Johnny de Mol is allowed by his dad John de Mol to continue muddling through as a talk show host. He will return in 2026 as a substitute for Hélène Hendriks, and not Thomas van Groningen. Aw…
It was one big drama last summer: Johnny de Mol as a substitute for Hélène Hendriks in De Oranjezomer. It wasn’t until Thomas van Groningen took over that things started to get going. He has been so popular with Dutch TV viewers that last week he even took home the Televizier Prize for the best up-and-coming TV talent.
Johnny returns
And yet Thomas does not have to count on being able to take Hélène’s place again next year, because by then the presenter will have recovered sufficiently from her back operation and she will be able to take care of most weeks of De Oranjezomer again. And if she can’t, then Johnny comes into play again.
Johnny confirms this himself The Telegraph: “I think so. I don’t know if Hélène can do the whole series again. I was of course the substitute’s substitute, because Hélène takes over from the gentlemen of VI and I had to take over from Hélène. I think that the division of roles is still that way, so if it is up to me, yes.”
Bad talk show host
Fake baby or not: Johnny must care that people think he is very bad as a talk show host? “We coincidentally received a tile last week that we were the number one talk show last summer, together with Hélène and Thomas. So yes, we can only be very proud of that.”
He continues: “I’m looking forward to next summer, when you can improve yourself again, because there is of course always room for improvement. If you mean all the criticism: some things you take to heart, you work on them, and some things you just have to let slide very quickly and move on. No, that doesn’t really bother me.”
Bumpy period
Johnny goes for it. “I think it is especially nice if you are well into the competition yourself. We have of course come out of a somewhat bumpy period in recent years with the family, but now that the sky is blue again and the sun is shining again, it is just important to be there physically and mentally. You can always improve yourself with that.”
He continues: “The better you feel about yourself and the competition, the more you can improve, of course.”
Remarkable
Telegraaf reporter Jordi Versteegden thinks it’s crazy. “I think it’s quite remarkable. I think there are a lot of TV critics now with their ears pricked up, wondering: how is this possible again? You can think of many people who could do it. For example, I would really like our own Dyantha Brooks in that program,” he says in Show news.
Colleague Evert Santegoeds seems to have his reservations, rightly so. “Also with a political conversation?”
However, Jordi is passionate about it. “I think so, yes. I think she has the insight.”
‘I think so’
And what about Thomas van Groningen? Why can’t he just do it? Is he no longer in the mood? “Thomas van Groningen said to me this afternoon: ‘If I were asked again, I would just like to do it’, but there is a small caveat this summer, because then the men from VI will also make more progress.”
He said in a written response: “Of course I would like to do the Oranje summer again. But of course the men will also be there next summer, because it is also the Football World Cup. So I just assume that replacements will not be needed for many weeks.”