Bas Nijhuis has chosen a smart moment for his second comeback in Today Inside, namely on Monday evening, when the Privé is at the printer. “Where are your Romanian children?”
How incredibly eagerly they say at Today Inside that Bas Nijhuis is not responsible for the rather eccentric misconduct in his private life. That is of course true, but on television, where everything revolves around your image, favor factor and integrity, you can fall hard. And many people now have the image of a strange fantasist.
Image in pain
The image of VI referee Bas Nijhuis is in smithereens due to a credible account by his ex-mistress ‘Mandy’ in the Privé. She portrayed Bas in the magazine as a sick fantasist and then he started diving. No response, suddenly no longer in VI and he didn’t want or couldn’t deny things to Privé either.
What it comes down to? Bas cheated on his fiancée Chantal, mistress Mandy thought the two had broken up and whenever Mandy got too close to reality, he came up with all kinds of crazy fabrications. At least, that’s what she says. Bas is said to have fabricated, among other things, the adoption of Romanian children and his mother’s illness.
Clever moment
Only a month after that story did Bas dare to join VI again, but because Privé boss Evert Santegoeds thought it was such a weak performance, he once again came up with a scathing piece about the referee. And Evert warned of even more revelations if Bas’ next performance at VI would be one big ducking out again.
Well, Bas dared to do it again last night – two and a half months later: he sat on VI’s bar stool. And at a very clever moment, because on Monday evening the Privé is at the printer and Evert cannot have one dirt more about Bas. No doubt this will have been thought about.
Dead silence
Wilfred Genee announces Bas on the broadcast in a thunderous way, but then opens with a hard joke: “It’s been a while, yes. How are the Romanian children?”
There is a deathly silence in the studio. “I have no idea what it’s like. No. No,” says Bas uncomfortably.
Johan Derksen helps him. He says laughing: “I think this is a bit of a bad start.”
Bas: “Yes, I find that very strange, yes, no.”
Wilfred: “Yes, you think? Oh no, I thought I’d throw in a little joke, but that…”
Bass: “No.”
‘Don’t catch on’
Johan notices that Bas finds it very uncomfortable. “No, but your jokes don’t always come…”
Bas: “No, they’re not really catching on yet, are they?”
Johan: “I would run away, Bas.”
Wilfred: “No, then that viewer question makes no sense, of course. It’s in Romanian, so that doesn’t quite work either.”
A viewer question appears at the bottom of the screen in Romanian, which in Dutch reads: “Hello Bas, how are the children’s education going?”
Break lance
Johan then jumps into the breach for Bas. “No, but look, I want to stand up for him again. Due to circumstances, Bas has found himself in an unpleasant situation and that is not only annoying for Bas, but also for his immediate environment. Bas is not accountable to the Netherlands.”
Wilfred: “No, the difficult part is of course, Bas: you had to stand in front of a firing squad if we were to believe our colleagues. You really had to have your turn tonight. How do you look at that when that is called?”
“I’m not saying anything!”
Bas does not agree to Evert’s demands. “I think: yes, people can say something, but I think I am the one who decides whether I talk about my private life somewhere. Certainly not on TV, where more than a million people watch, or at least for a tabloid magazine or whatever you have to do that for. I don’t see a need for that, so…”
Johan: “I don’t want to look down on a gossip magazine with disdain. That is a magazine industry that is quite serious, because if they really make mistakes, they also get a lawyer on their roof, so they check the facts, but they are very happy when someone comes to cry and yes, then they get scoring drive, huh?”
‘Decide for yourself!’
Bas remains silent about his strange private behavior. “Yes, but you cannot force someone to respond to that. I decide that myself, so I certainly won’t do that.”
Johan: “Nowadays if you have something private, you have to explain it on TV. Well, then I would be busy until twelve o’clock tonight.”
Ammunition
Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen thinks that Evert has ammunition again. “That Evert Santegoeds will get his story. You don’t have to be afraid of that.”
Wilfred: “What do you expect from Evert now?”
Valentijn: “He will of course strike back tomorrow morning with his podcast with Jordi. Naturally. Yes, one hundred percent.”
Wilfred finds Bas clumsy: “Bas, you can also just say: ‘I was a bit stupid’, then that’s it.”
Bas: “I’m having gin right now, so give me a moment.”
Down the bag
Valentijn wonders whether Wilfred is not afraid of Evert. “But you also got a pretty good beating last time.”
Wilfred: “Yes, that I had not dealt with him enough, but I still maintain that if this had been about inappropriate behavior or abuse, that kind of thing, then it is punishable, but this is just a private matter, so Who are we then, right, René?”
Valentijn: “You also have to be able to laugh about it a bit and Bas has to do that too.”
Wilfred at the end of the show: “It’s over again, guys. Well, that wasn’t too bad, wasn’t it, Bas, wasn’t it?
Bas: “Yes, it was good.”