Update:
After apparently quitting the popular ABC quiz show Hard Quiz through a Twitter post on Friday, Tom Gleeson has rolled back those comments revealing them to be a Logie themed joke.
In another tweet Gleeson stated:
“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. When I win Gold, I promise I will un-axe #HardQuiz immediately. Please forgive me HARD! Voting opens June 24. #Gleeson4Gold #tvweeklogies”
He then confirmed this in a statement to News.com.au:
“I am holding Hard Quiz hostage. I have the show in my basement with a gun aimed at its head. If you do note vote for me, Hard Quiz is dead.
If you love the show, the only way for it to stay on air is for you to vote for me to get the Gold Logie, otherwise I will deny Australia Hard Quiz.”
This follows a statement published by ABC on Friday: “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.”
So it appears to be over as suddenly as it began with Gleeson revealing to be a prank based on the #Denyer4Gold campaign last year that saw Grant Denyer win the Gold Logie, after his show Family Feud got cancelled.
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Tom Gleeson has announced that he is stepping down as the host of Hard Quiz and discontinuing production on the show. Announced in a media statement via Twitter, he said this was due to time constraints and a desire to perform more stand up.
” 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. 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. I’d like to thank everyone who worked on the show, Thinkative TV and the ABC for their support. I’d especially like to thank all the contestants who were such great sports.
Thanks for playing HARD!”