Johan Derksen is surprised by the official statement from Talpa and Hélène Hendriks about the departure of Jack van Gelder from her talk show. “It has been concealed in an annoying way.”
It is final: Talpa has confirmed that Jack van Gelder is out of Hélène Hendriks’ talk show. Not only at De Oranjewinter, but also at the Sunday and summer editions. The presenter initially lied a lot about it – she even said that he was on holiday – but the latest version of her story is that she would rather have more Rutger Castricum.
Back door
Talpa states that there were discussions with Jack about a smaller role, but that he did not agree to it. It is half the truth, says Johan Derksen. According to him, the real reason for his departure is still that shouting match against a young editor. “Jack was removed from Talpa through the back door in an unpleasant way,” he says.
The Today Inside mustache continues in his podcast Greetings from Grolloo: “That is a difficult problem. Talpa has the problem: they do not want a major riot due to transgressive behavior. I understand that, but Jack has done exactly the same as Matthijs van Nieuwkerk: he has raised his voice.”
Leaflet
Johan thinks it’s exaggerated. “When you work with people like Jack van Gelder, you have to study the leaflet. Jack has a collision with a young editor and then Jack has the attitude: listen to me, kid, I was already the anchorman of Studio Sport when you were not yet born, would you like to tell me how the job works?”
“That is of course not the right tone to address a young editor, but on the other hand you also have to have some understanding for Jack and at Talpa they are so afraid of riots – every channel is afraid of riots – that they made it clear to Jack in a conversation that they did not want to continue.”
Important at the table
Hélène’s talk show has now been decapitated, Johan thinks. “I think the bad thing about it is that no account has been taken of the fact that Jack is very important at the table, because Jack says things that spark discussions. Then you get a decent talk show with fun discussions and without Jack it is endless chatter and it just goes on.”
“That is not taken into account and the fact that Hélène Hendriks would like to have Jack there is also not taken into account. She has done everything she can to keep Jack, but Talpa has made the decision and we must respect that, because they also have arguments to stop with Jack, because they see the mood looming.”
Purified
Johan criticizes the complaining editor. “Young editors must also learn to deal with seasoned TV people and realize that those people have an incredible amount of practical experience and that they can learn a lot from those people. I also think it’s strange that such a discussion takes place, because when Jack says something, as an editor you really have to take him seriously.”
It’s over, right? Yes, says Johan, but: “The Talpa management saw the storm and they were very anxious about it. I understand that. If you see Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and The Voice… These will become national riots.”
Panic
According to Johan, you just have to be able to have heated discussions behind the scenes. “And don’t immediately go to the owners. Look, the editor-in-chief stands behind his editor, that’s understandable. Then the editor-in-chief reports this to the management and then the management panics. They say: ‘We can’t have that, can we!'”
“I don’t think raising my voice is the worst thing that happens in society. Jack is one character with a short fuse. I have been all over the world with Jack, a fantastic colleague, but he has a short fuse and then Jack sometimes wants to step out of his role, but two minutes later Jack has forgotten it again and goes back to the order of the day, but a boy like that is stuck with it.”
