How Tom Gleeson trolled Australia: ABC denies comedian’s claim that Hard Quiz was cancelled – as a shock Logies conspiracy theory emerges
Tom Gleeson caused uproar last week when he stepped down from his hosting role on Hard Quiz.
But ABC has now denied the comedian’s claims that the show is cancelled – sparking rumours that Gleeson’s decision to ‘leave’ is just a publicity stunt for TV Week’s Logie Awards.
‘Tom’s statement that he has sacked himself from Hard Quiz is news to us, particularly as we have 10 new episodes airing later this year,’ a network spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
Did Tom Gleeson troll Australia? ABC disputed the comedian’s claims that Hard Quiz was cancelled – as rumours swirl it’s all just a publicity stunt for the Logie Awards
The representative added: ‘Sounds like Tom needs to have a good old HARD chat with himself.’
The network explained alongside the 10 episodes scheduled for next year, they are also looking for contestants.
The rumours come after Tom, 44, scooped a nomination for the coveted Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.
After the exciting announcement, the TV star added fuel to rumours that his departure from Hard Chat is just a prank when he promised he would ‘un-axe’ himself if he won Gold.
Hmm: An ABC spokesman said: ‘Tom’s statement that he has sacked himself from Hard Quiz is news to us, particularly as we have 10 new episodes airing later this year’
All a big prank? Tom added fuel to rumours that his departure was a publicity stunt when he said he will ‘un-axe’ himself from Hard Chat if he wins the Gold Logie he was nominated for on Sunday
‘I’M UP FOR THE GOLD LOGIE! Last year proved you can only win if you don’t have a show. That’s why I axed myself,’ he wrote on Twitter on Monday.
‘When I win Gold, I promise I will un-axe #HardQuiz immediately. Please forgive me HARD! Voting opens June 24. #Gleeson4Gold #tvweeklogies.’
Tom has also been nominated for Most Popular Presenter and his show Hard Quiz has been nominated for Most Popular Entertainment Program.
Joke? The nominations come despite Tom’s sudden departure from Hard Quiz, which he said was doing so he could focus solely on his stand-up comedy
The nominations come despite Tom’s sudden departure from Hard Quiz, which he said was doing so he could focus solely on his stand-up comedy.
Tom tweeted on Friday: ‘I’ve decided to step down as the host of Hard Quiz and discontinue production of the show.
‘This was not an easy decision to make and I appreciate there are many fans of the show for which I will always be grateful.’
He concluded: ‘The demands of hosting a show has meant I was unable to spend as much time as I would like to performing stand up. I’ve loved making Hard Quiz and I will miss it.’
Going for gold: In a similar scenario, during last years nominations, Grant Denyer (pictured) was also nominated for a Gold Logie despite his ailing Family Feud being taken off the air due to poor ratings. He went on to win
In a similar scenario, during last years nominations, Grant Denyer was also nominated for a Gold Logie despite his ailing Family Feud being taken off the air due to poor ratings.
Tom in fact poked fun at Grant’s nod last year, saying on The Project in June: ‘I used to be angry at the Logies, because Denyer was voted for gold for the popular personality on TV for a game show that has been axed due to low ratings on the third-highest rating network and I thought this is idiotic’.
Tom created the amusing #Denyer4Gold campaign in response, saying: ‘Let’s push the Logies to its most absurd extreme ever and give the Gold Logie to a guy that doesn’t have a TV show. It’s beautiful.’
During his acceptance speech last year, Grant thanked Tom by saying: ‘Thanks for the hard chat mate, I appreciate it’.’
Denyer4Gold: Tom created the amusing #Denyer4Gold campaign in response, saying: ‘Let’s push the Logies to its most absurd extreme ever and give the Gold Logie to a guy that doesn’t have a TV show. It’s beautiful’