Next in our Gold Logie countdown is one of the most surprising nominees this years – so just how did Costa Georgiadis rise to the top?
While 2019 marks ten years since Georgiadis first made a name for himself as a garden-lover on our screens, his first taste of TV came in 1989 when he appeared on Hey Hey It’s Saturday. As a member of the Hellenic Rebirth Brothers, he took a turn in the Red Faces talent quest. Around this time he was also on the Ray Martin Show, competing in a Bathroom Baritone competition which saw him singing in a bathtub.
However, Georgiadis is best known for his love of gardening. Inspired by his grandfather’s market garden, he developed a love of nature and studied landscape gardening at the University of NSW, becoming interested in sustainability.
His first major television role came in 2009 as the host of SBS’s Costa’s Garden Odyssey, a groundbreaking magazine-style series that allowed him to get his hands dirty and talk about his love of gardening, environmental issues and the spirituality of gardening. The series ran for 25 episodes, concluding in 2011.
The following year, in 2012, Georgiadis entered his most well-known presenter role to date, becoming the new host of Gardening Australia. It was tough shoes to fill following Peter Cundall’s eighteen years and Steven Ryans three years, but Georgiadis has made quiet a name for himself over the past seven years.
As a presenter, his aims have been to get kids involved in nature and the garden, as well as to entertain people, rather than overloading people with information. In 2014, he starred as Costa the Garden Gnome in ABC Kids’ Get Grubby TV.
On Sunday Costa is up for his first ever Gold Logie AND Presenting Logie – can he continue the surprise by taking out the awards?
