Network 10’s heavy-hitting stars Lisa Wilkinson, Carrie Bickmore and Waleed Aly have all been overlooked at TV’s night of nights in favour of a lower-profile colleague whose show has been axed.

Grant Denyer was named as a Gold Logie nominee on Sunday night for his Family Feud gameshow, which was cancelled earlier in May. He’s also in the running for ‘Most Popular Presenter’. It seems his troubled days, including an abandoned legal case against Woman’s Day over drug addiction claims, may be behind him.

Once TV’s bad boy, Denyer is well and truly back in the industry’s loving arms. Photo: AAP

Absent from Australian TV’s most prestigious awards short list were any of The Project‘s all-star cast, most notably Wilkinson, who was poached by Ten at a reported million-dollar sum.

Bickmore and Aly’s snub may be more understandable, as they have already won Gold Logies. But Wilkinson had firmed as somewhat of a favourite for this year’s top gong.

Bickmore got a consolation prize in the form of a nomination for ‘Most Popular Presenter’, and The Project is up for ‘Most Popular Entertainment Program’. Aly and co-host Peter Helliar were not so lucky.

Another conspicuous absence was any of the big-name celebrity morning TV hosts, the likes of Karl Stefanovic, Georgie Gardner, David Koch, Samantha Armytage and Larry Emdur. Perhaps TV audiences have tired of high-paid talking heads. Stefanovic’s infamous Uber rant may not have helped.

A clear frontrunner is veteran A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw, whose heavy-hitting interview with alleged sex pest Don Burke has earned her widespread praise – and a chance at Gold. So revered was her performance, she’s also been nominated for ‘Most Popular Presenter’ and the interview itself is in the running for ‘Most Outstanding News Coverage or Public Affairs Report’.

Tracy Grimshaw is this year’s standout, with three big nominations. Photo: AAP

“I feel like we hit all the marks that day and it had a huge response,” Ms Grimshaw told AAP.

Andrew Winter, host of Love It Or List It, picked up Foxtel’s first Gold Logie nod. Said Winter, “This nomination is massive for a former UK real estate agent who never wanted to work in TV.”

Also nominated as ‘Most Popular Personality on Australian TV’ (better known as the Gold Logie) were Amanda Keller (Ten’s The Living Room), Jessica Marais (Ten’s The Wrong Girl and Nine’s Love Child) and Rodger Corser (Nine’s Doctor Doctor).

"In part I deserve this, but not for all that sleazy, sexual stuff," says Don Burke. #9ACA | WATCH THE FULL STORY: https://t.co/TJfiooQfHh pic.twitter.com/LSFV0AXoXP

— A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) November 27, 2017

Corser was definitely feeling the love on Sunday, with additional nominations for ‘Most Popular Actor’ and ‘Most Outstanding Actor’.

The gender balance of the Gold Logie nominations was a perfect 50-50, following a heavy backlash when Marais was the only woman on last year’s short list.

Whoever takes home the coveted award is destined to be a first-time winner, although Denyer, Corser and Marais have all been nominated before. Surprisingly, Grimshaw has never been nominated, despite fronting the Today breakfast show from 1996 to 2005, and A Current Affair since 2006.

The nominees for the July 1 awards were announced on Sunday at The Star on the Gold Coast, which will host Australian TV’s biggest awards night for the first time.

Organisers moved the event from Melbourne, its home since the first Logies in 1959, after the Victorian state government withdrew roughly $1 million in funding.

The short list for each category is determined by the industry, and then voting to elect the winners of the popularity categories – including the all-important Gold Logie – begins on June 25 and run right up until the red carpet for the show on July 1.

Winners of the ‘most outstanding’ categories are determined by a panel of industry experts.

The full list of nominees

GOLD LOGIE – MOST POPULAR PERSONALITY ON AUSTRALIAN TV
Amanda Keller (The Living Room)
Andrew Winter (Love It Or List It Australia/Selling Houses Australia)
Grant Denyer (Family Feud/All Star Family Feud)
Jessica Marais (Love Child; The Wrong Girl)
Rodger Corser (Doctor Doctor)
Tracy Grimshaw (A Current Affair)

MOST POPULAR ACTOR
Aaron Jeffery (Underbelly Files: Chopper)
Erik Thomson (800 Words)
Luke McGregor (Rosehaven)
Ray Meagher (Home And Away)
Rodger Corser (Doctor Doctor)

MOST POPULAR ACTRESS
Asher Keddie (Offspring)
Celia Pacquola (Rosehaven/Utopia)
Deborah Mailman (Cleverman)
Jessica Marais (Love Child; The Wrong Girl)
Julia Morris (House Husbands)

MOST POPULAR PRESENTER
Amanda Keller (The Living Room)
Andrew Winter (Love It Or List It Australia/Selling Houses Australia)
Carrie Bickmore (The Project)
Grant Denyer (Family Feud/All Star Family Feud)
Tracy Grimshaw (A Current Affair)

GRAHAM KENNEDY AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR NEW TALENT
Dilruk Jayasinha (CRAM!; Utopia)
Matty Johnson (The Living Room)
Sam Frost (Home And Away)
Sophia Forrest (Love Child)
Sophie Dillman (Home And Away)

MOST POPULAR DRAMA PROGRAM
Doctor Doctor (Nine Network)
Home And Away
Love Child (Nine Network)
Offspring
Wentworth

MOST POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
Anh’s Brush With Fame
Family Feud
Gogglebox Australia
Hard Quiz
The Project

MOST POPULAR COMEDY PROGRAM
Have You Been Paying Attention?
Here Come The Habibs (Nine Network)
Hughesy, We Have A Problem
Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell 
True Story With Hamish & Andy (Nine Network)

MOST POPULAR REALITY PROGRAM
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
Married At First Sight (Nine Network)
My Kitchen Rules
The Block (Nine Network)
Travel Guides (Nine Network)

MOST POPULAR LIFESTYLE PROGRAM
Better Homes And Gardens
Gardening Australia
Selling Houses Australia
The Checkout
The Living Room

MOST OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
A Place To Call Home 
Doctor Doctor (Nine Network)
Harrow
Top Of The Lake: China Girl
Wentworth

MOST OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR TELEMOVIE
Romper Stomper 
Safe Harbour
Seven Types Of Ambiguity
Underbelly Files: Chopper (Nine Network)
Wake In Fright

MOST OUTSTANDING ACTOR
Damon Herriman (Lance Gowland, Riot)
Ewen Leslie (Ryan Gallagher, Safe Harbour)
Hugo Weaving (Alex Klima, Seven Types Of Ambiguity)
Lachy Hulme (Blake Farron, Romper Stomper)
Rodger Corser (Hugh Knight, Doctor Doctor)

MOST OUTSTANDING ACTRESS
Elisabeth Moss (Robin Griffin, Top Of The Lake: China Girl)
Kate Atkinson (Vera Bennett, Wentworth)
Kate Box (Marg McCann, Riot)
Leeanna Walsman (Bree Gallagher, Safe Harbour)
Pamela Rabe (Joan Ferguson, Wentworth)

MOST OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
Aaron Pedersen (Frank Gibbs, A Place To Call Home)
Alex Dimitriades (Doc Tydon, Wake In Fright)
Anthony Hayes (Mitch, Seven Types Of Ambiguity)
David Wenham (Jago Zoric, Romper Stomper)
Hazem Shammas (Ismail Al-Bayati, Safe Harbour)

MOST OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Celia Ireland (Liz Birdsworth, Wentworth)
Elsa Cocquerel (Michelle, Wolf Creek)
Jacqueline McKenzie (Gabe Jordan, Romper Stomper)
Jenni Baird (Regina Standish, A Place To Call Home)
Nicole Chamoun (Zahra Al-Bayati, Safe Harbour)

MOST OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
Crash The Bash
Get Arty
Grace Beside Me
Little J & Big Cuz
Mustangs FC

MOST OUTSTANDING SPORTS COVERAGE
2017 AFL Grand Final
2017 Australian Open Men’s Final
Bathurst 1000
Jeff Horn v Manny Pacquiao
The 2017/2018 Ashes (Nine Network)

MOST OUTSTANDING NEWS COVERAGE OR PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT
“Don Burke Special” (A Current Affair)
“Escape From Salt Creek” (60 Minutes)
“Haiti Uncovered” (Sunday Night)
“Pumped” (Four Corners)
“The Siege” (Four Corners)

MOST OUTSTANDING FACTUAL OR DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
Michael Hutchence: The Last Rockstar
Struggle Street
The Queen & Zak Grieve
War On Waste
You Can’t Ask That

-with wires