EXCLUSIVE: Scott Tweedie shares the important rule to ensure nothing goes wrong.

Australian Idols’ Scott Tweedie has revealed what it’s really like announcing a winner on live TV. Photos: Channel Seven

From the wrong winner being announced on Australia’s Next Top Model in 2010, to no one being chosen on The Bachelor in 2018, there have been plenty of iconic Australian reality TV finales over the years. No matter how good the rest of the season was, a shock moment in the last episode has the power to overshadow everything and make headlines around the world.

Ahead of the two-part Australian Idol finale on Sunday and Monday night where one contestant will ultimately be crowned the 2025 champion, Scott Tweedie has opened up about what it’s really like announcing a winner on live TV. The popular presenter, who has been hosting the singing competition alongside Ricki-Lee since 2023, tells Yahoo Lifestyle there’s an important rule in place to ensure everything goes to plan.

“We have it written down, so there’s no way that communication can be wrong. So on the card we’ve got in our hands, it has the winner’s name or who we’re about to announce,” he details.

“And then, because sometimes we’ll go, ‘Six of you are safe and two of you are in the bottom two’, and we’ve got to go through six names, we have this thing called the thumb rule. And on the card, your thumb has to be on who you’re about to say. So you cannot say the wrong name, and that’s pretty foolproof.”

Scott explains that they aren’t given the card from the producer until “literally seconds” before they come back from a commercial break, and the winner’s name is handwritten so “you cannot screw it up”. He adds that it’s usually Ricki-Lee who gets to share the big news on the show, like the winner announcement, given her long history with Australian Idol.

“I think with those big moments, it really does work with Ricki-Lee leaning into it,” he says. “Because of her DNA with Idol, I think she is the best at doing those really big announcements, and I’m there to back her up the whole way. And if anything happens, I’m there to step in.”

The two-part Australian Idol grand finale kicks off 7pm Sunday. Photo: Channel Seven

Who will be the 2025 Australian Idol?

The three finalists set to battle it out at the grand finale are 17-year-old Iilysh Retallick, 19-year-old Marshall Hamburger, and 17-year-old Gisella Colletti. The winner will receive $100,000 in prize money, an exclusive recording package with Hive Sound Studios and the esteemed title of Australian Idol 2025.

Scott admits he has “no idea” who will win the competition, which makes it “really exciting” for himself and Ricki-Lee.

“I think at the very beginning of this season, sometimes there’s one or two real standouts, but this season there was a whole bunch of them,” he says. “And I think from being the return of Australian Idol, now we’re three seasons in, it just feels like we’re building such a nice audience and the contestants are really valuing being on that stage. So there’s a good vibe in the air.”

‘This is me living my dream’

While his job involves making someone else’s dream a reality, Scott shares that hosting Australian Idol has been an “absolute dream come true” for him and something he’s always wanted to do since the beginning of his career.

“When I started hosting professionally, hosting a show like Australian Idol was always a pipe dream. Once I was a few years into my career, Idol wasn’t around anymore, but then once I was like, 12 years into my career, there was the idea of Idol coming back,” he recalls.

“I was like, I’ve done music TV for eight years, I started in radio, I have a passion for music, I think this is the gig for me. I was like, I honestly believe I’ll be really good at it and I’ve done the groundwork to be the best host for it. And then to find out that Idol royalty like Ricki-Lee was involved too, honestly, every single day I wake up and I go on set and I’m like, ‘This is me living my dream’. 15-year-old me would be so proud of myself right now.”

The two-part Australian Idol grand finale kicks off 7pm Sunday on Seven and 7plus