Matt Preston is nominated for a silver Logie for MasterChef Australia.
Can he possibly win a Logie? Even his own mother is voting for his competition.
Matt Preston has no hope of winning Logie's Most Popular New Talent award.
That is, according to his own mother. The MasterChef Australia judge says she's voting for somebody else.
"Luke Mitchell from Home and Away's going to win Best New Talent for sure," he insists. "My mother is a huge Home and Away fan. I rang her and she'd already seen the nominations, and she said, 'Congratulations love, but I'm going to vote for Luke because he's brilliant.'
"When your own mother is voting for Luke you realise that's what it's all about!" he laughs.
Preston is up against a bunch of younger faces in the award for the most popular new male personality including Charlie Pickering, James Stewart and Josh Thomas. But he's hoping it could be the year for more mature talents.
"Obviously they were bored in the TV Week offices and thought: 'It'll be funny! Put the old man in!'" he laughs.
"I don't want to say anything but this could be the year of the old man, couldn't it? Could Ray (Meagher) win a Gold? Could Erik (Thomson) win Best Actor? Could Garry McDonald or Roy Billing win Most Outstanding Actor? Could Melissa (Doyle) or Shaun (Micallef) win Best Presenter?
"The Logies always seem to be dominated by under 35's but there's quite a wave there of over 35's getting noms which is good apart from me which is a total joke and quite ridiculous. I am so not worthy of any of this. I am a man who talks and eats, that's all I do!"
Since becoming instantly recognisable on the TEN reality show, Preston is trying to keep his cool about television fame. But the show's very popularity may put a stop to that.
"Me, George and Gary exist in our own little world. We kind of potter around and you occasionally bump into the Carrie Bickmores of the world and that's OK, you do that and it's very nice. But to suddenly find yourself in the company of all these serious actors, it's way out of the league of what I am used to.
"It's a bit like that dream you have where you're making a movie with Sean Penn and then you wake up."
But Preston is the only television performer to be shortlisted for both a Popular award and the peer-voted Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent -- a clear indication of his respect from both sides of the TV screen.
"To have my name on the Graham Kennedy Award is a dizzying thing. He is one of the geniuses of Australian television. I'm not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath."
MasterChef Australia airs 7:30pm weeknights and Sundays on TEN.
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