WALEED Aly has proved the doubters wrong, winning Gold at the 58th Annual TV Week Logie Awards.

The co-host of The Project beat a field that included last year’s Gold Logie winner Carrie Bickmore as well as SBS’s Lee Lin Chin, as well as Grant Denyer, Scott Cam, and Essie Davis.

It has been a meteoric rise to Gold for Aly who took over as permanent co-host on The Project just under 18 months ago.

LOGIES LIVE: How the night unfolded

“I think it’s fair to say I thought I’d never win a Logie,” Aly said. “I was more likely to win an AFL Grand Final in my mind. I’m gobsmacked.

“To know that the audience has accepted you into their universe is the most wonderful thing in the world.”

SBS got a big consolation prize — Alex Dimitriades won Most Outstanding Actor for his role as idealistic principal Matt Bashir in The Principal.

Deborah Mailman won her fourth Logie after previous wins in Mabo and The Secret Life of Us. Mailman won for her searing portrayal of Lorraine in Redfern Now: Promise Me.

“What a friggin’ honour to me amongst these incredible women,” Mailman said, who went on to dedicate her award to Bangarra Dance Theatre’s music director David Page.

“Redfern Now has been about integrity in indigenous storytelling. It has been such a wonderful experience to be a part of these stories that push through the expected reality.”

Former Packed to the Rafters stars Jessica Marais and Erik Thomson were on silver highs after winning best actor and actress at the 58th Annual Logie Awards.

But the night’s most inspiring moment came when Noni Hazlehurst used her Hall of Fame speech to call for more positive, uplifting television shows.

Marais, with Love Child, and Thomson, with 800 Words, are riding new waves of popularity after the demise of Rafters in 2013.

Marais sent a “Happy Birthday” shout-out to her daughter Scout, who turns four, when she beat out a top field including Essie Davis and Marta Dusseldorp to win Best Actress for Love Child.

“Mummy loves you very much,” Marais said. Marais recently started filming The Wrong Girl for Channel 10.

800 Words, in which Thomson plays bereaved dad George Turner, was one of 2015’s biggest hits.

The win is something Thomson couldn’t achieve in six seasons of Packed to the Rafters.

“I am one of those actors who expect every job to be his last,” Thomson said. “Certainly after Packed to Rafters I thought I might have had my time. Then this show came along. It had heart and soul.”

But it was Hazlehurst’s Hall of Fame speech that had people talking.

The 62-year-old has a career spanning more than four decades including iconic Nancy Wake, Better Homes and Gardens, Play School, City Homicide and The Sullivans. Hazlehurst currently stars in A Place to Call Home.

Stars including Cate Blanchett, John Waters, Abby Earl, Shane Bourne, Jack Thompson, and Ernie Dingo feted the star.

“She’s one of the most fearless actors I’ve ever had the pleasure to work opposite,” Blanchett said.

“This award has turned out to be the most wonderful Mother’s Day present,” a clearly moved Hazlehurst said.

“I have always tried to find stories that resonate on a human, empathetic level. Things are clearly changing. They are changing glacially slowly. But the great thing about glaciers, is that if you’re not on them, you go under. I have been riding that glacier for 40 years and I am staying on top of it.”

Waleed Aly beat out Carrie Bickmore, Grant Denyer, and Lee Lin Chin to win Best Presenter.

Aly, who has been a permanent host on The Project for just over a year, thanked his wife, Susan Carland.

“She (Susan) is a huge source of support for me,” Aly said.

The Block was the first winner out of the gate. The Channel 9 renovation show nailed the Logie for Best Reality Program. The win will be a boost for Nine after its disastrous ratings for Cam’s recent Renovation Rumble.

Family Feud won Best Entertainment Program. The show has been a massive success for Ten and host Grant Denyer.

“I am the first person to win a life-size Logie,” Denyer joked. “Oh my god this feels amazing. It’s even more delicious in person.”

Home and Away scored its fifth Logie win for Best Drama. Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell won Most Outstanding Comedy Program.

Better Homes and Gardens handyman Adam Doville was the surprise winner of Best New Talent. Doville is a former contestant on House Rules.

Tim Minchin won Most Outstanding Supporting Actor for his performance as Smasher Sullivan in historical drama The Secret River.

Channel 10 won Most Outstanding Sports Coverage for its telecast of T20 Big Bash League cricket.

The Living Room made it back-to-back wins for Best Lifestyle Program after Better Homes and Gardens had dominated the category for years.

Molly Meldrum was moved to tears as he introduced Delta Goodrem who performed her new single, Dear Life.

Foxtel and Channel 10s Gogglebox, the show about people watching television, took out Best Factual Program.]

Celia Ireland won Most Outstanding Supporting Actress for her performance as Liz Birdsworth in Foxtel’s Wentworth.

Early on comedian Dave Hughes took aim at 60 Minutes, Bickmore, Aly, Shane Warne, Dr Chris Brown, Manu Feildel, Shane Delia, Aly, Kyle Sandilands, Lee Lin Chin, and even his own Australia’s Got Talent.

After eight years, one of the ABC’s most popular shows, Gruen, won its first Logie – for Most Outstanding Entertainment Program.

The Project snagged the Logie for Best News Panel or Current Affairs Program. The Secret River won Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie. ABC supernatural drama Glitch, with Patrick Brammall, won Most Outstanding Drama Series.

The ABC’s The Killing Season won Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report.

Julia Morris gave the Logies a much-needed shot of adrenalin when she did an impromptu rendition of Bonnie Tyler hit I Need a Hero.