Thomas van Groningen is the one rising star from SBS 6: yesterday he won the Televizier talent award and revealed on stage that the channel actually had little confidence in him. “Thank you, Hélène.”
It was a double celebration yesterday at SBS 6: not only did Today Inside win the Golden Televizier Ring, Thomas van Groningen also won the prize for the greatest TV talent. He made a splash last summer as a replacement for Hélène Hendriks in De Oranjezomer and can currently be seen daily as the face of the right-wing TV news News of the Day.
‘I’ll never forget!’
Thomas thanks on the stage of the Television gala a lot of people. “I must also thank: the back of Hélène Hendriks, the vocal chords of Art Rooijakkers and the journalistic conscience of Malou Petter!”, he jokes.
Then he turns to Hélène, who is also in the room: “Hélène, seriously: I know that you actually advocated for me to fill in for you. I will never forget that.”
Blisters on tongue
Who else is thanked by Thomas? “I have to thank Wilfred Genee very much. He once took me from radio to television. If he had not done that, you would all have been very happy, because then I would not be here. Thank you for that! And of course Johan and René!”
Wilfred confirms Today Inside that he has made a lot of effort for Thomas. The SBS top did not believe in Thomas as a replacement for Hélène. “We had to talk to some people in management to convince them that he really had to go there.”
‘We did it!’
At some point, the SBS leadership changed tack. “Yes, it worked out in the end, you know. Nothing against Johnny, but he handled it really well, and then something happened again.”
Wilfred concludes: “That guy has a lot of talent.”