Johnson fell flat, but Channel 7 CEO Tim Worner, who was not in the audience, was the prime target. “Channel 7 were working on a pilot for The Wrong Girl, that was starring their CEO Tim Worner,” Hughesy said. “That was more a reality show. He picked the wrong girl to mess with.” “It was going well but they thought it was too expensive and tried to cancel it.” Stefanovic got only a brief mention, despite Hughesy saying the recently divorced brekkie host didn’t need any more attention. “The paparazzi followed Karl to America. I can’t get them to follow me down the street,” Hughesy said. BEST AND WORST OF THE 2017 LOGIES RED CARPET Even Hughes, who has opened the show to critical acclaim for the past three years, misses his mark from time to time. A joke about Samuel Johnson failed to win a laugh from the audience. “He decided he’s going to quit acting and focus on Love My Sister. Whether that selfishness will get him a Gold Logie I’m not sure …” Also borderline were Hughes’ jokes about Grant Hackett, who has endured a very public breakdown and battle with mental illness since finishing his career as a professional athlete. A lot of his material for the opening speech of the Logies was taken from his recent comedy show Deluded at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Already, Jessica Marais, Waleed Aly and Samuel Johnson have taken out some of the most coveted gongs for Best Actress, Actor, and Presenter. Follow our live blog with updates from the awards night below:

Originally published as Logies 2017: Live coverage of the 59th TV Week Logie Awards