Logies 2016: Lee Lin Chin, Waleed Aly among Gold Logie nominees

The Logies has unveiled the most diverse line-up ever to vie for the publicly-voted Gold Logie Award.

In a departure from the all white nominee list of previous years, SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin and The Project's Waleed Aly are up for the top gong, alongside Family Feud host Grant Denyer and the star of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Essie Davis, who will duke it out with former Gold Logie winners Scott Cam and Carrie Bickmore on May 8.

Though Chin's nomination may come as a surprise to many people, she has had plenty of time to brace herself for it.

"Just decided to win the gold next year," she tweeted last May. "I deserve it."

Nominees for the 2016 TV Week Gold Logie: (from left) Carrie Bickmore, Essie Davis, Grant Denyer, Scott Cam, Lee Lin Chin and Waleed Aly.Credit: TV Week

Though the tweets that have helped maker her a cult social media star are not in fact written by her, but by comedian Chris Leben, her colleague on SBS2's The Feed, Chin's nomination – like that of Aly – suggests the 58-year-old television popularity contest has finally embraced the notion of diversity.

Then again, maybe it merely suggests that the publicity teams at Ten and SBS have been busy voting from every computer, laptop, smart phone and tablet they can lay their hands on.

"In all my time I don't think we've ever seen a list like this," said Emma Nolan, editor of TV Week, which stages the Logies, for the past 10 years. "It's different, in a good way – it's diverse in terms of gender, age and background."

The nominees in 24 categories plus the Gold were announced on Sunday afternoon at Crown in Melbourne.

Where the bloody hell are you? ... Lee Lin Chin looks at a deserted Sydney street in a spoof attacking the lockout laws.Credit: Screenshot/The Feed SBS

The 15 "most outstanding" categories are peer-voted, while the nine "best" categories and the Gold Logie are voted by members of the public.

Three of the peer-voted awards were announced on Sunday. Joel Jackson won the Most Outstanding Newcomer – Actor award for his portrayal of Peter Allen in the Seven mini-series Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door. He beat out himself (his second nomination came for his performance as war correspondent Charles Bean in Foxtel's Deadline Gallipoli) and Rahel Romahn, who played troubled teen Tarek Ahmad in SBS's The Principal.

The Project co-hosts Waleed Aly and Carrie Bickmore will square off against each other for the Gold Logie.Credit: The Project

Melina Vidler​ won the equivalent award for an actress for her turn as Shay Turner in Seven's New Zealand-set family dramedy 800 Words.

The Graham Kennedy Breakthrough Star of Tomorrow Award went to Ky Baldwin, who played the younger Peter Allen in Not The Boy Next Door.

In numerical terms, the ABC dominates the nominations, with 29, followed by Seven (24), Nine (21, plus Cam for the Gold), Foxtel (18), Ten (16, plus three Gold nominees) and SBS (5, including one for Indigenous channel NITV, plus Chin for Gold).

Stan, the streaming co-venture between Fairfax and Nine, picked up three nominations.

The 2016 TV Week Logie Awards will take place at Crown and air on Nine on May 8.

Gold Logie

Waleed Aly

Carrie Bickmore

Scott Cam

Lee Lin Chin

Essie Davis

Grant Denyer

Best Presenter

Amanda Keller (The Living Room, Network Ten)

Carrie Bickmore (The Project, Network Ten)

Grant Denyer (Family Feud/ The Great Australian Spelling Bee, Network Ten)

Lee Lin Chin (SBS World News/The Feed, SBS)

Waleed Aly (The Project, Network Ten)

Best New Talent

Adam Dovile (Better Homes and Gardens, Channel Seven)

Benson Jack Anthony (800 Words, Channel Seven)

Dan Reilly (The Block, Nine Network)

Joel Jackson (Deadline Gallipoli/ Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door, Foxtel – Showcase/Channel Seven)

Pia Miller (Home and Away, Channel Seven)

Best Drama Program

800 Words (Channel Seven)

A Place To Call Home (Foxtel – SoHo)

Home and Away (Channel Seven)

House Husbands (Nine Network)

Love Child (Nine Network)

Best Entertainment Program

Family Feud (Network Ten)

Gruen (ABC)

Have You Been Paying Attention? (Network Ten)

The Voice (Nine Network)

The X Factor Australia (Channel Seven)

Best News Panel or Current Affairs Program

60 Minutes (Nine Network)

Q&A (ABC)

Sunrise (Channel Seven)

The Project (Network Ten)

Today (Nine Network)

Best Reality Program

I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! (Network Ten)

MasterChef Australia (Network Ten)

My Kitchen Rules (Channel Seven)

The Bachelorette Australia (Network Ten)

The Block (Nine Network)

Best Sports Program

AFL 360 (Foxtel – Fox Footy)

Marngrook Footy Show (NITV)

The AFL Footy Show (Nine Network)

The NRL Footy Show (Nine Network)

Wide World of Sports (Nine Network)

Best Lifestyle Program

Better Homes and Gardens (Channel Seven)

Gardening Australia (ABC)

Getaway (Nine Network)

Selling Houses Australia (Foxtel – The LifeStyle Channel)

The Living Room (Network Ten)

Best Factual Program

Australian Story (ABC)

Bondi Rescue (Network Ten)

Bondi Vet (Network Ten)

Gogglebox (Foxtel – The LifeStyle Channel/Network Ten)

Who Do You Think You Are? (SBS)

Most Outstanding Actor

Alex Dimitriades (Matt Bashir, The Principal, SBS)

Hugh Dancy (Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, Deadline Gallipoli, Foxtel – Showcase)

Malcolm Kennard (Ivan Milat, Catching Milat, Channel Seven)

Patrick Brammall (James Hayes, Glitch, ABC)

Sam Neill (Lang Hancock, House of Hancock, Nine Network)

Most Outstanding Actress

Deborah Mailman (Lorraine, Redfern Now: Promise Me, ABC)

Essie Davis (Phryne Fisher, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, ABC)

Mandy McElhinney (Gina Rinehart, House of Hancock, Nine Network)

Pamela Rabe (Joan Ferguson, Wentworth, Foxtel – SoHo)

Sarah Snook (Anna Ivin, The Beautiful Lie, ABC)

Most Outstanding Supporting Actor

Dan Wyllie (Jimmy, No Activity, Stan)

David Berry (James Bligh, A Place To Call Home, Foxtel – SoHo)

Ryan Corr (Corporal MacDonald, Banished, Foxtel – BBC First)

Tim Minchin (Jacob, No Activity, Stan)

Tim Minchin (Smasher Sullivan, The Secret River, ABC)

Most Outstanding Supporting Actress

Celia Ireland (Liz Birdsworth, Wentworth, Foxtel – SoHo)

Emily Barclay (Sarah Hayes, Glitch, ABC)

Harriet Dyer (Patricia Saunders, Love Child, Nine Network)

Jenni Baird (Regina Standish, A Place To Call Home, Foxtel – SoHo)

Rarriwuy Hick (Robyn Davis, Redfern Now: Promise Me, ABC)

Most Outstanding Drama Series

800 Words (Channel Seven)

A Place To Call Home (Foxtel – SoHo)

Glitch (ABC)

Love Child (Nine Network)

Wentworth (Foxtel – SoHo

Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie

Deadline Gallipoli (Foxtel – showcase)

House of Hancock (Nine Network)

Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door (Channel Seven)

The Beautiful Lie (ABC)

The Secret River (ABC)

Most Outstanding Entertainment Program

Gruen (ABC)

Have You Been Paying Attention? (Network Ten)

The Voice (Nine Network)

The Weekly With Charlie Pickering (ABC)

The X Factor Australia (Channel Seven)

Most Outstanding Comedy Program

No Activity (Stan)

Open Slather (Foxtel – The Comedy Channel)

Please Like Me (ABC)

Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell (ABC)

Utopia (ABC)

Most Outstanding News Coverage

"Iraq-Syria War Coverage" (ABC 7pm News, ABC)

"Liberal Leadership Crisis: Abbott V Turnbull" (Foxtel – SKY NEWS LIVE)

"Migrant Crisis – Special Report" (ABC 7pm News, ABC)

"Paris Attack" (Seven News, Channel Seven)

"Parramatta Shooting" (Seven News, Channel Seven)

Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report

"Catching A Monster" (60 Minutes, Nine Network)

"Hitting Home" (Hitting Home, ABC)

"Making A Killing" (Four Corners, ABC)

"The Killing Season" (The Killing Season, ABC)

"The Siege Survivors" (60 Minutes, Nine Network)

Most Outstanding Sports Coverage

2015 Australian Open (Channel Seven/7TWO)

Emirates Melbourne Cup (Channel Seven)

KFC T20 Big Bash League (Network Ten)

NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final (Nine Network)

Holden State Of Origin II (Nine Network)

Most Outstanding Children's Program

Bottersnikes & Gumbles (Channel Seven)

Bushwacked! (ABC3)

Little Lunch (ABC3)

Play Along With Sam (Foxtel – Nick Jr.)

Ready For This (ABC3)

Already announced

Most Outstanding Newcomer – Actor

Joel Jackson (Charles Bean, Deadline Gallipoli, Foxtel- Showcase)

Joel Jackson (Peter Allen, Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door, Channel Seven)

Rahel Romahn (Tarek Ahmad, The Principal, SBS)

Most Outstanding Newcomer – Actress

Hannah Monson (Kirstie Darrow, Glitch, ABC)

Melina Vidler (Shay Turner, 800 Words, Channel Seven)

Sara West (Liza Minnelli, Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door, Channel Seven)

The Graham Kennedy Breakthrough Star of Tomorrow

Benson Jack Anthony (Arlo Turner, 800 Words, Channel Seven)

Ky Baldwin (Young Peter Allen, Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door, Channel

Seven)

Olivia DeJonge (Shaneen Quigg/Tara Swift, Hiding, ABC)