"It's a big deal." Grant Denyer and Amanda Keller don't think the Gold Logie race is a joke.

The Logies are fast approaching and this year, there’s an unlikely favourite in the lead for the Gold Logie.

Although there’s a three-time nominee, a two-time nominee and even a former winner nominated for the award, it turns out Hard Quiz’s Tom Gleeson is currently the clear front-runner for the award.

The comedian, who co-hosts The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, once described the thought of winning the award as “preposterous”. 

Five big questions we have for the 2018 Logies. Post continues after video.

“It is so stupid, and it makes me laugh so much, that it makes me want it,” he told Stellar earlier this year.

But to other nominees of the coveted award, the Gold Logie is far from a joke.

Speaking on his 2Day FM breakfast show this morning, last year’s Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer shared that he believes nominees Tom Gleeson and Sunrise’s Sam Mac are turning the award into a “joke”.

“It’s become a joke this year,” he told his co-hosts, Ed Kavalee and Ash London.

“Two of the loudest Gold nominees are just effectively taking the piss.”

In recent weeks, Gleeson has spoken publicly about many of his fellow nominees including Amanda Keller, The Project host Waleed Aly and actor Rodger Corser.

To win the Gold Logie you have to fight dirty. Going negative works. Here’s my Waleed Aly attack ad. #tvweeklogies #Gleeson4Gold Vote here now: https://t.co/oIgKOmkYGZ pic.twitter.com/DJ26Md2A2Q

— Tom Gleeson (@nonstoptom) June 26, 2019

“He’s slagging everyone off,” Denyer said.

“[Tom Gleeson] is having a crack at Amanda Keller. She’s divine, she deserves to win. She’s been in it for 35 years. She’s not doing it because it’s a joke, she’s not ripping the heart out of the Logies. It would mean the world for her to win,” he added.

“She’s a game-changer and a groundbreaker, she’s wonderfully warm, incredibly whip smart and deserves it, however Tom Gleeson is just taking all the headlines,” he said.

“I’m worried if he wins, that’s it for the Logies forever.”

Last year, Gleeson took over Denyer’s campaign for the Gold Logie, urging people to vote for the TV host.

 

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Making dreams come true! #tvweeklogies

A post shared by KELLY BLACK (@kellypblack) on Jun 30, 2018 at 10:36pm PDT

On the night of the event, Gleeson and Denyer even arrived on the red carpet together in a giant Gold Logie.

“Everybody in the country now thinks I won the award because of him, and if I’m honest, that sh*ts me,” Denyer said on air this morning.

“I didn’t even ask for him to jump on board my campaign.”

Speaking to Mamamia’s No Filter podcast, Gold Logie nominee Amanda Keller also shared her thoughts on Tom Gleeson and Sam Mac’s Logie campaign antics.

The Private Life of Amanda Keller. Post continues after podcast.

“It’s a funny night – it’s a long night. People have always laughed at the Logies. But at the same time, they are all we have for television awards,” Keller told Mamamia.

“If the public vote for you, that’s a big deal and I wish people would let it be a big deal.”

Keller, who was previously nominated for the Gold Logie, explained that in recent years, the race for the publicly voted award has become more like a political campaign.

To win the Gold Logie you have to fight dirty. Going negative works. Here’s my Amanda Keller attack ad. #tvweeklogies #Gleeson4Gold Vote here now: https://t.co/oIgKOm3nip pic.twitter.com/G85CVsC6lM

— Tom Gleeson (@nonstoptom) June 23, 2019

“If you’re a Gold Logie nominee in the new world, you’ve got to be quite robust I think,” she said.

“They now have voting that opens up the week before [the awards] and doesn’t close until the end of the red carpet, so the winner is a surprise now but what that means is that it has almost turned it into a political campaign,” Keller added.

“That last week is hard yakka. It’s not for the faint hearted. It’s a real privilege to be nominated, but it’s so hard.

“Tom and Sam are treating it – and fair enough too if they want to – like this comedy competition. Tom’s like the school bully picking us all off. It’s a different feeling and I’m not very good at it.”

You can check out the full list of Gold Logie nominees below:

TV Week Gold Logie – Most Popular Personality on Australian TV.

• Amanda Keller (The Living Room / Dancing With The Stars)
• Costa Georgiadis (Gardening Australia)
• Eve Morey (Neighbours)
• Rodger Corser (Doctor Doctor)
• Sam Mac (Sunrise)
• Tom Gleeson (Hard Quiz)
• Waleed Aly (The Project)

For more on this topic:

• Who are The Logies 2019 nominees? Waleed Aly might be the most popular man on television.