'It was so exciting'
The Sunshine Coast’s own Jungle Girl headed home yesterday clutching her new, shiny Logie and vowing that it would go “straight to the pool room, mate”.
At only nine, Bindi Irwin was surprised to have won the award for Most Popular New Female Talent, beating older and more experienced actresses.
“It was so exciting,” the pint-sized TV star said.
“It’s such a big honour – it’s an honour just to be nominated – but it’s just amazing to win when I was up against these great actresses who have been doing this for their whole lives and I’m only nine and I got one.”
Bindi edged out Home and Away star Charlotte Best and Neighbours actress Adelaide Kane to win the award for her ABC TV show Bindi: The Jungle Girl.
She dedicated her Logie to her mum, Terri, and dad, the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.
“I dedicated it to my mum and dad because they are my two most loved people ... they are my moon and my stars and they will always be my best friends and my parents,” she said.
“It’s been so great and it’s so nice that people like (the show) because my dad liked filming it as well, and so do my mum and my little brother, Robert,” Bindi said.
“I hope that everybody likes it and we can carry on Dad’s work because we’re getting further and further away from animals and we need to get closer to them because soon we won’t have any left.’’
Bindi said she was looking forward to continuing work on the show this year and making it “bigger and better”.
Meanwhile, she also has taken the United States by storm, scoring three Emmy nominations.

Bindi yesterday was nominated in the Outstanding Performer In A Children’s Series category for Bindi: The Jungle Girl, her song Save Me received a nomination in Outstanding Original Song – Children’s and Animation and Bindi: The Jungle Girl received a nominations in the category Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Design.