Kylie saves Hey Hey

Kylie ducks criticism on Hey Hey -- Abbott fared less well.

The self-proclaimed goddess swept onto the set of Hey Hey It's Saturday last night, and was arguably its sole redeeming feature.

Kylie Minogue appeared on the recently revived show to promote her new album, Aphrodite, which has shot to number one across Europe, but has only managed number two in her home country.

While Kylie's performances were spectacular and all we had been promised, it failed to spark new life into the limp form of Hey Hey, which only had 1.17 million viewers tune in. MasterChef Australia, which aired at the same time as Hey Hey, had 2.46 million viewers.

Minogue has a long-standing relationship with Hey Hey from her early career days in the 80's -- back in the day when the show could command dominance in the Saturday night ratings. So, for nostalgia's sake, we can forgive her for wanting her first performance on Australian television to return to her roots, with her old pals Daryl Somers and Red Symons.

Personally, however, the Liberals leader Tony Abbott fared even worse, when he appeared on the "Red Faces" segment of the show.

With the demographic of the studio audience more than likely skewed by Kylie's appearance, Tony was visibly squirming as he guffawed through the boos emanating from the studio audience. The left wing supporters in the audience were clearly not going to let him get away lightly.

Seating Abbott next to Rex Lee of Entourage fame was an inspired choice -- particularly on consideration of his famous "homosexuals make me feel threatened" comment on 60 Minutes.

Abbott's appearance will have been an attempt to soften his "hard man" image and show a sense of humour. However, with Hey Hey seating him next to a flamboyantly open gay man and two seats away from one of the biggest gay icons in the world, he only succeeded in showing himself to be disconnected from modern culture.

Hey Hey is set to return to a Saturday night slot after a mid-season break. But while it continues with its lowest-common-denominator form of comedy, any type of long-term success seems increasingly unlikely.

See the video below for Kylie's performance of her recent single All The Lovers.

Did you watch Hey Hey It's Saturday? Let us know what you thought below.