The Logies
Channel Nine
CARRIE Bickmore won the gold Logie and the hearts of a nation with a speech that urged all of us to wear beanies and raise awareness of for brain cancer – the disease that claimed her late husband Greg Lange in 2010.
Winning best presenter earlier in the night, she’d been able to get all the thankyous out of the way – leaving her with two minutes and a blue beanie – to get her point across to the nation.
And she did – with bleary-eyed breakfast show presenters from across the networks sporting beanies as they plied their trade the next morning.
It was a touching and important moment in an often fluffy, back-patting, and out of touch event (which it proved this year, once again failing to elevate a woman to the Logies Hall of Fame).
Bickmore was a popular winner after four straight nominations – her speech showed why she deserved the golden gong for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.
Her award was presented Delta Godrem (Nine pushing The Voice much?), Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Kate Ritchie and it was mentioned that surely Kerri-Anne would be in the Hall of Fame soon while cameras cut away to Denise Drysdale and Hazel Phillips who have also been touted as future hall of famers.
Was a point being made that organisers will get around to adding another woman soon? Maybe – there’s been a lot of negative publicity in the past week (finally) about the sad lack of women in the Hall of Fame.
This year’s recipient of the Hall of Fame award (originally instituted in 1984) was another television program and while no-one would dispute that after 28 years and employing 7000 people, Home and Away didn’t deserve to be inducted – there are now four television shows in the HOF but still just one woman – Ruth Cracknell in 2001.
Highlights? Hamish and Andy presenting best reality show nominees – Bachelor style.
Miranda Tapsell winning both new talent awards, Channel Seven winning best news coverage for their remarkable Lindt Cafe coverage, Julia Morris forgetting to mention the nominees for the award she was presenting and SBS taking the sports coverage award.
But it was Bickmore’s night.
– Tania Phillips
