Tuesday 21 April 1998
By eBroadcast Staff and agencies.

by Halliwell Hannah

The 40th Annual TV Week Logie Awards contained all the usual showbiz glitz and glamour. The Ceremony was full of highlights, lowlights and controversy.

• The opening musical number was fast moving, inventive and generally entertaining, up until the point where Daryl Somers appeared and started to sing. Talkback radio the next day gave his singing a big thumbs down.

• Fans of Play School got an unexpected treat when Miss Benita, the long-time co-host, appeared on stage in a flimsy see-through dress. The red outfit left little to the imagination under the bright studio lights.

• Another attention-grabbing dress was the 2.5 million-dollar diamond studded frock worn by Neighbours glamourpuss Nicola Charles. Unfortunately, she was paired with Sam Newman of The Footy Show to present an award, and this this lead to a dull routine of sexual innuendo that fell flat on its face.

• The award for worst presenters of the evening would have to go to swimmers Susie O'Neill and Michael Klim. Their stilted routine was mercifully short, and no doubt they were shipped back to charm school later for more classes.

• The big highlight of the evening quickly became a lowlight when the Logie Hall of Fame inductee failed to show up. Bert Newton gave a moving tribute to his old pal Graham Kennedy, and just when Gra-Gra was expected to walk on to accept the award, Bert announced that Graham couldn't make it. Although Bert did his best to accept the award on Kennedy's behalf, there was an air of genuine disappointment from the audience. Had The King walked on stage at that point, he would have stolen the whole show without even having to try. Unfortunately, Kennedy has shied away from the entertainment industry for some years now, and a truly golden moment went missing.