Stefanovic takes home Gold Logie

Channel Nine presenter Karl Stefanovic has won the coveted Gold Logie at the television industry's night of nights in Melbourne after a late voting surge, edging out favourite Rebecca Gibney.

The Today host seemed to be just as surprised by the win as everyone else, saying he did not expect to beat out his competition to claim victory in the most popular personality on Australian television category.
"I never ever, ever, in my life as a journo thought that I would be standing up here, in front of this crowd on this stage, with this thing in my hand, especially with the class of nominees," he said.
He said the big news events this year - including the Queensland floods and the Christchurch and Japan earthquakes - may partly explain his win.
"I'm incredibly excited and blown away by the support out there," he told said.
"For whatever the reason I am over the moon that this has happened."
He said he thought his career might be over following a post-Logies presenting disaster two years ago, when he appeared drunk on air the next morning, but says he plans to have a few celebratory drinks after last night's win.
"I'm going to try and take it a little bit easier and just enjoy it rather than get poleaxed like last time," he said.
"I thought that it was possibly career-ending. I'm more surprised than anyone else that I'm still here and more than that I'm here getting this award. It's amazing."
Stefanovic, who only returned to Australia yesterday morning after covering the royal wedding in London, also won the Silver Logie for most popular presenter at the ceremony at Melbourne's Crown Casino.
Stefanovic finished his acceptance speech for the Silver with a special word of thanks to his wife Cass for letting him go on weird and wonderful excursions around the world.
"She's a great influence on my life so thank you so much. She's also got the best arse I've ever seen," he said.
He beat out the favourite for the Gold, Packed to the Rafters star Gibney, who won it in 2009.
Also nominated for the top award this year were Gibney's on-screen daughter Jessica Marais, ABC personality Adam Hills, Ten presenter Chrissie Swan and actress Asher Keddie, of Ten's Offspring.
Stefanovic paid tribute to his fellow nominees, telling Hills: "We all know mate if you weren't on the ABC you would have won five of these things."
ABC quiz show Spicks and Specks, hosted by Hills, picked up the award for most outstanding light entertainment program.

Stefanovic also thanked his Nine colleague Laurie Oakes, who was inducted into the Logie Awards Hall of Fame, saying he was the reason he was a journalist.

If the awards are anything to go by Australia's television landscape seems to be changing, with wins more evenly spread across the networks and new programs and their stars taking home Logies.
But it was also the first year that the Logies have been solely voted online which may have affected the outcome.
Nine won the most Logies at this year's ceremony, taking out three outstanding and four popular awards.
Seven, Ten and the ABC each won five Logies, but they were distributed differently amongst the popular and outstanding categories.
The silver Logie for most popular actor went to Hugh Sheridan from Seven's popular Packed to the Rafters, which is now in its fourth season.
The silver Logie for most popular actress went to Keddie for her work in Ten's Offspring after just its first series.

Both the outstanding actor and actress awards went to the ABC.

Richard Roxburgh took home the most outstanding Logie for his portrayal of an eccentric lawyer in Rake and Claire van der Boom won the most outstanding actress award for the miniseries Sisters of War.

ABC reporter Sarah Ferguson and the Four Corners program won the award for most outstanding public affairs report for their investigation Smugglers Paradise.

Ten proved to be popular with viewers, winning five of the 12 publicly voted awards but none of the peer voted outstanding awards.
The network scored wins in the popular categories with new shows The Circle and Offspring, as well as established programs MasterChef and Bondi Rescue.
In contrast the ABC won five of the ten peer voted outstanding awards but none of the viewer voted popularity awards.
Seven has scooped the pool in previous years with popular shows Packed to the Rafters and Home and Away but this time the network won just five Logies, two outstanding and three popular.
Packed to the Rafters won the most popular drama series for the third year running, as well as Sheridan's win, but after only two Logies from 15 nominations, Australia's love affair with the Seven drama may be starting to wane.