At a glance…
- Ahead of the 2026 TV WEEK Logie Awards, Ally Langdon opens up about life behind the camera.
- The veteran journalist is nominated for her second Gold Logie as well as for A Current Affair and the Ray Martin Award.
- In this interview, she reflects on the interviews that have changed her, including her close friendship with the late Professor Richard Scolyer.
- Voting is open for the Logies. Watch the Awards ceremony on Seven at 7.00 pm AEST on Sunday 16 August to see who wins.
With three TV WEEK Logie nominations to her name this year – including a second shot at the coveted Gold Logie – A Current Affair host Ally Langdon has plenty to celebrate. But for the respected journalist, the biggest measure of success has never been awards.
Speaking to The Weekly, Ally reflects on the interviews that have stayed with her long after the cameras stopped rolling, the advice from her father that continues to guide her career, the one world leader she’d most like to sit down with, and who gets her vote for the gold.
What are your guiding principles when it comes to journalism?
This was something that my dad hit me up with early in my career as a journalist. I think he saw that in my 20s I was getting too hard. He saw a change in me. I remember a conversation with him then about being true to yourself and that idea of being able to look yourself in the mirror each night and know that you’ve done the right thing.
That has always stuck with me. I look at the journalists who have made it and have stood the test of time, and they’re all ones who have a strong moral compass.
For me, in the early days of doing news, if someone died in a car crash, you’d go and get the address, and you’d knock on that person’s door. I remember doing that once, and … bursting into tears because I just had in my head, ‘Can you imagine, if the worst moment in your life, you’re at home, and then someone knocks on the door?’ Often in situations like that, the people do want to talk, and some journalists are really great at doing it, and doing it sensitively. I just worked out very early that it’s something I can’t do, and work was great in respecting that boundary.
If you put people before the story, I think you then develop a reputation for being honest and having integrity, and that comes back in spades. People trust you when they come to you to share their story.
You’ve interviewed rock stars and Prime Ministers. Do you ever get nervous or star-struck?
I get nervous before every interview because you want it to work well, and it doesn’t matter if it’s someone famous or if there’s going to be an element where it will be combative, I think it’s a really good thing to still get nervous before an interview.
But I don’t know if I get star-struck much these days. I worked for 60 Minutes for 10 years, and in that time, we interviewed so many rock stars and actors that you move beyond that. The bit that I would always focus on is that these guys do so many of these interviews all the time. It’s like, how do you start your interview to get their attention and make them think, ‘Oh, I’m going to pay attention to this. This is going to be different.’
Last year, you were nominated for a Logie for your interview with Professor Richard Scolyer. You and Richard formed a genuine friendship. What was so special about that interview?
He’s just an incredible human. I feel like I’ve been on this journey with him and his family for the three years since he was diagnosed. It was Pete Overton, who does a lot of work with the Melanoma Institute Australia, who said, “There’s this brilliant man, Richard, who’s helped cure melanoma, and this has just happened. I think it would be a great story.” I didn’t know at that point that that was going to be the start of a really beautiful, important friendship in my life.
Just before last Christmas, we had a catch-up, and I remember saying to him, “Merry Christmas. Who the Hell would have thought we’d be saying that to each other?”
His response was, “Yeah, I thought I’d be dead by now.” He was telling me how he was doing a bike ride down in Tasmania to raise money in March, and he goes, “Maybe I won’t be here, maybe I’ll die before then, but you’ve got to keep planning as if you’re going to live.”
I feel like that was key to why he did live so much longer than anyone anticipated; he always had things to look forward to. He was just an incredible human, and so humble. Every time I try to give him credit for all this amazing work that he’s done, he’d immediately deflect it and say, “No, no, no, it’s the team.” His whole thing wasn’t about ego or him being the one to solve something or cure something. It was purely about the outcome and saving lives, and I think it’s a really rare trait.
Are there other people you’ve met through stories with whom you’ve developed an ongoing connection?
So many, like little Nicky Tadros, who lost his mum in the Sea World helicopter crash. He broke every bone in his body and had his right leg amputated. I was speaking to him last week, and I went out last year and had a catch-up with him and his dad, Simon. He was just this incredible kid.
You’re also nominated for your interview with survivors, Chloe and Christine, who were attacked by dentist Steven Lin. Why do you think that story has resonated so much?
For one, it’s the power of the imagery. I remember talking to Chloe Paul, who was the second victim, and she said we really want to do something. I said, ‘You tell me when are you going to feel up to it.’ She goes, ‘I want to do it now because I want people to see my face. I want people to see what he did.’ I think there was such power in both of them sitting there in such a vulnerable state. They both saved their own lives. If they hadn’t had their wits about them in that moment, either of them, both of them, may have been killed.
You’re nominated for ACA, but also the Great Debate, the Winter Olympics, and Parental Guidance. What do you do to get yourself through such an intense workload?
I work really well the more that’s on my plate. My whole Christmas holiday was spent getting my head around the Winter Olympics. I love sports, and I love the Olympics, but in my brain I’m not a sports reporter. So you feel like a fraud in some ways. My approach to it is to do all that work in the months leading up to it, so when you’re actually in the moment, that information comes to you straight away. Then you get to just have the time of your life.
How do you unwind?
Some weeks can be harder than others. Like with the death of Professor Richard Scolyer. That’s when it’s just the simple things like kid time and cuddles and trying to get out to the park and do stuff with them that just clear your brain. I’m also pretty good with talking to my boss at ACA if I’ve had a bit of a heavy run [and] I need a week where I’m not on the road filming stuff on top of doing the show.
Do you have an interview wish list?
I know who’s at the top of it, and that would be Vladimir Putin. I would be intrigued to be able to sit down and interview him. I’ve thought often about putting Donald Trump on that list, but I feel like with Trump you don’t get anywhere. So, I’d put Putin at the top.
If you were to cast a vote for the gold, who among the other nominees would you choose, and why?
Oh, that’s a mean question because it’s such a lovely group. I would say Todd Woodbridge, who I’ve worked very closely with during the Winter Olympics. I think he’s an incredible talent. He’s such a natural television host, and he’s a really beautiful human. But I’d have to split that with Lisa Millar from the ABC because we have been mates for a long time. And as fellow journos, we’ve seen a lot together. We’ve both been in that breakfast television chair and know the struggles that come with that and the scrutiny. And she’s just sunshine. She’s truly sunshine. She’s lovely.
The TV WEEK Logie Awards 2026 will air at 7pm AEST on Sunday, 16 August on Seven and 7Plus. Vote for your favourite stars and shows here.
